floodland

The Sisters of Mercy broke through with the corrosive choral gothic glory of this torrential pop watershed.  When the original lineup of the Sisters of Mercy disbanded after their debut album 'First and Last and Always', band leader Andrew Eldritch released a solo album 'Gift' under the name the Sisterhood.  When that album failed to chart, he decided to continue under the name Sisters of Mercy and brought in the bassist from Gun Club and Fur Bible Patricia Morrison to work with him.  He convinced producer Jim Steinman to co-produce sessions at the Power Station in New York City where they brought in six background singers and forty members of the New York Choral Society for the recording of 'Dominion/Mother Russia' and 'This Corrosion'.  Eldritch recalls: "We had an awful lot of people on the record, made a very loud noise. Never had so many people on a record before. Why? I really don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time to have forty people singing at once. I've no idea why...Every time you think to yourself 'Do we really want to go this far?' and you say to Jim, 'Jim, are you sure about this?' and anybody else will go 'Don't do it!', Jim goes 'More! More! More people, singing!'. It works."

Eldritch went to England to record the rest of the album and, after having problems with the producer there, decided to bring the engineer from the New York sessions, Larry Alexander over to co-produce.  Alexander remembers:  "I was then invited to go to England and co-produce the rest of the album. I think the first studio was called Strawberry Studios in Manchester. We worked there for a while, then moved over to Bath to a studio called The Wool Hall. Next was AIR Studios in London where we finished up."

The album was pieced together using synthesizers.  Eldritch says: "I learned how cool it is to work with computers in 1987 during the recording of the Sisters album 'Floodland'."  'Floodland' went to number one hundred and one in the US, twenty-eight in New Zealand and Sweden, twenty-four in Switzerland, and number nine in the UK.  






http://www.thesistersofmercy.com/









"This Corrosion" was written about Eldritch's former band mates.  The single became their big breakthrough, charting at number thirty-eight on the US club play chart, seventeen in Germany, seven in the UK, and number six in Ireland.  The guitar solo was done by session guitarist Eddie Martinez.  

single version



Gimme the ring, kissed and toll'd 
Gimme something that I missed (gimme the ring) 
A hand to hold, wild and what it seems(gimme the ring) 
Kill the king, when love is the law, 
And the we'll turn round... (gimme the ring) 
Gimme dream child 
And do you hear me call? (gimme the ring) 
On the loan and on the level 
...still on the floor (gimme the ring) 
Sing dream child 
And do you hear at all? 
(sing) 
(sing) 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing... 
Gimme siren, child and do you hear me? 
Gimme siren, child, and do you hear me call? 
Sing, child, of right and wrong 
Gimme things that don't last long 
Gimme siren, child, and do you hear me call?  
(sing) 
(sing) 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing... 
On days like this 
In times like these 
I feel an animal deep inside 
Heel to haunch on bended knees 
Living on if and if I tried, 
Somebody send me... please... 
Dream wars and a ticket to seem 
Giving out and in 
Selling the don't belong 
Well, what do you say 
D'you have a word for giving away? 
Got a song for me? 
(sing) 
(sing) 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me 
Hey now, hey now now, sing... 
I got nothing to say I ain't said before 
I bled all I can, I won't bleed no more 
I don't need no one to understand 
Why the blood run hold 
The hired hand 
On heart 
Hand of god 
Floodland and driven apart 
Run cold 
Turn 
Cold 
Burn 
Like a healing hand 
Like a healing hand 
Like a healing hand 
Like a healing hand


album version








"Dominion/Mother Russia" went to number thirty on the US club play chart, thirteen in the UK, and number seven in Ireland.







"Lucretia My Reflection" hit number thirty on the US club play chart, twenty-two in Ireland, and number twenty in the UK.





"1959"  







'Floodland'
full album:



All music and lyrics by Andrew Eldritch.  Produced by Larry Alexander and Andrew Eldritch, except "Dominion/Mother Russia", produced by Alexander, Eldritch, and Jim Steinman, "This Corrosion", produced by Jim Steinman, "Torch", produced by Eldritch, and "Emma", produced by Hugh Jones.


1. "Dominion/Mother Russia"   7:00
2. "Flood I"   6:22
3. "Lucretia My Reflection"   4:57
4. "1959"   4:09
5. "This Corrosion"   10:55
6. "Flood II"   6:47
7. "Driven Like the Snow"   6:27
8. "Never Land (a fragment)"   2:46