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Rating:
It doesn't matter which guitar he holds in his hands; it can be a sharp Telecaster or a more delicate twelve-string acoustic, the tone can be distorted or without effects, what is certain is that a character with total charisma like Daniel Ash will send some shivers down our spine if we play "Express", an album where he is also featured as a singer, besides playing the sax. Not that the companions onboard this express train are any less: incisive as always is the drumming of Kevin Haskins, mysterious as always—behind his dark glasses—is David J, Kevin's brother, completing the overall sound of the three-piece band with his bass. They were once a quartet and called themselves Bauhaus; in the '80s, they continued their journey without the original frontman and called themselves Love and Rockets.
"Express" is their second album, released in 1986. There is no lack of ideas in this work, where one can breathe a less tense atmosphere compared to the Bauhaus period, and a transition, all things considered understandable, towards less dark music, which tries to be captivating without falling into banality. And even, in certain episodes like "All in My Mind" or the closing "American Dream", opening up to dreamy and almost psychedelic sounds that we will find in abundance in the third album. Or again, giving space to perfect dance floor hits like "Ball of Confusion", a metaphor for the chaos of today's world ("Ball of confusion / that's what the world is today, hey hey").
Anyway, in the ten or so tracks that make up the album, there is still room for killer guitar riffs and pounding drums without restraint as in "Kundalini Express", the esoteric train on which Love and Rockets invite us to board: in Hinduism, kundalini is the term that indicates bodily energy symbolized by a serpent coiled at the base of our spine, which can be awakened through appropriate meditation practices; the goal is to achieve union with the Divine, in a state of perfect bliss.
So, do you see why at the beginning of the review I talked about shivers down the spine?
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Angels and Devils (06:09)
this is the last time
that I'm ever gonna come here tonight
this is the last time - I will fall
into a place that fails us all - inside
I can see the pain in you
I can see the love in you
but fighting all the demons will take time
it will take time
the angels they burn inside for us
are we ever
are we ever gonna learn to fly
the devils they burn inside of us
are we ever gonna come back down
come around
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could make us cold
this is the last time
that I'm ever gonna give in tonight
are there angels or devils crawling here?
I just want to know what blurs and what is clear - to see
still I can see the pain in you
and I can see the love in you
and fighting all the demons will take time
it will take time
the angels they burn inside for us
are we ever
are we ever gonna learn to fly
the devils they burn inside of us
are we ever gonna come back down - come around
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could break us
if I was to give in - give it up
- and then
take a breath - make it deep
cause it might be the last one you get
be the last one
that could make us cold
you know that they could make us cold
I'm always gonna worry about the things that could make us cold
EN ESPAÑOL
ésta es la vez última
que voy siempre a venir aquí esta noche
ésta es la vez última - me caeré
en un lugar que nos falla todos - adentro
Puedo ver el dolor en usted
Puedo ver el amor en usted
pero luchar a todos los demonios tomará tiempo
tomará tiempo
los ángeles que se queman adentro para nosotros
estamos siempre
somos que van siempre a aprender volar
los diablos que se queman adentro de nosotros
somos que van siempre a volverse abajo
venido alrededor
Voy siempre a preocuparme de las cosas que podrían hacernos frío
ésta es la vez última
que voy siempre a dar adentro esta noche
¿hay ángeles o diablos que se arrastran aquí?
Apenas deseo saber qué vela y cuál está claro - ver
todavía puedo ver el dolor en usted
y puedo ver el amor en usted
y luchar a todos los demonios tomará tiempo
tomará tiempo
los ángeles que se queman adentro para nosotros
estamos siempre
somos que van siempre a aprender volar
los diablos que se queman adentro de nosotros
somos que van siempre a volverse abajo - venido alrededor
Voy siempre a preocuparme de las cosas que podrían rompernos
si debía dar adentro - délo para arriba
- y entonces
tome una respiración - hágala profunda
causa puede ser que sea la pasada que usted consigue
sea el pasado
eso podía hacernos frío
usted sabe que podrían hacernos frío
Voy siempre a preocuparme de las cosas que podrían hacernos frío
02 It Could Be Sunshine (04:59)
You can get from here to there
By leaps and bounds or measured steps
You can make it dark or fair
Depending on your point of view
You can get a taste of the glory
By the ingestion of a simple truth
You can take a look around
See the outside, see the inside too
Are you on a road to nowhere?
Are you riding a train to Heaven or Hell?
Are you in search of somewhere
Or something that rings true?
Well it could be closer than you think
It could be closer than you think
It could be closer than you think
It could be closer than you think it is
Give me your sunshine again
You've left me in a mess
And when I fall I really fall
And that's when you go to my head my head
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
Give me songs and freedom
Give me love in every sense
Raise me up so high with you
All the cavemen fade away away
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
Walking on the sidewalk of life
Will only make you grey and sad
Lift me up so high so high
My lifes always in your hands your hands
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
It could be sunshine
My love for you won't last for one day
My love for you will last for two
(x3)
03 Kundalini Express (05:48)
This is an announcement
For the transcendental run
The train now standing
Leaves for higher planes
Due to a derailment
There will be no other train
So why not hop on this one?
Hear the porter's glad refrain
Each carriage is connected
As is every single train
The rails all form a track
Which is a link within a chain
The chain's connected to another chain now
You will need no ticket
If you wish to ride on this train
Chorus:
All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini
The song is in your heart
Your heart is in the song
The song is of the earth
The song is of the sky
You are disintegrating
Into everything around
Reintegrating
The worm we dug from higher ground
You have let go of ego
Ego is no longer you
Closer to nirvana
Since the porters whistle blew
(chorus)
05 Life in Laralay (03:32)
Dupes of a Disney
Frozen stiff
Lost in the Hollywood hills
Where dreams as real as Fredericks
Are sustained on air by pills
Where all the red that's in the world
Bleeds into all the blue
Where film stars leave their footprints
And failed stars join the queue
Everywhere's a backdrop
To a scripted play
A film show of a preview
Of life in laralay
Life in laralay
Life in laralay
Life in laralay
In Laralay the custom is
For cash to call the tune
Usually a cabaret song
Sung to a neon moon
Down below the fairy lights
Twink on in tinsel town
Where everyone's in showbiz
And snowmen kick the downs
The palm tree shaded billboards
Advertise the style
That makes this fair land what it is
A money making smile
That dazzles as it razzles
The diamonds from your soul
Leaving you with nothing
Life in laralay (x4)
06 Ball of Confusion (07:22)
People moving out, people moving in
Why, because of the color of their skin
Run, run, run but you just can't hide
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Vote for me and I'll set you free
Rap on, brother, rap on
Well, the only person talking about love and affection is the preacher
And it seems nobody's interested in learning but the teacher
Segregation, determination, demonstration, intergration
Aggravation, humiliation, devastation of our nation
Ball of confusion
Yeah, that's what the world is today
Hey, hey
Ball of confusion
Yeah, that's what the world is today
Hey, hey
The sale of pills are at an all time high
Who was walkin' down with there heads in the sky?
The cities aflame in the summer time!
go on and we go home
Economics, Reaganomics, Birth Control, The Status Quo
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon
Politicians say
And the band played on
So, round and around and around we go
Where the world's headed, nobody knows
Ball of confusion
That's what the world is today
Hey hey
Ball of confusion
That's what the world is today
Hey hey
Hey hey
Fear in the air, tension everywhere
Unemployment rising fast, the Beatles new record's a gas
And the band played on
Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors
Solid Gold in demand, population out of hand, suicide
Too many beers, hippies movin' to the hills
People all over the world are dying in the war
And the band played on
Ball of confusion
That's what the world is today, hey, hey
Ball of confusion
That's what the world is today, hey, hey
Ball of confusion
That's what the world is today, hey, hey
Ball of confusion
That's what the world is today
Hey Hey
07 Holiday on the Moon (06:11)
You can't get a suntan on the Moon
But I wouldn't mind a holiday there
They say, you can't get a suntan on the Moon
But I wouldn't mind a holiday there
All expenses paid courtesy of NASA
Thank you Mister President for my holiday, sir
I couldn't really say that I wish you were here
But thank you all the same sir
For my holiday
Holiday
Little lunar holiday
Having a wonderful time
Having a wonderful time
Having a wonderful time
Having a wonderful time
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