Review: Ministry – 'Trax! Rarities'

MINISTRY
'Trax! Rarities'
CLEOPATRA RECORDS

Ministry have been a cornerstone of the industrial scene for over 30 years now. The band led by Al Jourgensen has seen many changes in musical direction as well as personnel, but has always pushed the boundaries of what man and machine can do. These days Jourgensen can be quite dismissive, and often disparaging of his earlier work while still finding the sound he wanted and being pulled in directions he may not have wanted to go. But that does not invalidate that early work and 'Trax! Rarities' released through Cleopatra Records celebrates that period through a collection of live tracks, demos, unreleased mixes and otherwise rare side-project cuts across four sides of clear vinyl.

Side A consists of early live tracks recorded in Detroit back in 1982 with the band sounding comfortable and commanding as they power through their take on new wave and synthpop in a surprisingly good quality capture of the band at their most melodic.

Side B continues the early innocence with five unreleased demos meant for the stylistic successor to 'With Sympathy' but eventually dropped for the darker industrial style explored on 'Twitch'. 'Same Old Madness' and 'Same Old Scene' particularly standout from the bunch.

Side C starts with a couple of harder 'Twitch' style tracks in the forms of 'I See Red' and 'Self-Annoyed' Both of which illustrate the transitional sound between the dance-friendly sound of 'With Sympathy' and the much darker and harder albums to follow. Following on from those are two cuts from the most successful Ministry side-project to date Revolting Cocks with 'Fish In Cold Water' and a banned version of '(Let's Get) Physical'.

The final side of the album explores some more side-project works with offerings from PTP, Pailhead, the super rare 'Drums Along the Carbide' from Rev Co. and 1000 Homo DJs – OK it's just another remix of 'Supernaut', but a good dub remix is always a nice addition.

OK, while everything on here isn't necessarily unknown or unreleased – the 'Trax! Box' has already seen a lot of this material included – it is still a more affordable option and to be fair pulls out some real gems that may have otherwise got lost in the mix.

This is a release aimed squarely at the hardcore Ministry fans out there, but is a nice collection nonetheless and worthy of being pressed onto vinyl. While 'Trax! Rarities' may not deliver any major revelations, instead the way it is compiled makes it is a nice illustration of an artist's stylistic progression changing from a behind-the-scenes perspective.  

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Book Review: Al Jourgensen – 'Ministry: The Lost Gospels According To...'

AL JOURGENSEN with John Wiederhorn 

'Ministry: The Lost Gospels According To...' 

DA CAPO PRESS 

Before you have even made it past the preliminary forwards and introductions you are left marvelling at how the ferocious industrial pioneer Al Jourgensen is even alive, let alone coherent enough to pen a book. Uncle Al has had as many brushes with death as he has songs in his eclectic discography, and he is not afraid to go into explicit detail about them.

In 'Ministry...' Jourgensen presents a warts and all picture of life as one of the godfathers of the industrial rock scene. Charting his life as a young Cuban immigrant, through his wild teenage years and his illustrious music career with every drug, arrest and near death experience along the way, with a cast of famous characters who rarely emerge unscathed.

Where memoirs like Marilyn Manson's 'Long Hard Road Out Of Hell' and Mötley Crüe's 'The Dirt' pull their punches and gloss over the more graphic scenes, Jourgensen goes into heavy and often uncomfortable detail. But what makes the book even more uncomfortable to read is the sheer amount of times you find yourself laughing at the most inappropriate moments.

Al can often come across as an asshole of epic proportions. But still a likeable one. His youthful incarnation lives life to such extremes that anything could snuff him out at any moment. And by the time he is in full swing with his music career he seems hell bent on death by hedonism. But he is unapologetic throughout. The personal and professional bust-ups are still obvious sore spots for him. As is his disdain for performing for his fans. But despite all of this you can't help but root for the guy as he reels off the anecdotes. The only time he shows any regrets or chinks in the armour is when he mentions his family or those close to him that have died.

It's also interesting to read as Jourgensen evaluates his extensive discography and looks back at not only the craziness behind the scenes but also at how much creative control he had in the sessions and how it has affected him. He even gives an itemised list of what drugs fuelled which albums.

With a mixture of first-person prose broken up with Q&A interviews, it is an accessible read and conversational in tone. Which allows the warmth of Jourgensen's personality and his charming self-deprecating wit to really shine through. Even the interviews with Jourgensen's family members such as his step-father Ed and wife Angelina, as well as with peers such as Luc Van Acker (Revolting Cocks), Sascha Konietzko (KMFDM) and Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedeys/Lard) don't sugar coat a thing. With numerous parties checking in with their own recollections the book builds up a fairly well-rounded portrait that differentiates it from what can typically be a self-serving format.

'Ministry: The Lost Gospels...' is compulsive reading. Jourgensen is a great storyteller and the sheer insanity of his stories will no doubt keep people turning the pages. It is definitely up there with the likes of Iggy Pop's 'I Need More', Mötley Crüe's 'The Dirt' and even William Burroughs' 'Junkie' as an exposé. It's ugly, and often downright brutal even vicariously, but Al has lived it so you don't have to.

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