The Giant Panther

Few bands morph from synth pop to what a friend of mine calls "devil music." He's clueless of course, but Industrial music does have it's detractors. When Ministry released With Sympathy on Arista Records in 1983 I thought it was great. It was so 80's, but it was also very cool. I know frontman Al Jourgensen tries to distance himself from this record, but it's a still a great record. They say Arista took artistic control of the release, much to the chagrin of Jourgensen, but for him to refer to it as "an abortion of an album" is being way too critical. Who knew Ministry could have some nice danceable melodies? Imagine all the folks who thought this band was going to be releasing shiny happy music for the next five or six years only to be hit with "Stigmata" or "Jesus Built My Hot Rod." That probably shocked a few bedroom communities. I know I was a little surprised.

Ministry was formed in 1981 in Chicago, Illinois. The only constant in their entire existence was Al Jourgensen. Original drummer Stephen George was with him long enough to release four 12" singles in on Wax! Tracks Records including "All Day" and the fabulous "Everyday is Halloween" before departing. From then on out it was Al and the somebodies. Ministry's musical assault lends itself to a myriad of recording techniques, but they did tour. There must have been something about that combination because Ministry blew through an awful lot of bodies between 1981-2008. I have to admit I didn't follow Ministry blindly into the abyss. I was disappointed that they chose the path they did, but I respect their right to have chosen it. I have a copy of Greatest Fits on which they fool around with Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay, but as much as I love Nine Inch Nails, I don't think heavy Industrial Rock is the place for me. No offense intended to those who love it of course.

With Sympathy might not have been representative of Ministry's body of work, but it has some great singles on it. I was absolutely in love with "I Wanted To Tell Her" back in the day. I also loved "Effigy (I'm Not An)." This album was also responsible for "Work For Love" and another great tune called "Revenge." Playing it back in full, there are a few weak links, but these four songs are very strong. No need for embarrassment; either on my part or Ministry's. Twenty six years later you rarely hear any of these tunes on alternative rock stations and you can forget about any of the balance of Ministry's catalogue except for an occasional spin of "Everyday is Halloween." I don't think Al Jourgensen cares about terrestrial radio one iota. I'm OK with that. He's got a ton of followers and I'm sure he's not hurting for his next mortgage payment like the rest of us.

I'm leaving you with "I Wanted To Tell Her" even though it sounds so 80's. I used to sneak this one into a number of mix cassette tapes as a youngster. Nobody ever seemed to know who sang it. Now you know once and for all; Ministry. Hopefully this will jog a few memories.