the ministry al jourgensen would like to forget

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Nothing against The Land Of Rape And Honey or Psalm 69, but I'm partial to Ministry before Al rediscovered the guitar.

Twitch, Early Trax and With Sympathy — which Jourgensen famously called an "abortion of an album" — are always a pleasure to revisit, and a surprise to anyone not already familiar.

With the corny British accent and tinny synths on With Sympathy, it's understandable why he'd want to distance. But despite claims of being strong armed by the label, he did create some synthpop magic with "Revenge":




Away from the clutches of Arista, Jourgensen did tour in support of With Sympathy. The video quality is lacking, but the footage is telling in this 1983 live clip of "Work For Love":




From '86, here's a live version of the Early Trax classic "Everyday Is Halloween" — the anthem of every pasty late 80's goth kid:




When Jourgensen moved on to Twitch, he was given more control by new label Sire and recorded most of the album on his own. In my old waver circles, it's the essential Ministry. Here's "Over The Shoulder" to see if you agree:




These days, Al has retired the Ministry moniker. Coming up on April 15 and 16, a Wax Trax anniversary show will take place in Chicago featuring My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult and Front 242.

Although he says he supports the show and its charitable cause, Jourgensen nor any of his Ministry or Revolting Cocks pals will attend or perform. Bummer.