Review Summary: Drab Majesty
Naturally, when the time came to go solo, Peter Murphy was not alone in his endeavors. A slew of experienced session musicians handled violins, keyboards, and percussion for his debut solo effort. Well-known indie producers rose to the occasion to assist with the songwriting and help to put the album together. Bauhaus was no more, but new opportunities were open before Peter, and there was no shortage of friends ready to lend a helping hand. Not to mention the man himself, a force to be reckoned with on his own, possessing a unique and instantly recognizable voice, as well as a properly established songwriting style.
The result of this joint effort is a carefully crafted and well-made album. It consists of eight original songs and two cover versions, which provide some stylistic diversity but never feel like foreign objects here. Its arrangements are sprawling and rich. There are funky cuts like the title track and “The Light Pours Out of Me,” the laid-back soul-tinged “Confessions,” the disco of “Blue Heart,” or the rocking cover of Pere Ubu’s “Final Solution,” just to name a few items on display. Then, there’s Peter Murphy himself and his iconic voice, ever-changing yet familiar, always morphing with the song, always finding the right tone and emotion for every particular moment. Nothing to complain about, right?
Well, it’s all about the songs, isn’t it? And the issue is that most of the songs here never quite click for me. Take, for example, the opener “Canvas Beauty.” It starts with a nice enough melody and interesting bass lines, but then it just plods on throughout its runtime, going on but getting nowhere. Or, the above-mentioned “Confessions.” Nice atmosphere, great vocals, but the song just drags. “Blue Heart” is almost danceable, but never quite there. “Final Solution” features the most emotional vocals on the album, and almost works. But if I need a rocking Peter Murphy song, it wouldn’t be my first choice. This is nice, but he can do better. The same is true for his experiments with funk, which start off promising but end up feeling aimless. And then there are songs like “God Sends” or “The Answer is Clear,” which go into one ear and out of the other. Maybe that’s the main issue with the album for me. A lot of the songs here just drag, seemingly always reaching towards some sort of climax, but stopping just a few inches short of it. The one song where this approach works is the trance-inducing “Never Man” with its Eastern flourishes. It doesn’t really need a big chorus or anything like that as it weaves its meditative charms around the listener. But you have to be in the right mood for a song like that.
The good news is that the album saves the best for last. The closer “Jamal” is an instrumental composition (except for some spoken word sections) built on violins and keyboards, and there’s nothing “but” or “almost” about it. Peter’s growing fascination with Turkish culture was taking hold already, and he managed to create a composition that is epic and tender, grandiose and touching at the same time.
Overall, “Should the World Fail to Fall Apart’ is a thoroughly frustrating body of work, because it has so much going for it, but ends up being only almost good. Well, starting a solo career is tricky, and even the greatest musicians need to find their stride and refine their style at first. This is an imperfect album, but a crucial stepping stone for Peter Murphy’s glorious if overlooked career as a solo artist.
