Review Summary: Nobody does it better... Makes me feel sad for the rest...
The biggest challenge with reviewing “Deep” lies in the fact that it contains “Cuts You Up.” I mean, what a wonderful song! Why would you write about anything else, when you can write about “Cuts You Up”? Peter Murphy’s biggest solo hit that actually
deserves all the recognition it gets and more. An eighties hit that is not hammered into your brain by local radio stations since your earliest childhood (at least not where I’m from). I could write an entire review about that song alone! How it is kick-started perfectly with that one single drum hit immediately followed with the most delightful violin melody that goes straight to your heart. How Peter drops his usual stern and somber delivery in favor of more heartfelt approach to singing perfectly suited for touching and thoughtful lyrics about togetherness and staying true to yourself in this fluid and ever-changing world. How the music video for the song, while being probably a bit naïve by today’s standards, complements the music perfectly, so that the song and the accompanying visuals form a wholesome aesthetical experience. I’ve said it before, but seriously, man, what a song!
The issue with having such a colossal song on an album is that it inevitably overshadows the rest of it, which turns the whole reviewing process into an attempt to tiptoe around an elephant. The situation is complicated further by the fact that a lot of the other songs presented here are rather similar to “Cuts You Up” either in terms of the style or mood or both. This is a ballad-heavy album with a focus on softer and slower songs which, in the presence of such a clear “leader of the pack,” makes the other songs look like they are some try-hards aping their “older brother.” Which, of course, does not mean that they are not worthy of your attention.
On the contrary, one of the problems here is some of these songs
don’t deserve to be overshadowed. Case in point: the second single “A Strange Kind of Love.” I’ve actually heard this song quite a few years before “Cuts You Up,” and I’ve always loved its deceptively simple melody and wistful lyrics. It has the same nearly perfect combination of carefully thought out composition and strong emotional impact. The one crucial difference is that it doesn’t feel quite as
unique as “Cuts You Up.” Or, another example, “Marlene Dietrich’s Favorite Poem,” a beautiful song with tasteful Led Zeppelin-inspired psychedelic sound. It just was not designed to be an immediate hit and requires repeated listens before it blooms.
Then again, there are songs which I can not vouch for. There’s “Crystal Wrists” that really feels like a pale copy of the lead single, there’s “Seven Veils” which has a nice core melody but is pointless and meandering as a whole. Probably the biggest issue is that even non-ballads material mostly sounds mellow and sparse. The album has maybe three rocking tracks, and of those only the opener “Deep Ocean, Vast Sea” works as intended, being a skillful combination of rocking attitude with post-punk moodiness, whereas “Shy” feels like a much less effective retread of the opener, and “The Line Between The Devil’s Teeth” starts off with a promising quirkiness, but looses its steam right around the first chorus. These are the songs that at least have some potential. Otherwise, there’s a handful of samey, un-engaging tracks with vaguely funky rhythms and boring arrangements.
I remember liking "Deep" a lot more when I did my first Peter Murphy discography run a few years ago. I guess, I’ve became grumpier and harder to please as time went by. What I’m hearing now is a rather inconsistent album that has several exceptionally strong and impactful songs, but needs more stylistic diversity and a couple more deep cuts to truly shine as a whole. Take it as you will, but to me this is a 3.0 album with 5.0 singles and a couple more good overlooked songs. Still the peaks here are so damn high that I can not resist the temptation to bump the rating up a bit!
