Twitch (Ministry album)

Twitch
Studio album by Ministry
Released March 12, 1986
Recorded 1985
Studio
Genre EBM
Electro-industrial
Label Sire
Producer
Ministry chronology
With Sympathy
(1983)With Sympathy1983		 Twitch
(1986)		 Twelve Inch Singles (1981–1984)
(1987)Twelve Inch Singles (1981–1984)1987
Singles from Twitch
  1. "Over the Shoulder"
    Released: November 1985

Twitch[nb 1] is the second studio album by American rock band Ministry, released on March 12, 1986 by Sire Records. Recorded mostly in London and West Berlin during 1985, it was produced by the band's frontman Al Jourgensen and On-U Sound Records owner Adrian Sherwood. It stepped away from the synthpop-oriented form of their debut studio album With Sympathy (1983) and moved toward a darker, more aggressive sound, heavily influenced by industrial dance groups Cabaret Voltaire and Front 242.

Preceded by "Over the Shoulder", with an accompanying video directed by Peter Christopherson, the album was supported by a concert tour of North America, which was the first to feature Paul Barker and Bill Rieflin in the line-up, playing bass guitar and drums, respectively. Although it received mixed reviews, Twitch is regarded, nonetheless, as a notable industrial dance album and an important record in Ministry's development as a band.[1][2]

Background and production

Shortly after touring in support of Ministry's debut album, With Sympathy, Al Jourgensen parted ways with Arista Records, and returned with the band to Wax Trax! Records as of mid-1984.[3] In that year’s Autumn, Ministry embarked on the tour of the East Coast with a Belgian industrial dance band Front 242 as a supporting act;[4]:645[5] according to various accounts, Jourgensen began working on new music either during that tour or the same time With Sympathy was recorded.[6][7][3] In his 2013 autobiography, Ministry: The Lost Gospels..., Jourgensen said that, during an aforementioned tour, Seymour Stein had attended several gigs trying to offer the band a new deal with his record label Sire Records, a Warner Bros. Records subsidiary. As various accounts state, Jourgensen declined an offer, recalling his experience with Arista, but eventually volunteered, setting conditions that Sire would give Jourgensen complete creative control over his work, and would give resources to buy a Fairlight CMI synthesizer, and also to support the Wax Trax! imprint; as Jourgensen put it in 2013, “it was kind of a personal sacrifice to keep that company rolling and allow them to keep signing bands”.[8] By Summer 1985, Ministry released several non-albums singles on Wax Trax!: “All Day”, “(Every Day Is) Halloween”, and “The Nature of Love”,[9][10] before getting signed to Sire.[11] By this point, Jourgensen remained the only official member of Ministry.[12][13]

The album was primarily recorded at Southern Studios in London, with Jourgensen and the On-U Sound Records owner Adrian Sherwood sharing production duties;[12][4] the sessions were also held in Chicago, where Jourgensen, Sherwood and Keith LeBlanc, Sherwood’s labelmate, flew to test Fairlight CMI,[14][15]:20 and in West Berlin at Hansa Tonstudio.[16][17] Recalling sessions in The Lost Gospels..., Jourgensen mostly regarded Sherwood for production advice, though he expressed dislike about his experience in London, citing cultural differences and conflicts with Sherwood’s friends; also he admitted that can’t “feel like this one's really mine because it's so Adrian Sherwood-influenced.”[18][17]

Cover

The artwork for this album is a motion effect of an image depicting a starch covered Al Jourgensen. The original image can be seen here.

Style and composition

Musically, Twitch is more abrasive and beat-driven than preceding Ministry releases, stepping away from the pop-oriented sound of With Sympathy, and incorporating elements from the growing industrial scene of the mid-1980s instead;[19][20][21] media commentators write that the album’s overall sound is at times reminiscent of Ministry’s contemporary acts in Europe, Front 242 and Cabaret Voltaire.[1][22][23][24] It is described as an electronica,[25] industrial,[26] and EBM/industrial dance record[27] which also contains material ascribed to the two latter genres,[24][28] as well as dance-pop,[29] dub,[30] eurodisco,[31][32] noise rock[33] and synthpop.[24] Jourgensen’s English-accented singing, while carried over from With Sympathy, was approached with distortion effects.[32][23][34] Twitch was also the first Ministry record featuring use of sampling, which became one of Ministry’s trademarks over the years.[1][24] The production also features the use of white noise and distortion.[32]

The opening track, “Just Like You”, is cited by Jourgensen as his “first real political Ministry song”.[16] “We Believe” is described as a “sequencer hammerlock”[33] and has been compared to the music of Nine Inch Nails.[35] “All Day Remix” is re-working of “All Day”, originally an A-side from the 1985 Wax Trax! single which included “Halloween”; drummer Stephen George and bassist Brad Hallen, who quit the band after 1984, were still credited for their contribution to the original track.[36][37] “The Angel” is an “industrial ballad” featuring backing vocals from Jourgensen’s wife Patty (née Marsh); though uncredited, their daughter Adrienne appears as a toddler in this track’s intro.[38][39]

Promotion

“Over the Shoulder” single and video

The sole single from Twitch, “Over the Shoulder”, was released in late November 1985, and marked Ministry's debut on Sire.[40][41] The song is cited as an early example of electro-industrial,[42][43] and contains multiple layers of looped synthesizer parts along with distinctive heavy drum machine pattern along with Jourgensen's weak vocal appoarch, referred to by Billboard editors as “Scritti Politti heard over the telephone.”[40][38][41][44][28] In the same magazine's “Dance Trax” column, writer Brian Chin described it as “a Bee Gees satire.”[45] In the later review for the March 1986 issue of Spin Magazine, columnist John Leland praised Sherwood's work with Ministry's “typically banal ideas.”[46]

The music video for “Over the Shoulder” was directed by Peter Christopherson.[nb 2][49][50][51] According to Jourgensen, the director hired two kids to steal a car, then filmed it. When the band asked to film in a store, the owner refused. The director allegedly paid the same kids to break into the store and trash it, and the band asked once again. The owner, needing money to pay for cleanup, agreed. Jourgensen said, "Everything that happened on that video was criminal."[48]

In 2000, the video of “Over the Shoulder” was featured on compilation album Tapes of Wrath;[42][52] the song was to be featured on a 2001 compilation album Greatest Fits, but didn't made it to, mainly because of medium limitations.[53]

Tour

Following the release of Twitch the band commenced a four-month tour through the US and Canada with a new four-piece line-up; Jourgensen approached former members of The Blackouts—Roland Barker, his brother Paul Barker and Bill Rieflin—to join the band. Both Barkers performed keyboards and bass, respectively; Rieflin joined on drums.[54][55] Dave “Rave” Ogilvie, then producer of Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy, joined them as a sound engineer, while Frank Nardiello—future Thrill Kill Kult singer Groovie Mann—was a lighting technician.[56][57]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[58]
Musicianpositive[19]
Robert ChristgauB-[59]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[60]
Spin Alternative Record Guide6 / 10[61]

Twitch was released on March 12, 1986 by Sire and Warner Bros. Records. Shortly after, it entered Billboard 200 on April 4 for three weeks, peaking at No. 194. A new issue of the album was released on March 13, 1990, featuring tracks from the “Over the Shoulder” single.[62] As of February 2007, the album sold 138,755 copies in the United States.[63]

Twitched, an unauthorized 2003 release by Radioactive Records, is an allegedely alternative version of Twitch, featuring the track listing that the band is said to have intended it to have before the intervention of the record company. It includes previously unreleased alternative versions of tracks from the album.[35]

Track listing

All tracks written by Alain Jourgensen.

No.TitleProductionLength
1."Just Like You"Adrian Sherwood5:03
2."We Believe"Sherwood5:56
3."All Day Remix"
  • Jourgensen
  • Sherwood
6:03
4."The Angel"Sherwood6:06
5."Over the Shoulder"Sherwood5:13
6."My Possession"Sherwood5:05
7."Where You at Now? / Crash & Burn / Twitch (Version II)"
  • Jourgensen
  • Sherwood
12:15
CD additional tracks:
No.TitleProductionLength
8."Over the Shoulder" (12" Version)Sherwood6:46
9."Isle of Man" (Version II)Sherwood4:30

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Twitch.[64]

Ministry

Additional personnel

Chart positions

Chart (1986) Peak
position
The Billboard 200[65] 194

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The album was named as the reference to an amphetamine called “Wiz”, which was prevalent in Europe; Jourgensen was using it during sessions of Twitch in London, and so he did later during sessions of Revolting Cocks album Big Sexy Land in Brussels (Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. 59).
  2. ↑ In the May 2004 interview for a French webzine Metalorgie, Jourgensen considers Christopherson to be the video’s director;[47] while in The Lost Gospels, Jourgensen names Storm Thorgerson being on this position.[48]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4
    • Esher, Alan. "Twitch - Ministry". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
      • Print version: "Ministry". All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide To Popular Music. Edited by Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine. San Francisco: All Media Guide / Backbeat Books. 2001. p. 264. ISBN 0879306270 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ Greene 1993, p. 28.
  3. 1 2 Zaleski, Annie (May 10, 2018). "35 Year Ago: Ministry Release Disavowed Debut, 'With Sympathy'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Fontenoy, Richard (1999). "Ministry". In Buckley, Jonathan; Duane, Orla; Ellingham, Mark; Spicer, Al. Rock: The Rough Guide (2nd ed.). London, New York: Rough Guides. pp. 645–646. ISBN 1-85828-457-0 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ↑ Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, pp. 58, 75.
  6. ↑ "Interview With John Soroka". Prongs.org. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  7. ↑ Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. 52.
  8. ↑ Masuo 1996, p. 71; Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. 58.
  9. ↑ Greene 1993, p. 28; Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, pp. 56–58; Reed 2013, p. 236.
  10. ↑ Rod Smith (March 27, 2014). "Wax Trax: An Introduction". Red Bull Music Academy Daily. Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  11. ↑ Popson, Tom (July 26, 1985). "The Wax Trax Method Of Making Records". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  12. 1 2 Wolanski, Coreen (March 1, 2003). "Ministry - Nothing Exceeds Like Excess". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  13. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Ministry". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Adrian Sherwood / On-U Sound". Test Pressing. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  15. ↑ Moore, Paul (1992). "Keith LeBlanc" (interview; scans). Technology Works. No. 13. pp. 16–25. Retrieved May 11, 2018 – via Imgur.
  16. 1 2 Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. XXIX.
  17. 1 2 Acharya, Kiran. "Revolting Lots: Al Jourgensen's Favourite Ministry Albums". The Quietus. p. 13. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  18. ↑ Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, pp. 64–66.
  19. 1 2 Considine, J. D. (June 1986). "Ministry: Twitch (Sire)". Short Rock Takes. Musician. No. 7 (92). p. 90. ISSN 0733-5253.
  20. ↑ Masuo 1996, p. 71.
  21. ↑ Brooks, Jeffrey S. (2017). "Chapter 5: The Evolution of a Revolution". In Terri N. Watson, Jeffrey S. Brooks, Floyd D. Beachum. Educational Leadership and Music: Lessons for Tomorrow’s School Leaders. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 9781681238579 – via Google Books.
  22. ↑ "TWITCH — Ministry — Sire 25309..." Album Releases. Cash Box. Vol. 49 no. 39. March 15, 1986. p. 12. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved May 14, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  23. 1 2 Knowles, Christopher (2010). The Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll. Berkeley, California: Viva Editions (Simon and Schuster). p. 236. ISBN 978-1-57344-405-7 – via Google Books.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Stanton, Mike (July 26, 2016). "Fourculture Classics #6 – Twitch". Fourculture Magazine. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  25. ↑ Angle, Brad (December 1, 2007). "Ministry: Track Record". Revolver Magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2018. While Ministry wouldn't perfect their trademark wall-of-guitar-and-sample style until later albums, Twitch’s hard-edged yet danceable electronica was a turning point for the band.
  26. ↑ Prown, Pete; Newquist, Harvey P. (1997). "Ministry / Chapter 33: Industrial and Grindcore". Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Foreword by Joe Satriani; edited by Jon Eiche. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 250–251. ISBN 0-7935-4042-9 – via Google Books. He released a strictly industrial album in 1986, Twitch...
  27. ↑ Kretsch, Ron (June 10, 2013). "Early Ministry KICKED ASS". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved May 16, 2018. The consensus narrative of his main band Ministry’s career trajectory holds that after an early anglophile period that’s as big of a let’s-pretend-it-didn’t-happen embarrassment to most their fans as Pablo Honey is to Radiohead snobs, the band really got started with the industrial dance masterpiece Twitch.
  28. 1 2 Chillingworth, Alec (August 18, 2016). "Every Ministry album, ranked from worst to best". TeamRock. Future Publishing. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  29. ↑ Robbins, Darren (March 12, 2006). "Ministry: With Sympathy vs. Twitch". Pop Dose. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  30. ↑ Eddy, Chuck (April 2010). "Industrial Metal". Spin. Vol. 26 no. 3. p. 91. Retrieved July 4, 2018. Anglophile synth-pop poseurs bucking for Spandau Ballet’s MTV minutes on their earliest records, Al Jourgenson’s Chicago outfit shape-shifted twice during the 1980s. First, letting Adrian Sherwood soak them in dense dub on 1986’s Twitch, then deciding they could sound meaner than Big Black — which they couldn’t, but nice try!
  31. ↑ "Ministry, 'Twitch'; Producer: Adrian Sherwood; Sire 25309". Album & Single Reviews. Billboard. Vol. 98 no. 12. March 22, 1986. p. 78. Retrieved May 16, 2018 – via Google Books.
  32. 1 2 3 Sheffield, Rob (December 1992). "Ministry". Artist of the Year: Runners-Up. Spin. Vol. 8 no. 9. p. 60. Retrieved May 16, 2018 – via Google Books.
  33. 1 2 Chin, Brian (April 19, 1986). "Dance Trax". Billboard. Vol. 98 no. 16. p. 41. Retrieved May 16, 2018 – via Google Books.
  34. ↑ Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. 64.
  35. 1 2 Greg Prato. "Twitched - Ministry". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  36. ↑ Reed 2013, p. 237.
  37. ↑ Kretsch, Ron (March 25, 2015). "'The Game is Over' Previously unreleased Ministry song from 1983". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  38. 1 2 Starostin, Georgiy. "Ministry". Only Solitaire. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  39. ↑ "Session with Patty Jourgensen". Prongs.org. 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  40. 1 2 "Ministry: Over The Shoulder". Album & Singles Reviews. Billboard. Vol. 97 no. 47. November 23, 1985. p. 67. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 28, 2018 – via Google Books.
  41. 1 2 "12' Reviews". Dance. Cash Box. Vol. 49 no. 24. November 23, 1985. p. 20. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved July 4, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
  42. 1 2 Gomes, Whitney Z. "Tapes of Wrath". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  43. ↑ Rollman, Hans (August 6, 2015). "Ministry: Trax! Box". PopMatters. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  44. ↑ Carey, Jean (July 6, 2006). "Stainless Steel Providers". Miami New Times. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  45. ↑ Brian Chin (December 14, 1985). "Dance Trax". News. Billboard. Vol. 97 no. 50. p. 51. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  46. ↑ John Leland (March 1986). "Ministry: 'Over the Shoulder' with b/w 'Isle of Man' and 'Twitch' (Sire)". Singles. Spin Magazine. Vol. 1 no. 11. p. 37. Retrieved March 21, 2018 – via Google Books.
  47. ↑ Jourgensen, Al (January 2005). "Interview de Al Jourgensen (Ministry), pour la sortie de House Of The Molé Paris, fin mai 2004.". Metalorgie (Interview) (in French). Interviewed by Mikki Fajito. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  48. 1 2 Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. 65.
  49. ↑ "End credits". Tapes of Wrath (DVD). Warner Music Video. 2000.
  50. ↑ Liggeri, Domenico (2013). Musica per i nostri occhi: Storie e segreti dei videoclip (electronic book) (in Italian). Giunti. ISBN 9788858761106 – via Google Books. Nell’86 i Ministry per Over the shoulder lo lasciano delirare con i concetti allo stesso modo in cui loro lo fanno con i suoni, consentendogli di descrivere minuzio come due giovannissimi ladri rubano un’istigazione a delinquere, facendo poi compiere al cantante un furto con effrazione in un supermercato , quindi tendando la metafora tra una macchina distrutta dalla sfasciacarozze e l’apertura di una scatoletta, legando il tutto con il tema ricorrente delle galline in batteria: se ne potrebbe evincere che come atto di ribellione all’omologazione sociale sia giustificato perfino commettere reati.
  51. ↑ Horan, Anthony. "Ministry - Tapes of Wrath - DVD Review". DVD.net. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  52. ↑ Mühlmann, Wolf-Rüdiger. "Ministry: Tapes of Wrath". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  53. ↑ Barker, Paul (June 28, 2001). "Ministry". Ink19 (Interview). Interviewed by Kiran Aditham. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  54. ↑ Popson, Tom (March 28, 1986). "Adventures With Ministry In The Land Of Majors". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  55. ↑ Greene 1993, p. 32; Jourgensen & Wiederhorn 2013, p. 68.
  56. ↑ "Session with Robert Roberts". Prongs.org. n.d. p. 5. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  57. ↑ Scaccia, Mike (July 13, 2012). "Ministry guitarist Mike Scaccia on Rigor Mortis, Psalm 69 and his friendship with Al Jourgensen". Westword (Interview). Interviewed by Tom Murphy. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  58. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). "Ministry". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 5 (3rd ed.). Muse UK Ltd. pp. 1155–1156. ISBN 1561592374 – via Internet Archive.
  59. ↑ "CG: Ministry". robertchristgau.com. Christgau, Robert. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  60. ↑ McLeod, Kembrew (November 2004). "Ministry". In Brackett, Nathan. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 544. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8 – via Google Books.
  61. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 250–251. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  62. ↑ Greene 1993, p. 32.
  63. ↑ Neilstein, Vince (2007-02-07). "I come bearing a gift: Ministry's official soundscan numbers". pissarmy.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  64. ↑
    • Twitch (vinyl sleeve). Ministry. Sire Records. 1986. 9 25309-1.
    • Twitch (CD booklet). Ministry. Sire Records. 1990. 9 25309-2.
  65. ↑ "Twitch - Ministry". Billboard.

Bibliography

  • Greene, Jo-Ann (April 2, 1993). "Ministry". Goldmine (scans)|format= requires |url= (help). Vol. 19 no. 7 (331). pp. 26, 28, 32, 38, 40. ISSN 1055-2685 – via Prongs.org archive.
  • Jourgensen, Al & Wiederhorn, Jon (July 9, 2013). Ministry: The Lost Gospels According To Al Jourgensen. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306822186 – via Internet Archive.
  • Masuo, Sandy (January–February 1996). "Ministry: It's Not Easy Being Mean". Option: Music Culture. No. 66. pp. 66–73. ISSN 0882-178X.
  • Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199832606 – via Google Books.
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