First And Last And Always (album)
First And Last And Always is the first studio album by The Sisters of Mercy and was released in 1985. It reached number 14 in the UK charts.
For some comprehensive insights into the production and the various recordings, mixes, releases and pressings of First And Last And Always, we strongly recommend the Heavy Leather Blog research review All I Know For Sure: The Making of First And Last And Always by Robert Cowlin!!!
Further information can also be found @wikipedia as well as here (in German),
quite extended and offering a lot of interesting references to original sources.
| This page is Work in Progress and going to be extended as soon as ever possible |
Band/Recording Personnel
as credited on the inner sleeve of the gatefold LP:
- Wayne Hussey - guitars
- Craig Adams - bass
- Andrew Eldritch - vocals
- Gary Marx - guitars
- Doktor Avalanche - drums
| This page is Work in Progress and going to be extended as soon as ever possible |
Production Notes
- Production by Dave Allen for Palace Productions Limited
- Sleeve Designs by Andrew Eldritch
- Layouts by Mick Lowe
- Photographs by Jill Furmanovsky and Ruth Polsky
- Additional Photograph on Gatefold Vinyl and CD version by Tom Sheehan
- Mixed by Andrew Eldritch and Dave Allen
Track List
| Side A | Side B | ||||||
| Track | Durations | Track | Durations | ||||
| Vinyl & Cassette / CD | * | ** | 2006 CD | Vinyl & Cassette / CD | * | ** | 2006 CD |
| A1 / 1 Black Planet | 4:27 | 4:28 | 4:26 | B1 / 6 First And Last And Always | 3:58 | 3:59 | 4:02 |
| A2 / 2 Walk Away | 3:20 | 3:20 | 3:25 | B2 / 7 Possession | 4:36 | 4:39 | 4:38 |
| A3 / 3 No Time To Cry | 3:54 | 4:01 | 4:02 | B3 / 8 Nine While Nine | 4:07 | 4:07 | 4:12 |
| A4 / 4 A Rock And A Hard Place | 3:36 | 3:32 | 3:33 | B4 / 9 Amphetamine Logic | 4:46 | 4:54 | 4:53 |
| A5 / 5 Marian (Version) | 5:37 | 5:40 | 5:44 | B5 / 10 Some Kind Of Stranger | 7:16 | 7:10 | 7:34 |
2006 CD Extra Tracks
| Track | Durations |
| 11 Poison Door | 3:41 |
| 12 On The Wire | 4:21 |
| 13 Blood Money | 3:13 |
| 14 Bury Me Deep | 4:44 |
| 15 Long Train | 7:30 |
| 16 Some Kind Of Stranger (Early) | 8:38 |
Track Times
- Official Vinyls
- Official Cassettes (12)
- * 1985 Europe (2), Argentina, Australia, Spain ----- Europe, Poland (1992), Russia (1999)
- ** 1985 ELEKTRA - US (2) / 1985 WEA - Canada (2)
- Official CDs
- Data Files
Releases
Original Release Notes
- Vinyl: Merciful Release MR 337 L Mar 1985
- Tape Cassette: Merciful Release MR 337 C Mar 1985
- CD (original version) WEA 2292-40616-2 1988
- CD (Digitally Remastered in 1992): EastWest 9031-77379-2 1992
- CD Rhino UK 5101-17579-2 2006
- See also First And Last And Always @discogs
The album was generally available on CD from 1988 only and was released digitally remastered in 1992. At the time, many fans felt that the 1992 CD mix was inferior to the original.
In late 2006, an extended CD-version (together with extended CD versions of Floodland and Vision Thing was released by Rhino Records featuring the original vinyl mixes, plus the singles' b-sides and a demo version of Some Kind Of Stranger (Early).
Remarks
- The song Amphetamine Logic is listed as Logic on the sleeve.
Additional Notes on the Release
First And Last And Always offers probably the most variations in terms of mixes of all Sisters releases.
The vinyl LP originally came in a gatefold cover, subsequent releases have standard sleeves. The Japanese release is sought after as it has different song mixes to other vinyl pressings.
The CD version was first released in 1988 and contains mixes from the Japanese and normal vinyl releases. It was reported that this was because the master tapes had been lost. 1992 saw a digitally remastered release which again had slightly different mixes. Besides the standard jewel case release the CD was also released in long box format.
The 2006 release was the first time that Poison Door, On The Wire and Bury Me Deep were available on CD. Blood Money had appeared earlier on the Tour Thing 91 Promo CD and Long Train was featured on the b-side of [[Lucretia, My Reflection (single)|Lucretia] in 1988. "Some Kind Of Stranger (Early) is pretty much a demo of the song, with different lyrics and a much rawer sound.
