Here’s a great (and pleasantly affordable) compilation chock full of post-punk and coldwave sounds from C’est La Morte. I believe there are five editions in this series, this being the only one I own. The rest seem promising as well, judging from the inclusion of Handful of Snowdrops, Bill Pritchard, Heavenly Bodies, Beautiful Green Pea Boat, Clair Obscur, etc. You can get volume 4 here.
The story of these compilations dates back to C’est La Morte owner Woody Dumas, who used to have a radio program called Doctor Death, which specialized in cold/gothic sounds. The first edition was the very first release on the fledgling Louisiana label, and has several great (and in some cases, exclusive) tracks from some of my favorite bands of the era, including Breathless, Room Nine, and Lung Overcoat. It’s also worthy to mention that the version of Throwing Muses’ “Fish” differs from the Lonely Is an Eyesore compilation. A few unknowns for me here too, my favorite of that lot being the ethereal/cold contribution from Pat on the Back. M-1 Alternative also appears throughout the series, and contribute a great track here.
I really do love compilations like these, where every track fits together and is thoroughly enjoyable (also see the amazing L’Appel De La Muse series). All in all, you get a pretty good idea of what you can expect by simply looking at the cover. Not to be missed!
Various Artists- Doctor Death’s Volume I- Cette Enfant Me Fia Mourir
1. Rash Of Stabbings– Faulter
2. Throwing Muses– Fish
3. Breathless– All My Eye And Betty Martin
4. The Kite– Family
5. Pat On The Back– Afraid
6. Room Nine– Angels Sing
7. Circle Confusion– Survival
8. M-1 Alternative– Rain
9. Lung Overcoat– Find The Time
10. End Over End– Save
