Ministry - With Sympathy FLAC album

In the scheme of synth-pop and what was happening in music in 1983, I'm suprised this album doesn't get more respect. Easily one of the best of the genre.

This is the Best Ministry release ever. Pure pop, and it works. Don`t mind what others have said. This is gold.

The press of this is good.But this is quite awful musically,besides Revenge every song is forgettable,stupid and sometimes even annoying.And this is coming from someone who loves 99% of the singles released before and after this album before Twitch.

this is in my opinion al jurgensons best..then again I am coming from the post punk/synth pop side of music rather than the metal world..twitch is also a great follow up..but it seems like after rape and honey he seriously wasn't the same.

It should be noted that Flood engineered this album (hence he played this at U2 concerts), and Vince Ely (Psychedelic Furs) produced this album. I saw Ministry perform this album at First Avenue in Minneapolis, with Kindergarten as the opening act.

Contrarians lolWhat would people think if Metallica's first album Kill Em All was a New Wave Synth Pop album ?Or if Slayers first album was a Nickel Back clone ?It's about branding.. Why do people hate Morbid Angels newest album ? Because it's not MA ! Jeff Walker from Carcass made a country album but he didn't go and tack on the Carcass band name to the project.. Max Cavelera made some albums under the name Nailbomb.People have a reasonable logic behind hating on some albums.All i can think is if Al was a different person back in the early 80's fine i won't hold it to him.. tastes / people change.. but i'm not going to make excuses for him cutting a "Tear's For Fear's" album LOLI bet the comments look the same over on the "Millie Vanillie" Discogs page too ahahha

Most Ministry fans are divided into two groups (synth/industrial and metal) and both have a different opinion on what the "real" Ministry is.I like all of it, since they are an evolutionary band. To me, that's what makes them unique. They started as synth pop and slowly evolved into thrash metal. I can't think of any other band that has released as many radically different albums under the same umbrella.

The Difference to Metallica is that they started quite good just to become a cheap Pop Band in the end!But Fuck it! Work for Love is still in context with the later works, only more danceable. I mean if regular Pop Music would sound like this today, I would propably buy a lot more of Pop music...and by the way it had a fantastic Cover Artwork!

Get this album if you like synth-pop. Side A are awesome songs; side B are alright. I remember getting this on cassette and I loved the side A songs the first time I listen to it. That was after the "Mind is terrible thing to taste" Ministry.I say the same thing as these other commenters. I don't care what Al thinks about With Sympathy. There are many other Ministry fans that feel the same, obviously. "Revenge" and "I Wanted to Tell Her" are amongst my favorite Ministry songs. There is a music video for "Revenge" on the internet if you are interested.

Now I know Al said it a hundred times that he didn't want to be tied to this record and the record company made him do this "atrocity" but I love the hell outta it. I like Depeche Mode and New Order so thats probably why I found great pleasure in this cheesy classic. I also love "Twitch", "The Land Of Rape and Honey" and Revco's "Big Sexy land" so I'm no creempuff. But this album is so catchy and reminds me of my youth. Al it's ok you may think it sucks but deep down inside you know you like it :)

With Sympathy has always had mixed reviews from fans and the Ministry camp. Despite what fans of the later Ministry era think, Al is not ashamed of this album because it is pop or new wave, but rather is frustrated with the end result. Tracks from this time period are similar in style and themes, but the final album is quite different than what Al intended. The first four songs: "Effigy", "Revenge", "Work for Love" and I Wanted to Tell Her (formerly the instrumental "Primental" from Cold Life) are all tracks that existed before his signing to Arista Records. The live versions from 82-83 are longer and darker. Musically, they were not changed for the album, but were shortened and lightened into "poppy" versions. Session musicians appeared on several tracks on the album, which stepped on Al's musicianship. Another track, "She's Got A Cause" was altered at the demand of the label, insisting that lyrics be changed as they were quite explicit. Over a dozen of tracks existed at this time, but most were turned down by the label. The track "Same Old Madness" existed as a video prior to release, but did not appear on the final album. The label demanded new tracks to be written to compliment the already over produced 5 tracks. "Say You're Sorry" and "Should Have Known Better" came into play. These tracks are good tracks, but would have never existed prior. The other two "Here We Go" and "What He Say" are very reminiscent of the later Wax Trax singles, and are direct puns to the label and business. What is very interesting is that the label changed the name of the lp and renamed "Here We Go" to "Do the Etawa" for the Euro releases, maybe as a pun back at Al. Those 2 tracks are the only tracks Al approves. The live shows play the original versions of all tracks (pre label interference) plus several dropped tracks and new songs. The material played live is done in the style of the Wax Trax singles and not so much With Sympathy. After researching all of this, it is clear why Al hates the album so much. I just wish he could get the rights to the material and re-record the material as it was originally intended. The 12"s from With Sympathy feature re-recordings and remixes to shed light on what Al wanted the LP to sound like. "I Wanted to Tell Her" was redone entirely for the 12" single. My favorite is "Revenge" and the live version exists on Youtube. I recommend any fan to check it out and compare it to the final album version. Overall, still a great album, but had potential to be much better. Arista should have listened to Al, because his versions were WAY better than theirs, and the album may have done much better.

The songs on Ministry's first record "Cold Life" from 1981 came out before the "With Sympathy" LP whose new-wave sound Al claims he was forced into by his record label. On the "Cold Life" EP (titled "I"m Falling" in some countries) "I'm Falling" is edgey, but "Cold Life" wouldn't be out of place on "With Sympathy" and "Primental" is an instrumental version of "I Wanted To Tell Her" from this first LP. Plus those songs were released on Wax Trax! where I understand the artists apparently had complete control over what was released. Plus the unreleased live tracks like "So-So Life" and "Love Change" which are similar to the material here. All of which in my opinion deflates Al's claim that "With Sympathy"'s floppy new-waveyness was not his idea and a corporate record company forcing his hand. I think he's just embarrassed by his new wave beginnings given what Ministry has become and is trying to excuse the band's perhaps less than impressive first album by blaming it on someone else. Who really cares though? For what it is, it's a good album, get over it Al and hardcore Ministry fans.

All this is true. Sad that many don't want to believe it though. Great post!!