From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V2 #901 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Friday, November 28 2003 Volume 02 : Number 901 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 11:56:24 -0600 From: "Martha Smith" Subject: seven-seas sundaylife.co.uk http://www.sundaylife.co.uk/features/story.jsp?story=466645 Bring on the dancing horses IF Moby, the Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Thwe Coral, Coldplay and a host of other way-cool bands cite you as a major influence, then you must have been a real contender in your day. But don't mention the word 'contender' within earshot of Echo & The Bunnymen's enigmatic frontman, Ian McCulloch, on Wednesday at Dublin's Vicar Street. For the Liverpool outfit were simply "the best band on the planet" in Mac's eyes, sitting comfortably on the throne of the 1980's post-punk kingdom, courtesy of classics like The Killing Moon, The Back Of Love and The Cutter. While contemporaries like U2, Simple Minds and The Cure, eagerly followed the stadium-filled path to mainstream success, the Bunnymen admirably clutched their non-commercial, cool credentials, tightly to their chests. So, when Q magazine finally bestowed them with a shamefully overdue Inspiration Award at the end of last year, some 25 years had almost crept past since their first hometown gig, at the legendary Eric's venue. Now, McCulloch and founder member, Will Sergeant, are treating fans to a celebratory silver anniversary world tour, coinciding with the re-release of their first five albums. All the albums have been remastered and expanded, with a plethora of bonus rare and live tracks, complete with new inner artwork and extensive liner notes, and are a must for fans and curious newcomers alike. First outing, Crocodiles, released in 1980 and critically hailed as one of the greatest ever debuts, remains a modern masterpiece, with its ethereal, chiming guitars and chopping drums, surging over McCulloch's velvet vocals. The title track, Rescue, Villier's Terrace and the haunting Stars Are Stars still stand proud alongside anything that's followed. But when the Bunnymen let their dark, gothic cynicism meld with their psychedelic tunefulness on 1981's follow-up Heaven Up Here, they had delivered an album worthy of McCulloch's obvious influences - the Velvet Underground and The Doors. The doom-laden All My Colours and the spectral Over The Wall occupied sombre soundscapes, where the Bunnymen would encamp for their third album Porcupine. Despite heralding two of their purest pop nuggets ever, namely The Cutter and The Back Of Love, Porcupine was disappointingly a rather gloomy affair, and probably the only Bunnymen album Radiohead's Thom Yorke ever managed to get his miserable mitts on. However, their sophomore effort, 1984's Ocean Rain was a string-laden, sumptuous classic. With McCulloch's lush crooning on grandiose anthems like The Killing Moon and Silver, it had everything, and for once when Mac said it was "the greatest album ever made", he was pretty near the mark. Anything that followed Ocean Rain was likely to disappoint, and their eponymous fifth outing duly obliged. Save for the pristine pop of The Game and Lips Like Sugar, which McCulloch dueted with Coldplay at this year's Witnness festival, it was a lacklustre and largely forgettable affair. In fact, it disillusioned the band so much that McCulloch departed to pursue a solo career in 1988. Fortunately, it wasn't to be their final calling card, as the group reconvened in 1997 with their sixth album Evergreen, the first of three subsequent albums that found McCulloch and co back on top form. Echo & The Bunnymen will be performing tracks from their extensive back catalogue at Vicar Street, Dublin on Wednesday. Tickets are priced at 30euro from usual Ticketmaster outlets. Doors 7.30pm, show at 8.30pm. ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 12:03:00 -0600 From: "Martha Smith" Subject: seven-seas review http://www.sundaylife.co.uk/features/story.jsp?story=466641 ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - Crocodiles; Heaven Up Here; Porcupine; Ocean Rain; Echo And The Bunnymen (WSM): Forget The Smiths, forget New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen were the best British band of the 1980s. They maybe weren't quite as great as motormouth singer Ian McCulloch claimed, but their music has stood the test of time, far better than most of their contemporaries. To coincide with the 25th anniversary of their first gigs, their first five albums have been remastered, repackaged and extended with van loads of bonus tracks, many of them unreleased. The mighty Heaven Up Here was their zenith, but great songs decorate the lush, romantic Ocean Rain, the claustrophobic and chilly Porcupine, and the psych-influenced rush of Crocodiles. And even their valedictory self-titled album, considered a disappointment at the time, bears up surprisingly well. ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 12:08:15 -0600 From: "Martha Smith" Subject: seven-seas House of Blues http://www.ent-today.com/reviews/soundchecks/sc112103_etb.htm Echo & the Bunnymen House of Blues November 3 by Melissa Pocek Holy music glistened in the air and the lights flickered around like angels on the crowd below - not exactly the beginning you'd expect from an Echo & the Bunnymen show, but it happened all the same; and caught the audience's attention, to boot. The four in black came out on center stage giving little recognition that they were being christened to play that night at the House of Blues on Sunset. During the first few songs, lead singer Ian McCulloch shot down the holy lights with his lengthy trigger fingers. McCulloch, even after 25 years in the music biz, still has that out-of-reach cool persona that few can capitalize on. The great thing about McCulloch is that he seems to be in his own world - his concern is on his performance and not so much on the songs he sings. As McCulloch sang, he reflected his dark, gloomy, yet Christian persona in the songs he performed like "Seven Seas," "Killing Moon" and "Lips Like Sugar." The only thing that has aged on him is his voice, possibly due to smoking too many bad boys. Nevertheless he crooned each tune grippingly, echoing the fact that he and his Bunnymen are one of the best bands that came out of the '80s. ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V2 #901 ********************************