From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V3 #169 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Monday, May 10 2004 Volume 03 : Number 169 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 10:33:47 -0600 From: "K. F. Smith" Subject: seven-seas review [part 2 of 2] [part 2 of 2] Porcupine was the band's third release from 1983, and is one of their most intriguing and absorbing releases. It is also often regarded as their most 'difficult' release. The manic mood is not quite as easy to swallow, as we go from the straight forward pop flirtations of the highly successful singles such as "The Back Of Love" and "The Cutter" to the suffocating gloom of the title track (which again, in terms of 'difficulty,' abruptly shifts from a swooning dirge to an up-tempo jam with the strange refrain "Pining for the pork of the porcupine"). On this release, the band expanded their musical backdrop to include authentic string accompaniments, cellos and violins pop up throughout the disc, but more or less to accentuate the band's quirkiness. The ethereal orchestral elements are yet to appear. Here, they are more percussive and mischievous. While some of the album is more progressive, with odd tempos and unpredictable changes, there are indeed some great highlights and it serves as the perfect transition from the band's earlier work and the more grandiose arrangements of their forthcoming releases. "Ripeness" is a more refined return to the rawness of "Crocodiles" with the same kind of shifty, jagged rhythms but with a more fluid grace and melodicism. The tender moods of "Higher Hell" and the peculiar drive of "Clay" are among the many highlights on the album, and I have personally found that "Porcupine" is an album that might not make so deep an impact the first few listens - but once the listener is used to it, it will rank as the most fascinating release. The bonus material consists of mostly alternate demo tracks, but it does include one B-side as well as an extended remix of "Never Stop," another of the band's immensely popular singles that was released just prior to Porcupine. 1984 saw the release of Ocean Rain, the band's sublime, haunting and most mature release. This is the album that yielded the ghostly ballad "The Killing Moon," one of the band's most enduring hits. There is a dazzling array of emotions found throughout the disc, from the sinisterly erotic "Nocturnal Me" to the irresistibly catchy pop of tracks like "Silver" and "Seven Seas." The band's quirky side is at its most enjoyable and at its oddest in "Thorn Of Crowns" ("Cu cu cu cucumber / ca ca ca cabbage"). Musically, the arrangements are the band's most complex yet, with more elaborate orchestral accompaniment, dense layers of chiming, emotive guitars and melodic bass hooks. The whole album is touched with a soft reverb to produce enthralling icy textures for "The Killing Moon" and the chilling swing of the sneakily creepy "Yo Yo Man," but warmer, tender aural embraces are masterfully created for the sprawling beauty of the title track that still sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. With Ocean Rain, it seems as though the strongest elements of the band's past have finally reached a point of complete and total immersion. Though the album lacks the unbridled, rhythmic urgency of their first two releases, it is a more passionate, romantic, and ethereal release that is easy to love from the first listen. It's hard to imagine any fans of dark music not being utterly enraptured by this disc. Again, from a more biased 'Goth' perspective, Ocean Rain is probably the most appropriate starting point for those enamoured with the softer side of Goth. Ocean Rain is the Bunnymen's Disintegration if we are going to speak in those terms, which I suppose would place Heaven Up Here in the ranks of Faith and Pornography. Anyway, Mac, if you ever condescend to read this, I promise I'll never do that again. This new edition of Ocean Rain features the awesome B-side "Angels & Devils" as well as more live cuts and alternate studio versions of the songs. This brings us to 1987 now, for the band's self-titled fifth album, which I have to admit, I am not as ecstatic about. It does however contain two great and very popular tracks with the delightful "Lips Like Sugar," which features Ian's gargantuan bellowing chorus that just kicks my ass every time I hear it, and the slinky groove of "Bedbugs & Ballyhoo," complete with organ accompaniment by Ray Manzarek himself. The 'problem' with this disc is that it is a bit too polished, and of all the albums, despite being the newest, it sounds the most dated. It's very '80s' in another words, with lots of synthetic backing, and up-tempo pop flirtations. Even for me though, despite how young I was in 1987, I remember pop radio and I have a soft spot for that sound. I can imagine that folks that are older than me will be struck by the same kind of nostalgic warmth. The songs are strong, the guitar work is still cool, the drums still punchy, but the urgency and dangerous romanticism is missing. It just doesn't have the same appeal as the band's earlier work. It is not to be missed entirely, but perhaps pick up the previous releases first. The remastered version contains several bonus tracks, including another big hit for the band with "Bring On The Dancing Horses" from the "Pretty In Pink" soundtrack. I suppose what is missing here is the "People Are Strange" cover, which I feel would have complimented this new collection rather nicely, but I suppose you can't have everything. Speaking of the bonus tracks, I do have to point out that there are several other B-sides that should have found their way onto these discs in place of some of the live stuff, including "Way Up And Out We Go" "The Puppet" "The Subject" and a few others. Had all those been included, I think I would have actually bought these a second time, since I only have rough mp3's of these tracks. But I suppose the box set still needs to retain its selling points. The bottom line however is that these releases are all readily available again, and at great prices. Various sources have lauded each of the first four Bunnymen albums as their very best, so truthfully, you can't lose. If you have ever been curious about the band, now is the time to catch up. Depending on your own personal tastes, start out with the dark grandeur of Heaven Up Here or the otherworldly grace of Ocean Rain or just follow along chronologically. But whatever you do, don't miss out and class up your collection with these essential gems. Echo & The Bunnymen is: Ian McCulloch - vocals and guitar Will Sergeant - guitar Les Pattinson - bass Pete De Freitas - drums Echo & The Bunnymen - Official Site: http://www.bunnymen.com Ian McCulloch and The Pre-Raphaelite Tradition (A fantastic academic analysis of Ian's lyrics by Kristin F. Smith): http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/preraph/ ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V3 #169 ********************************