From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V3 #186 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Wednesday, May 19 2004 Volume 03 : Number 186 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 09:52:07 -0600 From: "Kristin Smith" Subject: seven-seas album reviews [2 of 2] [Part 2 of 2] He leaves out Evergreen!! If the fifth, self-titled album by Echo And The Bunnymen had been released by a new act it could conceivably be praised as a promising debut of understated rock dynamics. Unfortunately the album suffers in comparison to the first four which added on layer upon layer of ambition and sound. Thus 1987's effort is a rather muted affair although ironically it was their best performing album in the US. The Stateside masses were prpbably impressed by top quality single 'Lips Like Sugar' and the overall smooth radio-friendly sound; where once Will Sergeant's riffs were urgent and rough-hewn now they jangled pleasantly and unthreateningly. 'Bombers Bay' and 'All My Life' show their relaxed approach paying dividends, both being respectable and mature whereas 'Bedbugs And Ballyhoo' proved that inventiveness hadn't totally bypassed them. In fact the album is never less than decent but no one was surprised when Ian McCulloch left to pursue a solo career. Soon after, drummer Pete De Freitas lost his life in a motorcycle accident so it was some surprise that the remaining members soldiered on. Eventually McCulloch rejoined the fold as Electrafixion and after their one underrated rockier album the Bunnymen have since produced three more respectable albums. However, it would always be advisable to look back at albums for one to four to witness one of the most fascinating tales in the development of a modern rock group. Echo And The Bunnymen were an excitable post-punk band who knew all about miserablism but made it attractive and pleasant to listen to. Singles like 'The Cutter' and 'The Killing Moon' were huge magnificent dinosaurs of timeless appeal, with a nod to classical strings and yet still maintaining a haunting air of melancholic elegance. 'What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?' has elegance in abundance but gone are the elaborate arrangements; the tunes on offer here are far more stately and perhaps what we would expect for a band who are around the 40 age mark. 'Rust', 'Get In The Car' and 'Baby Rain' and the more urgent-sounding 'Lost On You' work best in this environment and offer the strongest hints of glorious times. As for the rest of the album it would be untrue to say there aren't highlights but one yearns for the halcyon days reached during the 'Porcupine' and 'Ocean Rain' albums. macs were last seen some 16 years ago but Echo And The Bunnymen have taken the unusual step of returning to the spirit of their first album, 'Crocodiles' and it's attendant post-punk psychedelia. It's certainly a decent enough stab at recpaturing their old form but lacks a sense of excitement or tension as if the group are going through the motions. That's not to say 'Flowers' is bad per se, Will Sergeant's guitar throws the requisite psychedelic shapes and Ian McCullloch sounds as doleful as ever ( a cynic would say disinterested) but the fact remains that The Bunnymen haven't made a great record since the orchestral/indie crossover excellence of 'Ocean Rain' way back in 1984. It's only right at the end of 'Flowers' that we hear hints of that with the string-aided 'Burn For Me'. Nevertheless this record is an inessential release and for devoted fans only, perhaps they should seek out those macs again. ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 13:06:35 -0500 From: Theodore Turner Subject: Re: seven-seas Ocean Rain review from 1984 Some real blown calls in this one. You get the feeling he'd describe his best sexual experience with as much analytic baggage and general disconnection. Ted T on 5/19/04 9:42 AM, blinfool at blinfool@wyomail.com wrote: > http://home.earthlink.net/~barefootjim/writing/reviews/echo_oceanrain.htmlEc > ho and the Bunnymen -- Ocean Rain > Sire > As published in the Daily Collegian on September 10, 1984 > > Echo and the Bunnymen are four guys from Liverpool, England who have been > called one of the best rock 'n' roll bands in the world. On Ocean Rain, the > Bunnymen's fourth album, they stake their claim to that title with some > grandiose, dramatic music. Though a couple of the songs fall flat, Ocean > Rain contains enough strong, well-arranged songs to make it a fine album, if > not one of 1984's best. > Despite having the classic R 'n' R configuration of guitar, bass, drums and > vocals, The Bunnymen have always fleshed out their songs with other > instruments, mainly keyboards. On Ocean Rain, they use orchestral > arrangements to help define and shape the songs. For example, the lead-off > track, "Silver," starts with a strings-versus-guitar duet that builds with > added instruments until the climax. This song sets the pace for much of > Ocean Rain: a balance of hushed, quiet parts with powerful explosions > highlighted by Will Sergeant's stinging guitar leads over Les Patterson's > bass, Pete de Freitas' drums, the string section and Ian McCulloch's voice. > There is a lot going when these songs hit their stride and usually it is > highly rewarding. Cuts like "Crystal Days" and "Seven Seas" use this musical > combination effectively. > There are other times when The Bunnymen try too hard. Despite their somewhat > silly name, Echo and the Bunnymen are serious musicians. Sometimes, too > serious. On "Nocturnal Me" and "The Yo Yo Man," it just isn't worth wading > through McCulloch's tortured soul to find the songs. These songs don't > connect with me because they are too down, too depressing -- there is no way > out, no instrumental breaks that rescue them. Instead of being dramatic, > lyrics like "Take me internally/Forever yours nocturnal me" and "I'm the > yo-yo man/Always up and down" become melodramatic and ponderous. On the > other hand, "Thorn of Crowns," potentially the most melodramatic song on the > whole album, works because it is lifted out of the morass by Sergeant's wild > guitar effects. Contrast is the name of the game here. Contrast, and always > keeping the arrangements full enough that I hear something new with every > listen. > It's the type of record that I wasn't sure about at first, but has grown in > stature with repeated listenings. Certainly, the two best songs work like > that: "The Killing Moon" seemed understated at first, like I was listening > to it from a distance -- but the epic feel won me over; and "My Kingdom," > which epitomizes the quiet/loud dichotomy of their music -- the way > McCulloch's scream of "king-kingdom-kingdommmmmm!" falls into the guitar > solo is, to me, a transcendant moment. > For the most part, Ocean Rain shows Echo and the Bunnymen at the top of > their songwriting and arranging skills, and even if commercial success here > in America never comes, they will do doubt be a force to be reckoned with > for quite a while. > --Jim Connelly > > > > ====================================== > http://www.bunnymenlist.com > > ====================================== ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V3 #186 ********************************