From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V5 #65 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, March 15 2006 Volume 05 : Number 065 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 21:23:41 -0600 From: Theodore Turner Subject: seven-seas My Siberia review hi everyone I've finally reviewed Siberia for my magazine column, here's the just finished, unedited, grammatically imperfect version. some of this may look a little familiar re: Mac's voice..as I pulled some of it from a post I had sent to the list in the Fall....hope you like it & thx for taking the time to read it...if you do. Ted Stylus Magazine Winnipeg Canada Rock is Dead Long Live Rock By Ted Turner Echo & The Bunnymen: Siberia (True North/Universal) It9s been almost 20 years to the day since my first Echo & The Bunnymen show on a perfect Vancouver night in April of 86. That night I stood awestruck before what was unquestionably to me, the greatest Rock band in the world. The Bunnymen made records in the 809s that effortlessly transcended the existing aesthetic and emotive frontiers of Rock. This new magical, generous light was partially sourced from the rough shine of The Velvets and the glow of Bowie9s sublime otherness, But its heart & soul (its VISION) was all new and all theirs, it was Bunnymusic and nobody has even come close to making Rock music as timeless, beautiful and cool since, except them themselves, as is the case with the renewed swagger and shine of Siberia, the first 21st century Bunnymen masterpiece. Siberia sees founding Bunnymen Ian (Mac) McCulloch & Will Sergeant in a glorious return to the magical form that made their earlier work so large and otherly. Siberia Grooves hard (and soft) with Sergeant9s cavernous tumult while McCulloch navigates through some of his most personal (and beautiful) writing and singing to date. The elemental interplay between Mac & Will is back in full bloom, with Sergeant9s lush, soaring, often eerily lingering and always emotively rich leads as further lyrical support for (and tonal tension against) the swaggering iconic romance of McCulloch9s sublime vocal and poetic forces. Sergeant is one of the most accomplished and influential Rock guitarists to ever play, his brilliant work on Siberia stands as renewed evidence of the immense scope and depth of his craft. The metaphysical wailing McCulloch of the 809s has evolved into the confessional (less vocally soaring) crooning Mac we now hear. But what has been lost in sheer scope is well replaced with an emotive, fragile, rough timbre that opens new and exciting doors for him as a singer (its worth noting that he ends the record with his voice standing naked and alone, an act of stylistic confidence we9ve haven9t heard since 849s Ocean Rain). Siberia also finds McCulloch9s craft in a burst of natural evolution that brings his gift continually closer in form and content to that of (his much admired) Leonard Cohen. McCulloch9s purely physical achievements as a singer in the 809s placed him in a pretty singular category within the history of pop music (only Bowie9s gift is of the same true kind). To push his voice as hard as he did for so may years was an immense feat, if he wants to drop it down a key or two and fly a little closer to earth at this point, he's more than earned the extra leg room. He still nails the old superhuman notes live though ,and with Sergeant scaling new endless heights (again) The Bunnymen are still the greatest live band in the world. These songs are bold and inspired, and will again, live forever. Where some elements of their post reunion catalog have felt somewhat paint-by-Bunnymen numbers at times, Siberia pours out of them as the raw enchanted light of Echo & The Bunnymen now hovering again at the height of their mighty powers. Lay Down Thy False Gods and Groove. (Ted Turner) www.bunnymen.com ===================================================================== Bunnymen Online Presence: http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ http://bunnymen.nexuswebs.net/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ * ====================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:16:07 -0800 (PST) From: chris adams Subject: Re: seven-seas My Siberia review Ted, I wish you'd written Turquoise Days, yr a fukkin genius. That was gorgeous, thanks. C. Adams Theodore Turner wrote: hi everyone I've finally reviewed Siberia for my magazine column, here's the just finished, unedited, grammatically imperfect version. some of this may look a little familiar re: Mac's voice..as I pulled some of it from a post I had sent to the list in the Fall....hope you like it & thx for taking the time to read it...if you do. Ted Stylus Magazine Winnipeg Canada Rock is Dead Long Live Rock By Ted Turner Echo & The Bunnymen: Siberia (True North/Universal) It9s been almost 20 years to the day since my first Echo & The Bunnymen show on a perfect Vancouver night in April of 86. That night I stood awestruck before what was unquestionably to me, the greatest Rock band in the world. The Bunnymen made records in the 809s that effortlessly transcended the existing aesthetic and emotive frontiers of Rock. This new magical, generous light was partially sourced from the rough shine of The Velvets and the glow of Bowie9s sublime otherness, But its heart & soul (its VISION) was all new and all theirs, it was Bunnymusic and nobody has even come close to making Rock music as timeless, beautiful and cool since, except them themselves, as is the case with the renewed swagger and shine of Siberia, the first 21st century Bunnymen masterpiece. Siberia sees founding Bunnymen Ian (Mac) McCulloch & Will Sergeant in a glorious return to the magical form that made their earlier work so large and otherly. Siberia Grooves hard (and soft) with Sergeant9s cavernous tumult while McCulloch navigates through some of his most personal (and beautiful) writing and singing to date. The elemental interplay between Mac & Will is back in full bloom, with Sergeant9s lush, soaring, often eerily lingering and always emotively rich leads as further lyrical support for (and tonal tension against) the swaggering iconic romance of McCulloch9s sublime vocal and poetic forces. Sergeant is one of the most accomplished and influential Rock guitarists to ever play, his brilliant work on Siberia stands as renewed evidence of the immense scope and depth of his craft. The metaphysical wailing McCulloch of the 809s has evolved into the confessional (less vocally soaring) crooning Mac we now hear. But what has been lost in sheer scope is well replaced with an emotive, fragile, rough timbre that opens new and exciting doors for him as a singer (its worth noting that he ends the record with his voice standing naked and alone, an act of stylistic confidence we9ve haven9t heard since 849s Ocean Rain). Siberia also finds McCulloch9s craft in a burst of natural evolution that brings his gift continually closer in form and content to that of (his much admired) Leonard Cohen. McCulloch9s purely physical achievements as a singer in the 809s placed him in a pretty singular category within the history of pop music (only Bowie9s gift is of the same true kind). To push his voice as hard as he did for so may years was an immense feat, if he wants to drop it down a key or two and fly a little closer to earth at this point, he's more than earned the extra leg room. He still nails the old superhuman notes live though ,and with Sergeant scaling new endless heights (again) The Bunnymen are still the greatest live band in the world. These songs are bold and inspired, and will again, live forever. Where some elements of their post reunion catalog have felt somewhat paint-by-Bunnymen numbers at times, Siberia pours out of them as the raw enchanted light of Echo & The Bunnymen now hovering again at the height of their mighty powers. Lay Down Thy False Gods and Groove. (Ted Turner) www.bunnymen.com ===================================================================== Bunnymen Online Presence: http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ http://bunnymen.nexuswebs.net/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ * ====================================================================== - --------------------------------- Brings words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail. ===================================================================== Bunnymen Online Presence: http://www.bunnymenlist.com * http://www.bunnymen.info http://www.bunnymen.com * http://www.fotolog.net/sgtfuzz/ http://bunnymen.nexuswebs.net/ * http://www.angelfire.com/wy2/discog/ * ====================================================================== ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V5 #65 *******************************