Julian Cope Album by Album by Single by EP by Pseudonym Thread

A couple more thoughts on Autogeddon. The intro to "Ain't But The One Way" has some banter from a presumably live recording, about his infamous Daffy Duck shorts (I can't recall what year he wore these obsessively). He dedicates what sounds like the next track "to the real heads". Has anyone tracked down what show this might be from, and if that is in fact an intro to a song? Unless of course "Ain't But The One Way" is a live recording, but given the dearth of live recordings in Cope's vast catalogue, I had always assumed it was a live take in a studio with some overdubs. "Ain't But The One Way" continuing in the tradition of musical puns or outright theft/homage of existing song titles, being the name of the last Sly Stone album from 1982, famously releases after Sly took off during the sessions and slowly faded from the music business

 

Lurking with interest - for me JC has two masterpieces - Jehovahkill and Citizen Cain'd - though I know well maybe 50% of his total output. Enjoying this thread very much!

 

> The intro to "Ain't But The One Way" has some banter from a presumably live recording

I heard the original gig once (or twice) but I don't remember which one. I also don't remember if it was a bootleg or an official release. I kinda doubt the latter.

 

Found it!

1992-07-21 Aberdeen Lemon Tree

It was the intro to "Robert Mitchum"

 

Awesome, thank you. I wonder what prompted JC to include that snippet on Autogeddon, as it seems to be an anomaly amongst his recordings. Zappa did stuff like that all the time, combining live and studio excerpts from many distant years, but it's a first for Cope as far as I know.

 

'it's all impregnated in my Daffy Duck shorts.... i'll be selling off a few squares of it later...to the real heads' That's some classic banter!!!

 

I've definitely seen him in those shorts at a gig. He puts them on at 20 mins on this YT video. Try not to pay too much attention before that.

 

Thanks to oldturkey, there's another Autogeddon extra to add before moving onto Queen Elizabeth:

CLASS OF ’94 (1994): I Gotta Walk (Remix) (I've ordered a copy of this for a couple of bucks, and also managed to track down a copy of the revamped Skellington Chronicles).

I decided to lump all the Queen Elizabeth material together, and will probably do the same with other side projects that have reasonably extensive discographies.


QUEEN ELIZABETH (1994)

Superstar / Avebury: The Arranged Marriage of Heaven and Earth


QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 – ELIZABETH ****** (1997)

Disc One: Eisteddfod 69 / Tal-y-Fan / Callanish: i) Airidh Nam Bideram – ii) Hulavig – iii) Cnoc Fillibhir Bheag – iv) Cnoc Ceann a’ Gharraidh – v) “Pa Dodens Trae Vi Gro Som Nuets Blomster”
Disc Two: Temples of Ker: i) Kerlud – ii) Pentre Ifan – iii) Rock ‘n’ Roll Station – iv) Kenidjack / The Dianaver

Rereleased in 2002 with a different cover:


OTHER ELIZABETHAN ODDS AND ENDS

A third Queen Elizabeth album was recorded in 1999, but not released (and possibly not finished). Odin was originally a part of that album, but since it was released under Cope’s name I’ll cover that separately. Another track ended up on Thighpaulsandra’s first album:

I THIGHPAULSANDRA (2001)- THIGHPAULSANDRA: Beyond the Frozen Lake of Stars

Originally recorded for Queen Elizabeth 3, though this version includes additional guitar overdubs.


CORNUCOPEA: TWO SOUTH BANK EVENINGS WITH JULIAN COPE (2000): Temple of Diana

CD compilation of acts included in the Cornucopea festival, given away free during the festival. Also includes ‘Ver’ from Rite 2. I have no idea whether or not this was originally from the third album.


QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL (2009)

She-Diana

Recorded live at Cornucopea in 2000.
Download only, available from Head Heritage.

 

Well, if you want to make Autogeddon sound like a pop masterpiece, this is what you release next. I forced myself to relisten to the Queen Elizabeth album recently and it's still atrocious: aimless 'avant garde' music so feeble it could have been made by a Beatle.

The second album is way more successful in the same vein, but still less than compelling. 'Eisteddfod 69' is really not much more than a menacing throb, but at least it's a menacing throb that develops, and the other tracks all have a bit more structure and sonic interest as well.

Has anybody ever sprung for the live download? My lack of interest is so thorough it's never even troubled my completist conscience.

 

The Queen Elizabeth albums do absolutely nothing for me. I bought them all, and forced myself to listen to each one twice. I have no desire to listen to them again, even to refresh my memory of them for purposes of having something constructive to add to this topic. Yeah, they were THAT BAD. At least, that's my hazy memory of them.

Shoot. Now I feel like I have to take a listen to them again in, or else I'll feel guilty...

Oh man, do I have to??? Or can we just bury these these deep in the ground and forget about them? Hand out a bunch of "get out of guilt free" cards?

 

i love the QE albums. great campfire music imo.

 

If you have to listen to one of them again, start with the second one. If you can't take it, the first will be of no interest whatsoever.

 

Lurker as well. Would like to chime in with Aint But The One Way and Starcar as 2 of my go-to Julian tracks.
Love Autogeddon - but really Julian could do no wrong from Peggy to Interpreter.
Jehovahkill would be absolute favourite though.

 

Well, I do think these are good albums. It helps to appreciate this stuff if you grew up listening to Tangerine Dream and watching early 1970s Doctor Who with Delia Derbyshire's BBC Radiophonic Workshop and (for example) Malcolm Clarke's 1972 Sea-Devils soundtrack. 1970s/80s analogue synths rule the waves here.



You can't compare this sort of thing to WSYM or Eve's Volcano FFS. They're not songs, they're 'soundscapes' if anything. It's no good trying to listen to these at a party or while doing a spot of ironing at home and expecting to whistle the melody.

(BTW, you can laugh at the Beatles' attempts at alternative music, but if you think about it, the absolute genius 1966 Tomorrow Never Knows tape loops were the work of McCartney after immersing himself in the London avant-garde scene, and there's no doubt that Ono was a legitimate artist in avant-garde before she went on to collaborate with and influence Lennon. It's easy to laugh at things you don't understand (as Lennon did himself before becoming a convert to alternative music), but give me Don't Worry Kyoko or Revolution #9 over Cliff Richard or Olivia Newton-John any day of the week.)

I think these are really headphone albums - there's quite a lot of stereo panning effects. Put on a good pair of headphones, turn off the light, close your eyes and get comfortable. A bit of sensory deprivation allows this sort of music to work its magic.
Really, these sort of tracks work by stimulating your imagination, Cope calls them Glambient, but they just suggest an atmosphere, for example of an underground cave, a neolithic longbarrow, a lake at night or whatever your brain comes up with.

It's clear to me there are striking similarities between these QE albums and UnicaZürn's album TRANSPANDOREM from this year 2017.
ON THE TRANSLATION OF SPIRIT TO SNAKE | IT

QE1 - I really rate the first track Superstar - the synths are like pulsating, cleansing, waves washing against a shore. Unfortunately there is a lot of distortion at about 9 to 10 minutes. I don't know if it's the case on the vinyl edition - I only have the cd. At 12 mins, just as you're getting used to the waves/synth someone twists a knob and time suddenly starts to slow down at random intervals just to keep you on your toes. The second half is a lot quieter and 'traditional ambient', but just as good. This isn't meditation music because it's too aggressive, but it can be quite soothing.
Track 2 Avebury is more disjointed imo. There's some good Hawkwind Silver Machine style Moog, but I find this track a bit haphazard and it doesn't really do it for me.
It's definitely worth getting for track 1.

QE2 - Elizabeth Vag**a (from Regina) is surely one of the greatest ever album title puns. A REALLY long double album @ 130mins. I have both the scarce original EastEnders Milkfloat cover and the reissue. The reissue artwork isn't as nice, but it has more text inside.
Track 1, Eisteddfod 69 - Thighpaulsandra is Welsh, so some of the tracks are named after Welsh things, like the Eisteddfod Festival. This is really like an alien atmosphere ambience from a Dr Who soundtrack album. Track 2, Tal-y-Fan - Starts off with rock drums and bass (eh?) but reverts back to Moog Glambience pretty sharpish. Track 3, Callanish - has some great Shamanic chanting and Doggen makes an appearance on Spanish guitar. Track 4, Temples of Ver - this makes me think of old industrial estates, factories and trains, with its pulsing electronic chugging. It has a strangely epic ending which has a classic 1970s glam electric guitar phrase and piano over radio chatter. The riff sounds as if it's been lifted from a true epic 1970s classic number 1. Track 5, whole album length The Dianaver starts off like an early version of The Glam Dicenn from An Audience With The Cope, but becomes what for me is the soundscape from the inside of an underground cave with water dripping from the roof. It fades to a really quiet distant wind.
It's a great album if you're willing to spend a bit of time with it.

Queen Elizabeth Hall - Is one track lasting one hour, but the last 20 mins is a different version of Superstar from the first album. I think this album would probably be the easiest to get into if you're not sure abut QE. It starts off with a Rite-style rhythm with 80s synths and an actual Cope vocal with lyrics! If you're wearing headphones, beware, as at certain points you may feel like you're having Electro-Convulsive Therapy. A Twin Peaks style child-like ghostly voice appears, and there are washes of synths bubbling away, but there are also lovely sparkly synth arpeggios.
However, do not relax, because it seems there are WW2 planes approaching and sirens. Part one also has bits that are reminiscent of early Human League eg Get Carter from Dare.
The version of Superstar has what sounds like a Theremin overlayed, but at times it sounds like Sergio Leone style whistling from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The ending is truly surprising - it sounds like Thighpaulsandra playing a classic 1940s Hollywood musical standard on piano. I wish I knew what it is.

 

Those are great descriptions, and I am having a lot of fun reading them. They get me enthused, almost enough to inspire a relisten.

But right now I have dozens of classic jazz and 60s rock CDs I have listened to fewer times than the QE albums. So it is hard to prioritize a relisten at the moment, especially since I listen mostly when I am working, which is when I want snappy, rhythmic music.

Still, I appreciate the favorable comments about some of these Cope releases that I never gave much of a chance. Too bad the QE stuff isn't on Spotify!

 

Yeah - with these albums I think you've got to pick the right moment.
Is there anyone who was at the 2000 Cornucopea gig? I totally missed Julian live between 98 and 2004 due to sh%te happening in my life. I've always wondered what it was like.

 

I'll have to revisit these but I mostly agree with @oldturkey assessment. The first QE is a nice bit of ambient chaos, but they really hit their stride on QE2. There are many more QE recordings languishing in the vault, as hinted at by JC on occasion, but with his falling out with TPS, we'll likely never hear them. The live show from 2000 is great, and how I wish I had been there for the whole festival.

Definitely nothing in common with Cope's solo albums, but certainly pointed in the direction of future projects (Odin, Woden, Kabalist, Neon Sardinia). I appreciate the sonic explorations contained on these CDs.

Also, I was never sure if the v**ina pun was calling the Queen a c**t, or just a reference to the female goddess worship theme of the project.

(And apparently SHF regards v*g*na as a curse word, so I had to add my own censorship....only in America)

 

Right! It is a bit extreme. I wonder if pe*is is a curse word too.
*****.

I always took the title to be an insult to the British monarchy, and never really thought of it as a Female Goddess thing, but now you mention it you could be spot on. I have a live bootleg from (Aberdeen I think) where he really lays into to the royal family in the between song banter (I think it's just after the death of the Queen Mother) but as ever he is doing it to crack jokes. He is in Scotland where there might be more republicans.


Edit:
*****.
Yes it is.

 

Enjoyed reading this thread in its entirety over the last few days. I think I first became aware of Julian Cope through a mid 80s TOTP appearance that stuck in memory for his microphone stand. By Peggy Suicide I was hooked. Jehovahkill is my most played album of his. I have recently revisited both Queen Elizabeth physical releases. QE2 was more enjoyable and interesting than the first but I don't think I'll play either again.

 

20 MOTHERS (1995)

Phase One: Wheelbarrow Man / I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud / Try Try Try / Stone Circles ‘n’ You / Queen/Mother / I’m Your Daddy
Phase Two: Highway to the Sun / 1995 / By the Light of the Silbury Moon / Adam & Eve Hit the Road / Just Like Pooh Bear
Phase Three: Girl-Call / Greedhead Detector / Don’t Take Roots / Senile Get / The Lonely Guy
Phase Four: Cryingbabiessleeplessnights / Leli B. / Road of Dreams / When I Walk through the Land of Fear

THE 20 MOTHERS SINGLE


Try, Try, Try / Baby, Let’s Play Vet / W.E.S.S.E.X.Y / Don’t Jump Me. Mother 7” & CD (1995)

 

On the positive side, Twenty Mothers has lots of tunefulness and catchiness, which I appreciate. And I like a lot of songs in isolation, although there isn't anything really "cool" on here. I like "Try Try Try" a lot, both the song and the EP itself, but it still feels more quirky than "cool"; it feels very lightweight compared to his earlier singles. I don't mind the light-weightness in that one song (because of its catchiness), but the rest of Twenty Mothers has a similar lightweight/trivial feel. It lacks the epic grooves, emotions, and memorability of Peggy Suicide or Jehovahkill. Even Saint Julian feels more epic than Twenty Mothers, despite Twenty Mothers' excessive length.

Whenever I listen to Twenty Mothers, I find myself slightly irritated. It just doesn't flow right, at least to me. It feels more like a collection of (minor) A-sides and B-sides, rather than a cohesive suite of songs. It's like Cope was trying to create a White Album... full of "Honey Pie"s and "Julia"s. Not horrible, but I find myself wishing for more depth, and more attention to sonic details.

In short, I think Twenty Mothers sounds a bit "juvenile". My first and continued impression of it is that he's spent a tiny bit of time polishing some songs he made for his family... while sort of forgetting about the rest of us. "Family first" the vibe I get from this album. Shallow ditties, minimal studio time, minimal attempt at crafting an epic, or even an album.

I don't hate it, not at all... I just don't think it's a "real" album. It's more like a really long EP.

 

I'm with you on this one, but I have to say it made more sense to me when I listened to it on vinyl. I originally bought it on CD when it came out as I was living a long way from a proper record shop, and though I liked many of the songs individually, like you I didn't feel it hung together so well.

About 2-3 years ago I unexpectedly came across an original (purple!) vinyl copy in great condition at a great price, so snapped it up. Listening to it again, in four doses, made me appreciate it in a different way. I felt a lot more satisfied with it. (Or maybe it was just me enjoying listening to it again for the first time in many years ;-)

 

I'm going to do my usual thing and disagree with you folks. I wouldn't want to disappoint you.
This album is a total classic - one of my favourites, though I agree with Tripecac that in parts it

but it's called 20 Mothers, it has some mothers and his kids on the sleeve and has a song called I'm Your Daddy which is supposed to be like a nursery rhyme. That is part of the theme. There's songs about his brother, his mother-in-law and his daughters. Even Land Of Fear comes across as an ode to his family. He was a proud father and that just adds to the atmosphere of the album imo. I really want to write more about it so I'll get back to it later this week.
I also have it on purple vinyl but it sounds a bit like frying bacon on side 4.
Favourite tracks are Highway To The Sun (It really makes me feel like a Neolithic Shaman taking hallucinogenics.......woooaaaaaaaaahhhhh!.....analogue bleeping to the max) and Greedhead Detector and Senile Get...and...and...Wheelbarrow Man...and Don't Take Roots...and don't get me started on Try, Try, Try / Baby, Let’s Play Vet / W.E.S.S.E.X.Y / Don’t Jump Me. Mother.
TOO GOOD!!!!
I love it.

 

I just re-listened to Twenty Mothers and the Try Try Try EP.

They were enjoyable listens, but I found myself getting irritated by some of the slower songs (especially "Road of Dreams"). I think the cute, catchy songs work well but the attempts at "epic" songs are really clunky. As much as I felt let down by Autogeddon, it at least tried to match some of Jehovahkill's dark, natural and mysterious feel, which I really like. Twenty Mothers doesn't really seem to have any "atmosphere" to it, and that's why I don't usually put it on. That said, it was better than I remembered it. Except for "Road of Dreams"!

 

I'm going to be the first (and probably only) person to sing the praises of 'Just Like Pooh Bear', which I find absolutely hysterical. As a bargain basement SAW pastiche, it's one of my favourite '80s in the 90s' tracks right behind Future Bible Heroes' 'Hopeless'.

In general I really like the album rather than love it. It's like Peggy Suicide or Jehovahkill with the truly awesome songs removed (except for 'Try Try Try', which is his last great pop single), but with plenty of really good stuff remaining.