I do like Meteoroids quite a bit but I can’t listen to it because of the mastering on CD. It’s awful sounding. ‘For me it’s a tough call between the first three with HUH usually winning. As much as I love the debut, the songwriting is more focused on the second album while the third has some filler on it that isn’t quite up to the standard of HUH. surprisingly, I also like the somewhat mellow eponymous album even if it is a stab to make a more ‘commercial’ album. Don’t get me wrong, Ienjoy Ocean Rain I just thought at the time that it was a blatant commercial move by the band to appeal to a larger U.S. audience that trimmed all of the quirks I enjoyed from a production stand point. Just like Roxy Music’s “Avalon’, it’s a classic but it’s not MY Echo the one I fell in love with for their quirky, rough edges.
I’m thinking about asking them to open it up so I can include it as it IS a Echo album even if it lacks Les. I mean, if we see to consider the Will-less version with just Ian and (the diminished songwriting presence of) Will, then we can certainly be inclusive of that albums.
Voted for: -Crocodiles -Ocean Rain -What Are You Gonna Do With Your Life? -Siberia The four of them are 10/10 in my book.
I do wish that Will would write and contribute more to the band as it just continues to become an Ian solo project in everything but name only.
I clicked about 5. And this is sacrilege, but I may have listened to Reverberation more than any other album (I clicked that as one of my choices). I knew the Bunnymen in the Eighties (and went to a 1987 show), but didn't fill out the early discography until 1991. So the Ian-less one helped ease a sense of having missed out somewhat. They were a lot like the Church; progressing through the Eighties, then resuming with albums going well beyond then. Each had an orchestral album in the mid-80's, but had to wait a bit longer before a song broke them in the States (Lips Like Sugar, Under the Milky Way). Lost their original drummers. Lots of solo projects. Heaven Up Here isn't as strong and consistent as I wanted it to be, but it kinda kept the torch of that fleeting ballsy U.K. post-punk vibe alive until the Chameleons got going.
To me Crocodiles, the Songs To Learn and Sing compilation and the Pictures On My Wall 45 do the job for Echo and the Bunnymen. All are fantastic. I do need that Peel Sessions CD though.
I remember in the 80's many folk saying/assuming that if you like the Bunnymen then you'll like the Chameleons. I never did though.
No surprise there are zero votes for the terrible strings album Moon and Stars - although I do love the piano version of "The Killing Moon".
1) Porcupine 2) Crocodiles 3) A compilation of all the Non-Lp stuff from the beginning to 1987 (Never Stop, Way Out and Up we Go, Angels and Devils (a Masterpiece), Bring on the Dancing Horses, The Puppet, Simple Stuff, etc.) 4) Ocean Rain 5) Shine So Hard 6 Heaven Up Here
I’m probably being a bit harsh as I have strong anti-Mac feelings since 2009 regarding the music and how he has treated Wil. The Fountain was terrible!
I went to Rough Trade last week to listen to Will talk about his new book ‘Bunnymen’ - goodness me, it was boring. unfortunately the book is all about his childhood, and ends just as they are signing a record contract. I did get him to sign a couple of records for me, Self Titled, Crocodiles and Porcupine. That was a nice bonus. He was on good form, it’s just a shame (for me) the book doesn’t cover much of interest. my favourite record of theirs is Evergreen - which unfortunately has never been released on vinyl. I can’t imagine many others would agree with me!
I've dipped in and out of the Bunnies over the years, was really into them around the time of the 1997 comeback for around 5 years, and saw them live 3 times in that period. I have a few albums but they're not a band with which I feel I have to buy everything. I think I have the first 4, then Evergreen, What Are You Going To Do With Your Life? and Flowers. I enjoyed that run of 3 albums so it's good to see some more love for those, but it's a while since I've played any of their stuff. I must say that if I want a quick Bunnies fix I will grab the 2002 Live in Liverpool CD. Great shout on Burned by Electrafixion too, a most excellent album that I'd all but forgotten about until recently. May spin them again before voting, but I haven't heard anything post Flowers.
re--"the cutter" not to confuse the issue, but there may or may not be a compilation with that title (i think i have seen one in a used store recently) and some people may not know it's not an actual "album release."
Brilliant band. All the first four albums are superb but I would probably rate Crocodiles as my favourite. The Shine So Hard live EP is also magnificent and the John Peel Sessions album is worth having too, as it features many of their songs in embryonic form. I'm less familiar with the 90s releases but what I've heard of that is pretty good, especially Evergreen and the live album Me, I'm All Smiles. I saw them a few times in the early 80s and they were absolutely sensational live.
Voted for the first 5 albums. The 5th album, "Echo & The Bunnymen", is crazy underrated/overlooked/misunderstood!! I could say the same thing about "The Game" as a single! It's from that great self-titled 5th album. It's as fave a single as I have by them ("Bring On The Dancing Horses" & "Seven Seas" are on that same level too) That album & "Ocean Rain" (their 4th album) are my probably my faves (at least today).
If you put a gun to my head, I'd probably pick Heaven Up Here as my favorite for sheer propulsive force, though when I'm in a more reflective mood, I might favor Ocean Rain. Echo was also a fantastic live act back in the day, delivering jagged, visceral thrills by the bucketload, and I regularly enjoy performances like Royal Albert Hall, Rockpalast, Shine So Hard, Peel Sessions, etc.
