My ringtone is usually set to 'The Killing Moon', so yes I am an avid fan of their music. Their only bad album was 'The Fountain'-IMO, so glad that their last album, 'Meteorites' was much better. Also love Ian"s Solo albums, 'Candleland' and 'Mysterio' and the CD reissues with the bonus songs were a great addition. Do not listen to 'The Slideling' as much though. Also, just getting into Vinyl and one of my first purchases(same time I ordered the SH/KG 'Rumours' and Steven Wilson's 'Hand Cannot Erase') was the MoFi version of 'Heaven Up Here'. Wish MoFi would also do 'Crocodiles', 'Porcupine', 'Ocean Rain' & 'Evergreen', and also put those albums out on SACD like they did for most of the albums by The Cars(both Vinyl & Hybrid SACD).
Big fan of Echo since 1980. Crocodiles is on my top 10 all time list. Thank God for college radio as we got to hear a ton of new wave and punk on WRUR in Rochester NY. Still remember going to The Record Archive to get me some Echo,PFurs , Teardrop Explodes and The English Beat.
Oh my God! Don't I know it. I keep going back to them and they floor me. I haven't listened to their releases from the 90s but I heard they were pretty good... "Spare us the Cutter" Man, I love them Ian Mccolugh is a phenomenal singer.
1979/1980/1981 was a great year for Liverpool. Anyone who likes the Bunnymen needs to own the first Teardrop Explodes album as well, which is just as good. What we really need from the Bunnymen now is a comprehensive video collection. I don't know if these things still sell, but it should exist as they were great live and also made great videos. All the promo bids, the Show So Hard footage, Futurama 1980, the Tube appearance etc. It would be a fantastic collection.
Shine So Hard . With you on that one, it's something I've wanted for a long time. Top of the list would be the full A Crystal Day gig which was phenomenal but the video on YouTube isn't complete, despite what it claims. I can clearly remember the usual Gregorian chant intro and dry ice starting and expecting to hear the bass line of Going Up (their usual opener) start, but instead they opened with Read It In Books, a track they didn't play live very often at that stage of their career.
Agree 100%. Back as they came out, first thing I'd do is get their latest album home and learn all the basslines. Did the same with Gang of Four, Joy Division, Stranglers, Hunters & Collectors...
The preorder sold out but if you listen to records you might be interested in this upcoming '85 release. It's All Live Now LP
Love the 80s albums they released, but "Evergreen" and "What are you going to do with your life?" are really good as well. "Siberia" isn't that bad too. I was surprised to see an "unofficial" vinyl release of "What are you going to do..." in Discogs and it was selling at more than $100! Am still hoping for a vinyl release for "Evergreen" and "What are you...".
As other folk have said, those first 4 albums are simply ace! I can still remember John Peel playing My Kingdom when Ocean Rain was released and simply saying "Plangent, boys, plangent". I just love that tweaked Washburn sound on the whole album.
I assume you are talking video, but it is possible to cobble together the complete audio of A Crystal Day with the box set and one of the OR reissues.
That is available on DVD too if you are interested, but like many on this thread I urge you to check out first five albums with original lineup.
My favourite band from my hometown and among my top ten albums is Porcupine. Heads Will Roll is stunning.
They still very much bring it live, as well. McCullough is remarkably well preserved. His voice is a little rougher (probably from smoking) but when he sings it still does that thing, great presence and depth. Somewhere out there is some recent live footage I saw of them, with Will Sergeant tearing it up on a double-neck guitar, he is up there with Johnny Marr, just brilliant. I saw them in 1984 and I was right on the barricade at the side of the stage in front of Will Sergeant, he never took his shades off, cool as anything.
Thanks. I voted for that release on the ROG website, never thinking that it would cost £40+ for a single LP to be shipped to the UK so I gave it a miss. I've got the original bootleg this is based on (On Strike) anyway. Something else from that era wouldn't go amiss.
Last night here the sky was clear, the temps were cool and the moon was bright. Listening to Ocean Rain was perfection.
This thread has made me dig out my copy of Live in Liverpool, which is the soundtrack to a rather interesting time in my life (Rome, 2002). I saw them when they were promoting the album. It was good if not spectacular: long black coats, dark glasses and cooler-than-thou nonchalance. Going through the motions, slightly (and I remember thinking that Ian McCulloch really needed to quit the fags). But listening to the live record again all these years later, two things really stand out: the quality of the songs, just one killer after another, and Will Sergeant's stellar guitar playing. The man always serves the song so well, only doing what is absolutely necessary to enhance the tune. The mark of a great musician in my book.
Band rules hard. The run of 1980-1987 in the 80s is perfection. 5 Excellent albums in a 7 year run. This just doesn't happen anymore. Ian is the most underrated singer of that time and one of most underrated singers of all time. They are still great live as well. Heaven Up Here is my favourite of the bunch.
I've got to admit that I have never checked Reverberation out. I'm curious, though, so would appreciate any comments!
