Oh no, the Green monster of jealousy is rearing its ugly head. Good for you! What a great opportunity.
A band I really liked back when they started but lost track of over the years, and rediscovered/remembered in recent times. They hold up really well, and the newer stuff is still pretty dang fine - Meteorites is a very good record. One of my recent faves though, is the Ian McCullough "Live at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral" live set...awesome stripped down "unplugged" versions of his solo and Echo stuff.
Those 80s albums were great! I was lucky to see them open for New Order back in '87, which was the last tour before their drummer, Pete was killed in a car wreck.
I am a much bigger Bunnymen fan over U2, but I read somewhere that the reason U2 was way more popular in the US is that they made efforts to tour here, and the Bunnymen preferred to not come over here to promote their early albums with US Tour Stops. If I am wrong, than someone can correct me, but I do recall reading this backstory on why they were just cult status in the US(at least during their first 3 albums). I do think that U2 releasing a great live album(Red Rocks-which was a great album although short in length) had an impact on their popularity. Also, I am sure to tick off the Beatles Fanatics with this statement, but to me the Bunnymen were the best band to come out of Liverpool. I only bought 5 Beatles CDs when the 2009 Remasters were released(although bought the Blue CDs in the early 2000s, along with 'Revolver' just to see why Readers Poll in 'Q' Magazine rated 'Revolver' #1 over 'OK Computer' and found it ok, but really do not listen to it that often), but I must have listened to all of the Bunnymen & McCulloch Solo CDs 100 Times more than any one by The Beatles(except for 'The Fountain' that I mentioned in a prior post which I thought was not too good).
Wow, I wasn't aware of that unplugged live album. Purchased it immediately for 13 euro which is not bad comparing all the other prices being asked for it Thanks for your post!
I like the later stuff but I think the early 80's stuff is where the real magic was, they were on fire for a while.
The Bunnymen are never far from my turntable (or CD player). The first four are the classics. I quite like Evergreen and What are you going ... The Electrafixion album is good too. I also like Reverberation though Ian Mac's voice is missing on that one. Seen them live both back in the 80s and more recently when they have been doing those 'play an album live' type gigs. I'm afraid that I won't bother again as Mac's voice has gone. A shame as his voice was terrific when he was younger.
Jeff my local thrift had the S/T EP 1983 5 tracker for cheap, is the live cut of Do it Clean worth going back for?
I think so, since they are powerful live and that is a great cut. What else is on that EP? I can't recall.
Never Stop (which I think is the Discotheque version) The Cutter Rescue The Back of Love ....all studio versions. Can't go wrong with that.
Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured from reading the reviews. They couldn't possibly be as good as their earlier stuff.
Echo & The Bunnymen - Evergreen May not be everything, but it does have my favorite version of Rescue.
We'll agree to disagree then...DR numbers are on the DR Database if anyone wants to take a look. The '04 remasters are louder, but I still prefer them.
Incidentally, I'm just listening to the 80's CD of Heaven Up Here and I must say that if I had forgotten something, it was how good this disc actually sounds sonically. I've also heard and listened to the remaster and while it probably didn't sound too bad either, I don't recall ever having particularly thought that it sounded good or pleasant. This original CD release most certainly does. (Please feel free to ignore this; the last time I checked, I didn't have my gear listed in my profile, so technically I'm not allowed to comment on sound quality.)
Indeed, the early stuff had Pete and Les, hence the magic. I still like the later stuff too, but it's not quite the same without that rhythm section.
Pete was a fantastic drummer. I know I'm a bit biased, but I think it really is true. He can do the powerful stuff, like the live Zimbo, the more delicate stuff with say brushes, and his drumming is always interesting and adds an element of musicality that is rare in drummers (most just play the beat) - listen to things like The Cutter and Back of Love and the drums are like a lead instrument. Certainly one of the great drummers in rock in my opinion and not rated highly enough. It's very rare in a rock band to just listen out for the drums and enjoy what they are doing but you can with Pete. Ironic of course given they were named after a drum machine. I think I saw Pete after he left, I think it was a band called maybe the Sex Gods? I think they were supporting the Ramones but I could be wrong.
