The Eastern Dark The Eastern Dark
Over Now was played regularly on the Belgian and Dutch "alternative" radio programs, and I was floored. A raw and powerful song, with a chorus that made me cry. It took me a while before I found this, but eventually I did, in the miracle record store Music Man. The sound quality is crappy, but that doesn't matter for straightforward, Ramones-like teen rock like things.
Echo & the Bunnymen A splendid debut album. The title track is amazing, as well as Rescue. McCulloch's energetic and sometimes over the top voice, layers of guitars, hints at the Doors, the Byrds, the Velvet Underground... that's what sums up this album for me.
The second Bunnymen-album is not my favourite. Some songs stand out (A Promise and the title track), but most of the album is just a tad too dark and gloomy.
Another Bunnymen favourite, with the killer song The Cutter. A classic. Sounds quite different from Ocean Rain, less polished. The Back of Love is another superb song.
The first Echo & the Bunnymen album I got, and still my favourite. Dark, moody, gloomy but in a strange way uplifting too. Lots of string arrangments, lots of slow songs. Sublime choruses in The Killing Moon and Seven Seas. Ocean Rain is a terrific song to end the album.
A thoroughly enjoyable mix of old and new Echo material, and this not only because this was one of my favourite bands back in the second half of the eighties, but also because it is a fantastic live band with the confident personality of singer Ian McCulloch in the spotlights and excellent guitarist Will Sergeant in a lead role in the shadow. Granted, the emphasis lies on the old material (and even very old material), but there are also some interesting newer cuts. King of Kings has clear echos of Patti Smith's Dancing Barefoot, Supermellowman sounds like combination of Siouxsie and Bow Wow Wow, An Eternity Turns has slept with the Doors... but I don't mind some pinching as long as it's done properly. And the best recent song of course is Nothing Lasts Forever, with that magical moment where McCulloch sings a bit of Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby. And then there's of course the old songs. Even from debut album Crocodiles, with All That Jazz, tight and with loud guitars. Other than that, there are too many headlights to mention them all, with Rescue (perfect opener with its guitar intro), Seven Seas with again beautiful acoustic and electric guitars and its brilliant chorus, My Kingdom (beautiful intro!), a very poignant and beautiful rendition of Zimbo (All My Colours), a frantic version of The Back of Love, The Killing Moon (Will Sergeant!), a mysterious Over the Wall... The album ends as expected with their pièce de résistance Ocean Rain. At the festival in Lokeren I attended in the summer of 2002, McCulloch said that that was the best song ever written...
Eels I used to listen to this on a daily basis after I bought it, but not any more, it's just too depressing. But that doesn't mean it isn't a wonderful album. The title track made me buy this album, other favourites are Novocaine for the Soul and Rags to Rags. And the lyrics "my beloved monster and me, we go everywhere together, wearing a raincoat that has four sleeves, gets us through all kinds of weather" from My Beloved Monster. And allow me to really dislike Flower. Comes with a great live bonus disc with BBC Radio recordings.
If Beautiful Freak is depressing, then what's this? I ought to have a listen at Daisies of the Galaxy really. I'm afraid that, even though I know it's a great album, I never really got into this one. You have to be in the mood for it, I think, and I haven't been the mood for this one for ages.
Elbow When I first heard Red on Studio Brussel, I thought Elbow was yet another Coldplay-clone. But after listening to the title track Asleep in the Back, I realized this band is so much more than that. I waited to buy this album until the version with the bonus track Asleep in the Back was released (oddly enough, the track wasn't on the initial release), only to find out later on that Can't Stop was dropped from the European release (I presume? U.K. versions still come with both the bonus track and Can't Stop). Oh the confusion. But, Can't Stop or not, this is a wonderful album. It starts out surprisingly with Any Day Now in a sort of prog rock way, with vague reminders of Pink Floyd. Red was a beautiful eye-catcher, but according to me not the strongest track on the album by far. Little Beast again takes you in another direction you would have thought, a dry, distant and repetitive track. Powder Blue is very melodious, with beautiful backing vocals and a surprising and abrupt ending. Bitten by the Tailfly is a bit in the vein of Little Beast, repetitive and rather distant, but with a loud guitar that jumps at you and building into controlled chaos. The two masterpieces are cosily in the middle of the album: the title (and bonus) track Asleep in the Back is a poignant song with a magnificent chorus followed by one of the most beautiful bridges and outros I've ever heard. It's followed by Newborn, a song that meticulously builds up to a climax with a retro organ and soaring vocals. Don't Mix Your Drinks is the silence after the sonic storm, and catching breath for the aaaah-aaaah-aaaaahs of Presuming Ed (Rest Easy). Coming Second is a strange but beautiful track with perfect harmonies and a dirty guitar, all again meticulously crafted into a disturbing outro. The album ends with Scattered Black and Whites, a slow piano song with echoes of U2's Where the Streets Have No Name. But Elbow doesn't need any comparisons, their music is strong enough to stand on its own.
ENZSO Split Enz songs performed by a symphony orchestra and a youth choir... I guess you have to hear it to believe that it works. Some songs are too bombastic, but some are pure magic. Message to My Girl sends shivers down my spine, Under the Wheel with Sam Hunt has a little passage that does it every time I hear it, Voices is one of those songs that is at the same too bombastic and unbelievably wonderful. I never thought I would really like something like this, but I do. I heard that ENZSO 2 is even more bombastic than this, and none of the original Enz members are involved, so I never bothered buying that album.
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