Echo And The Bunnymen "Crocodiles" 1980 (LP) 2003 (CD rem.)*****

I first saw Echo & The Bunnymen on my 30th birthday. I won't say how long ago it was, but the ticket stump contains enough clues: Athens' Rodon Club was still open and it was paid in drachmas, not euros. It was a great concert, the band had given a strong, confident performance and played a good selection of their classic songs. Seeing them again lately at The Hague's Paard Van Troje wasn't any different. Ian McCullogh didn't seem a day older, maybe because he wore dark shades on a dark stage behind a cloud of fog - essentially a silhouette underneath an eerie blue light. He was as cocky as always, introducing "The Killing Moon" as "the second best song ever written" (because "The Cutter" was the best). In the recent concert he played a lot of the early, gloomy material - I counted 8 songs from this CD, 5 from the original LP plus 3 of the bonus tracks. And who can blame him? Despite the fact it wasn't as successful as the albums that followed it, it still stands as one of the best debuts of the new wave era (better, for example, than those of Siouxsie or The Cure), a timeless well of misery for pessimistic romantic youths. I own it twice: on LP, and on CD for the great bonus tracks.

Ask anyone about the greatest band from Liverpool, and there's no arguing: The Beatles, right? Except maybe for two people who would dare to put themselves up as candidates: Ian McCullogh and Julian Cope. Not surprisingly, these two gigantic egos couldn't fit in one band: A few weeks after forming Liverpool's first punk group (The Crucial 3) together with Pete Wylie, they all went in separate directions: Cope went on with Teardrop Explodes, Pete Wylie created Wah! and McCullogh teamed with guitarist Will Sergeant, bassist Les Pattinson and a drum machine called Echo to form Echo and The Bunnymen. The band was later completed with Pete De Freitas on drums - so poor Echo was kicked out of its own band by a bunch of humans, but they kept the name nonetheless! Early singles were re-recorded for their debut album, with the help of real drummer Pete and co-producer (and member of Teardrop Explodes) David Balfe on keyboards - which probably means that the rivalry between the two Scouse bands wasn't quite as deep as they would have us believe. For those (like me) whose first contact with the band was through the lush sounds of their "Killing Moon" period, the sound here may seem stark and depressing. The darkness fits well with the late 70's zeitgeist, though. Bands like Joy Division and Cure were kindred spirits, though The Bunnymen were also in thrall with the psychedelic 60s, particularly The Doors who seem to have influenced McCullogh's singing, which is melodramatic and croon-like.

vinyl front

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Sergeant's guitar is expressive, creating atmosphere and shades while eschewing the usual displays of volume or dexterity associated with classic rock. The bass and drums are edgy in typical post punk fashion. In the opener "Going Up" the song surfaces slowly from silence to noise to melody. It sets the tone for the whole record with its sturdy bass line, economic guitar playing and dramatic singing. "Stars Are Stars" has a sorrowful melody and a vocal that seems to duet with itself.

"Pride" is a rocker full of angst and stressful urgency, "Monkeys" is notable for Will's fluid and melodic guitarwork and for Ian's vocal Morrison-isms. "Crocodiles" is as close as the album comes to punk rock, with aggressive vocals and razor sharp riffs. "Rescue" is The Bunnymen's first perfect pop single, from the intro's chiming guitar to the big melodic chorus invoking David Bowie. Lyrically it is a cry for help from someone who's lost his way. "Villiers Terrace" isn't any happier with its images of "people rolling round on the carpet/mixing up the medicine". A comparison to an early demo recorded with Echo (included here as bonus track) shows the band's tremendous progression in a few months: It's still dark and edgy, but the sound is richer, augmented with chiming keyboards and complex drum rhythms. "Pictures on My Wall" is a dark psychedelic piece with haunted organ, reminiscent of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. "All That Jazz" is a defiant rocker with propulsive drumming and "Happy Death Man" is a dark experimental piece full of unexpected details like the jovial horns rising above the maniacal drumming and general cacophony. This is the end of the original album, but the compilers loaded the reissue with a bunch of great extras. Two of them were included in some cassette versions of the album but not in the LP: "Do It Clean" shows the band's love for garage rock with its 60's sounding organ and Yardbirds-style guitar, while "Read It in Books" (co-written with Julian Cope during their days in the Crucial 3) is early Floyd-like psychedelia. Single B-side "Simple Stuff" is another garage rocker, updating the 13th Floor Elevators sound for the goth generation. An early demo of the song included here as bonus is good, but the other two recordings with Echo ("Villiers Terrace", "Pride") are quite raw. The CD is also augmented with the rare live E.P. "Shine So Hard" containing "Crocodiles", "All That Jazz" as well as two tracks that would appear on their next album: rocker "Over the Wall" (funky bass and wild drumming) & "Zimbo" (atmospheric, it would later be renamed "All My Colours"). The performance is tight, passionate and energetic and the recording is clear enough to allow us a glimpse into what a concert of the angry young Bunnymen sounded like - did I just write angry bunny men? Jeez, what an ill-fitting name!

***** for Stars Are Stars, Pride, Rescue, Villiers Terrace, Do It Clean

**** for Going Up, Monkeys, Crocodiles, Pictures on My Wall, All That Jazz, Read It in Books, Simple Stuff, Over the Wall(live)

*** for Happy Death Men, Pride(early version), Simple Stuff(early version), Crocodiles(live), Zimbo(live), All That Jazz(live)

** for Villiers Terrace(early version)