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 might 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.

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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) 

Various Artists "URGH! A Music War The Album" 1981****

URGH! A MUSIC WAR is a music documentary, consisting of live performances in various places around 1980. It presented the multi-faceted post-punk musical reality and its soundtrack constantly leaps from one genre to the next. Let's look at the tracks one by one:

1.The Police – "Driven to Tears"*** Proof that, in his pre-millionnaire days, Sting led a tight rock band

2.Wall of Voodoo – "Back in Flesh"*** The Fall meet Captain Beefheart? Or America's answer to John Lydon's P.I.L? In any case, not likely to win many fans. After the song, the singer declares that "Show business is my life". Maybe he should try his hand at prestidigitation.

3.Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – "Enola Gay"***** The opening synths of this song is The Sound of New Wave to me. A perfect single and a great live performance.

4.Oingo Boingo – "Ain't This the Life"*** Danny Elfman's ska/jazz/punk alma matter. Always a weird one, he was bound to end up collaborating with Tim Burton! This one could have been in Corpse Bride, I can't help but picture dancing skeletons when I listen to it...

5.XTC – "Respectable Street"** New Wave with funk overtones. Not impressed with the live performance, though. C'mon XTC, you can do better than that...

6.Go Go's – "We Got the Beat"***. Never mind that popster Belinda Carlisle began her career here. The Go-Gos were a great girl group in the best 60's tradition

7.Klaus Nomi – "Total Eclipse"***** The voice! The wardrobe! The haircut! The make-up! Nomi certainly was one of a kind, with his operatic vocals, Kraftwerk synths and electric guitars. And this song is his zenith, recorded shortly before he regrettably became the first celebrity to die of AIDS...

8.Jools Holland – "Foolish I Know"*** Jazzy piano from former Squeeze pianist, soon to become a successful TV show host. 

9.Steel Pulse – "Ku Klux Klan"**** Top-Class Roots Reggae and antifa message from these Birmingham based Jamaicans

10.Devo – "Uncontrollable Urge"**** Better than expected - an energetic punk rock performance!

11.Echo and the Bunnymen – "The Puppet"**** A rough, full of angst performance by Ian McCullough - different than his usual croon. Interesting!

12.The Cramps – "Tear It Up"**** Inventors of psychobilly in all their psychotic majesty

13.Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – "Bad Reputation"*** Although already a rock veteran with the Runaways, Jett was still young enough to identify with punk's rebellion against the "hippy generation" of rock. This one sounds like a mix of the Beach Boys, Ramones and...Cyndi Lauper.

14.Pere Ubu – "Birdies"** These Art-Punks from Ohio were never big crowd pleasers, yet they receive an enthusiastic reception

15.Gary Numan – "Down in the Park"*** Kraftwerk-like synths and Joy Division detachment from an emblematic figure of New Wave.

16.The Fleshtones – "Shadow Line"*** Garage Soul party rockers, still going strong today.

17.Gang of Four – "He'd Send in the Army"*** Angular guitars, funky bass, socially conscious lyrics - that's what Go4 were always about, that's also what they deliver here.

18.999 – "Homicide"*** By 1980, the music press had officially declared Punk is Dead. 999 sang "I believe in Homicide" and proved it's alive and aggressive as ever. If you see them coming your way, better change sidewalk...

19.X – "Beyond and Back"**** LA's finest punks, whose  records were produced by the most un-punk-like Ray Manzarek. With Siouxsie lookalike Exene Cervenka on vocals and fiery rockabilly guitar licks courtesy of Billy Zoom.

20.Magazine – "Model Worker"** A stellar New Wave band, but I think they underperform here.

21.Skafish – "Sign of the Cross"*** The only band I hadn't heard before. Based on their name I would have guessed they played ska music, but they surprised me with their hardcore punk, almost metal, attack and anti-religious lyrics. They obviously weren't trying to make any friends. Gotta respect them for that!

All in all, URGH! is a perfect snapshot of the scattered musical landscape after the punk attack on the musical industry, catching the fleeting moment of free music expression before the industry took the upper hand again, limiting artistic liberties with "professional" productions, lifeless digital sound and made-for-MTV videos. The film offers more goodies not included in the soundtrack, such as performances by Dead Kennedys, UB40, Surf Punks, Members, Alleycats, Au Pairs etc. Watch it on the big screen or low-resolution VHS, for the full period effect...