THE CLASS OF '79 (Part 24)
Last week I mentioned that I would have been very surprised back in 1979 if you had said The Cure would still be churning out hit records 30 years on.
I reckon however that I would have been even more astonished to be told it would be the same for a band that over the years was often compared to that of Fat Bob Smith and his boys...
Again, this wasn't a single I was aware of it when it was released on Zoo Records in May 1979:-
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - The Pictures On My Wall
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen - Read It In Books
It would take be nearly two years ear before I owned anything by Echo & The Bunnymen, and even then it was down to a chance purchase from a bargain bin as the album Crocodiles was in a post-Xmas sale in January 1981. Within months I had bought the new LP Heaven Up Here and was hooked.....
The debut single was recorded when the band was a three-piece, and the flip-side is a joint composition between Ian McCulloch and Julian Cope. Indeed, Cope's own band would soon record their own not too dissimilar version:-
mp3 : The Teardrop Explodes - Books
It was recorded as the b-side to a single which flopped on its initial release, but which went Top Twenty in 1981 when a different version was released. But here's the original:-
mp3 : The Teardrop Explodes - Treason
Two for the price of one today. I do spoil you sometimes.....
6 comments:
No mention of the most talented member of the crucial three though JC?
Better Scream, Remember, Story of the Blues, Come Back et al still sound as fresh to me today as they did then.
Regards
Mike
...yeah, we should get a feature on mr. Wylie sometime (though you must have featured him at some point?)
Love this single, in fact, bought the 7" at Glastonbury in 1997 from a stall, having finally seen them live. Have seen them three times since they reformed, bloody brilliant. Ocean Rain is my favourite, though 'What are You Going To Do With Your Life?' is an underrated gem.
Ed
(17 seconds really does seem to be working now, I've been getting feedback!)
Great stuff. There is an excellent early Peel session with the drum machine...
Rich C
Ahh..what a perfect beginning to Sunday...It's bright an sunny here in Tampa, FL, my best friend sent me a text that he will be taping Echo and the Bunnymen's performance tonight at the All Points West Festival in NYC and overnight it to me tomorrow and The Villian has featured "The Greatest Band of All Time" on his Class of '79!!
As you can tell from my not so subtle scr.name, I live eat and breathe Bunnymen. I stumbled upon them the way I was introduced by many bands when I was in my teens...their album cover. The cover of Crocodiles struck me as cool - kinda haunting. I asked them to play it at my local record shop and I was mesmerized! I STILL AM! There is little they have ever done wrong form my taste, except for the Echo V.2 with Noel Burke and Damon Reece, which I understand, but don't really rate, and the choice (forced from what I have always heard, of Laurie Latham RE-producing the 5th album (Gil Norton would have been the better choice.) October sees the new album and the first single, which was leaked over a year ago sounds strong!
Thanks JC!
I own this 45 also, and this version of the two songs is slightly different than, and much superior to, the versions released on Echo's 1st album. Never knew about the Cope connection, nice tidbit.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful stuff. I wasn't aware of Echo and the Bunnymen until 1981, but then I bought all their back catalogue and as for "Heaven Up Here", well that's still one of my favourite albums of all time.
Hearing the Teardrops' "Reward" on the radio for the very first time was one of those life-changing musical experiences, which opened my ears to some fabulous new music of that time. For me, 1981 was a landmark year for music, once I realised there was another musical world beyond the top 40 singles chart.
And yes, I loved that other 'crucial third' too, and all his incarnations of Wah!
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