"There's something to be said for you and your hopes of higher ruling, but the slug on my neck won't stop chewing."
Easily the darkest and most difficult of Echo & The Bunnymen's initial run of albums (which is really saying something given this band's penchant for gloom), Heaven Up Here stands with Ocean Rain as their most fully-formed and ceaselessly inventive artistic statements. While not as strikingly melodic as their debut, Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here offers a wider sonic palette, even including some traces of funk. Ian McCulloch has said that the band was trying to come up with a "soul album," and though there isn't anything recognizably soul about this album in the traditional sense, Heaven Up Here does have a unique sound that sets it apart from any other Post-Punk album of its era. From the work of vastly underrated rhythm section Pete De Frietas and Les Pattinson to Will Sergeant's increasingly nuanced guitar work to McCulloch's powerful croon, Echo & The Bunnymen sound like a band steeped in intimations of their own brilliance. For example, "It Was a Pleasure" sounds like a Talking Heads' song dragged, kicking and screaming, into much darker territory, with Sergeant's staccato funk punctuating one of McCulloch's more Bowie-esque vocals. Chronologically situated as it is between their debut and the more accessible albums that followed on its heels, Heaven Up Here offers a glimpse of Echo & The Bunnymen in their most uncompromising phase.
Heaven Up Here (2003 Remaster)
1. Show of Strength (4:49)
2. With a Hip (3:16)
3. Over the Wall (5:59)
4. It Was a Pleasure (3:12)
5. A Promise (4:08)
6. Heaven Up Here (3:45)
7. The Disease (2:28)
8. All My Colours (4:06)
9. No Dark Things (4:27)
10. Turquoise Days (3:51)
11. All I Want (4:09)
-Bonus Tracks-
12. Broke My Neck (Long Version) (7:22)
13. Show of Strength (Live) (4:41)
14. The Disease (Live) (1:53)
15. All I Want (Live) (3:09)
16. Zimbo (Live) (3:52)
I wont argue that this album is a classic and, in fact, in heavy rotation in my record stack. But, am I the only person that thinks Porcupine is their finest hour?
ReplyDeleteI do love "Porcupine," and it was the first one I purchased way back in '83, but in my book, it comes up 4th. However, I could be persuaded otherwise :)
ReplyDelete1981 and I was really into The Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds. Oh and Elvis Costello.... So I missed the whole Echo and the Bunnymen scene. Oh well.
ReplyDeletescurfie, speaking of the Psychedelic furs, I recently DLed all their early stuff in remasters. Those should start showing up here some time soon :)
ReplyDeleteThe covers of the first 4 EBM albums are all classics, especially Heaven up Here
ReplyDeleteHeaven Up Here was the first I heard, and remains my favorite - all angular crashing post punk darkness without the later sugar. Weighty without self-indulgence.
ReplyDeleteNothing against Porcupine.
And the Furs - the 1st 3 records are a sort of holy trinity. And no one sounded like Richard Butler.
Jamie Anderson, I completely agree. Absolutely great covers. I think my favorite is "Crocodiles"
ReplyDeletereindeer man, I'm feeling pretty inspired to post some early furs soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks ... I'm intersting by "crocdiles", "pocupine" and "ocean rain" . I have the cd's but can't numerize it with "copy control"
ReplyDeleteI've got a bunch of Furs on vinyl and CD. They always had that certain something. I'd like to see some Love Spit Love perhaps only because I don't have any.
ReplyDeleteMy introduction to Echo & The Bunnymen was two tapes I bought in 1989 at a used record store, Porcupine and Ocean Rain. I didn't hear Heaven Up Hear until much later. It was, of course, a revelation. Still, there's something about Porcupine. The title song alone does it for me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for collision imagery.
which one had villiers terrace on it? love that song
ReplyDeleteAnon & bedlam, I have posted most of Echo & The Bunnymen's albums. Use this link and scroll down:
ReplyDeletehttp://killingmoonmusic.blogspot.com/search/label/Echo%20and%20The%20Bunnymen
bedlam, "Villiers Terrace" is on the debut album, "Crocodiles"
I will post "Porcupine" sometime this weekend
ReplyDeleteMost of Bunnymen's albums are very good but my favourite still remains their debut, as sounds more rough and psychedelic to me. That early 80's psychedelic Liverpool scene was great: Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes,Le Mat(any chance to find something ? Only I got a bloody tape that hardly can play)
ReplyDeletefrankroo, no Le Mat to be found anywhere. hmmmm
ReplyDeleteI saw the Furs live. I don't need to say more...except I'm going to try this Echo album. Thanks voixautre!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks !!!!
ReplyDeletescurfie & anon., you're welcome!
ReplyDeleteI remember at first thinking these guys weren't dark enough, as I was steeping myself in the heroin-soaked dirge of The Cure's Faith and Seventeen Seconds at the time.
ReplyDeletei've been up to villiers terrace / i've been in a daze for days / i drank some of the medici-i-i-ine / and i didn't like the taste
ReplyDeleteYou don't want people coming to the Apple Brand SuccessApple continued to focus on your student loan audit findings which must also take into account the frequent moments when the server is down or over capacity. What you need to know to succeed in network Student Loan if income potential was limited? The Emergency Transitional Education Board of Trustees met to consider the distinctiveness of your product or service. Firstly, determine how many interactions are needed.
ReplyDeleteHere is my website; Youngbusiness.info