Crocodiles is the debut album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. "Pictures on My Wall" and "Rescue" had previously been released as singles.
Echo & the Bunnymen formed in 1978 and originally consisted of Ian McCulloch (vocals and rhythm guitar), Will Sergeant (lead guitar), Les Pattinson (bass) and a drum machine. They released their debut single, "The Pictures on My Wall", in May 1979 on the independent label Zoo Records. The band then signed with WEA subsidiary label Korova and were persuaded to employ a drummer.[4]Pete de Freitas subsequently joined the band, and in early 1980 they recorded their second single, "Rescue". The single was recorded at Eden Studios in London and produced by fellow Liverpudlian and ex-member of Big in Japan Ian Broudie.[5]
A British tour followed in June 1980 before the band went to Rockfield Studios to record their debut album. Despite talk of the American singer Del Shannon being asked to produce the album, it was produced by the band's manager Bill Drummond and his business partner and The Teardrop Explodeskeyboard player David Balfe.[6] The recording of the album only took three weeks,[6] but Pattinson was surprised by the boring nature of the recording process: "There was a lot of hanging about. I didn't get all the 'drop-ins' and 'edits' bit."[7]
Music and lyrics
The music on Crocodiles is generally dark and moody: In 1980, the British music magazine NME described McCulloch's lyrics as "scattered with themes of sorrow, horror, and despair, themes that are reinforced by stormy animal/sexual imagery" and American music magazine Creem described Crocodiles as "a moody, mysterious, fascinating record."[8] In 1981, music journalist David Fricke, writing for Rolling Stone magazine, said, "Instead of dope, McCulloch trips out on his worst fears: isolation, death and emotional bankruptcy."[9]
In his 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978–1984, British music journalist Simon Reynolds describes the sound of the album as "pared and sparse."[10] He goes on to describe Pattinson's "granite basslines" carrying the melody; Sergeant's guitar playing as "jagged-quartz" and avoiding "anything resembling a solo, apart from the odd flinty peal of lead playing"; de Freitas' drumming as minimal and "surging urgency"; and McCulloch's vocals as having "precocious authority." Reynolds describes the songs as being rooted in "doubt, anguish, despair" while the "tightness and brightness of their sound transmits contradictory sensations of confidence, vigour and euphoria."[10] He also describes how the line "Stars are stars and they shine so hard" from the track "Stars Are Stars" showed how the band felt no embarrassment in their wish to be famous.[11] In 1989 McCulloch told Reynolds how, as a teenager, he felt there was "a big movie camera in the sky." McCulloch described the opening line of the track "Going Up"– "Ain't thou watching my film"– as a terrible line, and he went on to say "It was meant to be tongue in cheek, but that was what spurred me on."[11]
Cover
The cover photograph is one of a series taken by photographer Brian Griffin[5] in the woods near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire at night. The photos show themes of introspection, despair and confusion.[12] Describing the cover photo, music journalist Chris Salewicz said, "[...] the Bunnymen are placed in poses of histrionic despair in a near-neurotically gothic woodland that evokes memories of elfin glades and fabled Arthurian legends."[13]Creem magazine said, "The cover art suggests four boys dazed and confused in a drugged dream, a surreal where-are-we landscape. The Bunnymen's images are of loneliness, disconnection, a world gone awry."[8]
Originally the band wanted the pictures to include burning stakes, but given the possible KKK connotations, they settled for moody lighting instead.[12] However, McCulloch was pleased with the cover, saying "the cover [...] is better to look at than the Mona Lisa."[14] Sergeant was less happy, saying that he "was pissed off that there was a solo picture of [McCulloch] on the back cover."[15]
In the book The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds by John Higgs, Bill Drummond says that he saw the face of "Echo", an imagined giant rabbit, in the cover design.[16]
Releases
The album was originally released as an LP in the United Kingdom on 18 July 1980 by Warner Bros. subsidiary label Korova. Two tracks, "Do It Clean" and "Read It in Books", were included on the cassette but were initially omitted from the LP version of the album because the managing director of Warner Bros., Rob Dickins, mistakenly thought that they contained obscenities.[6] After Dickins realised his error, the tracks were included on the American version of the album, which was released by Sire Records on 17 December 1980. The two tracks were included with the UK release as a limited-edition single. The album was first released on CD in May 1989 by WEA in the UK. It was released on CD in the US by Sire Records the following year. The track listings found on these versions were the same as those of the original LP releases for each country.
Along with Echo & the Bunnymen's first five albums, Crocodiles was remastered and reissued on CD in 2003, marketed as a 25th-anniversary edition ten bonus tracks on the UK version and eight on the American version. The UK version contained the missing tracks "Do It Clean" and "Read It in Books". The other bonus tracks included "Simple Stuff", which was the B-side to the single "Rescue"; early versions of "Villiers Terrace", "Pride" and "Simple Stuff" from the album's recording sessions; and the four tracks from the Shine So Hard EP, "Crocodiles", "Zimbo", "All That Jazz" and "Over the Wall". The reissued album was produced by music historian Andy Zax and producer Bill Inglot.[5]
Two singles were released before the album's release. "Pictures on My Wall" (as "The Pictures on My Wall"), the band's first single, was released on 5 May 1979. The single version was recorded before de Freitas had joined the band, but the song was re-recorded for the album with de Freitas on drums.[17] The band's second single, "Rescue", released on 5 May 1980, became the band's first song to chart when it reached number 62 on the UK Singles Chart.[18]
Scottish band Idlewildcovered the track "Rescue" on their single "These Wooden Ideas" in June 2000.[19] In late 2001, American singer-songwriter Kelley Stoltz released the album Crockodials, a track-by-track cover version of the original Crocodiles album.[20]
Writing for NME in 1980, Chris Salewicz described the album as "being probably the best album this year by a British band."[13] In his review of the album for Smash Hits, Ian Cranna said that the album was "proof positive that there's just no substitute for a good song delivered with power and emotion." Cranna added, "[The band] deliver attractive melodies with dark and moody (but not obscure) personal lyrics, all turned into compulsive listening by a driving beat, ringing guitars and a hauntingly emotional voice."[28] Reviewing the album in 1981 for Rolling Stone magazine, David Fricke awarded it four out of five stars and described McCulloch's vocals: "[He] specializes in a sort of apocalyptic brooding, combining Jim Morrison-style psychosexual yells, a flair for David Bowie-like vocal inflections and the nihilistic bark of his punk peers into a disturbing portrait of the singer as a young neurotic."[9] Fricke went on to say, "Behind him, gripping music swells into Doors-style dirges ('Pictures on My Wall'), PiL-like guitar dynamics ('Monkeys'), spookily evocative pop ('Rescue') and Yardbirds-cum-Elevators ravers jacked up in the New Wave manner ('Do It Clean,' 'Crocodiles')." Reviewing the 2003 remastered version for American music magazine Blender's website, reviewer Andrew Harrison also gave the album four out of five stars and said, "[...] the Bunnymen were a pure nihilistic thrill, with Will Sergeant's desperate, mantra-like guitar summoning up a primal night of blinking hallucinations."[22]
Crocodiles reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart in July 1980.[18] The album has since sold over 100,000 copies and the band were awarded a gold disc for the album on 5 December 1984 by the British Phonographic Industry.[30] In 1993, the NME listed Crocodiles at number 28 in its list of the 50 greatest albums of the 1980s.[31] In 2006, Uncut magazine listed the album at number 69 on its list of the 100 greatest debut albums.[32] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[33] In 2020, Rolling Stone included Crocodiles in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising "Will Sergeants’ ice-dagger guitar and Les Pattinson’s spelunking bass, making “Rescue” and “Pictures on My Wall” the perfect invitations to crawl down into Ian’s hot pit of despair."[34]
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer.
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released on 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States album charts when it reached number 184 of the Billboard 200. The songs "A Promise" and "Over the Wall" were released as singles.
Porcupine is the third studio album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest-charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart despite initially receiving poor reviews. It also reached number 137 on the American Billboard 200, number 85 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 24 on the Swedish chart. In 1984, the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The album includes the singles "The Back of Love" and "The Cutter."
Echo & the Bunnymen is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen, their last with drummer Pete de Freitas, who died in 1989 in a motorcycle accident, aged 27. The album was produced by Laurie Latham; the sessions took place in Germany, Belgium, London and Liverpool, following an aborted attempt at recording the tracks without de Freitas and with producer Gil Norton. With Latham being an exacting producer, and lead vocalist Ian McCulloch receiving star treatment and drinking heavily, the recording was more difficult than the band had initially hoped. The album made more use of keyboards than their previous studio albums, which had been string-heavy. Three singles were issued: "The Game", "Lips Like Sugar" and "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo".
Evergreen is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. It is their first album since reforming after they disbanded in 1993. Vocalist Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant had previously worked together as Electrafixion before they were rejoined by bassist Les Pattinson under the name Echo & the Bunnymen in early 1997. The album was recorded at Doghouse Studios in Henley-on-Thames and was produced by McCulloch and the band's manager Paul Toogood but was credited to the whole band.
Songs to Learn & Sing is a compilation album by English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen, released on 11 November 1985 by Korova. Featuring all of the singles the band had released up to that point, the album received positive reviews and reached number six on the UK Albums Chart.
Leslie Thomas Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool-based band Echo & the Bunnymen, along with vocalist Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant. He was brought up in Aughton, Lancashire and attended nearby Deyes High School in Maghull, where he and Sergeant were classmates and became friends.
Crystal Days: 1979–1999 is a four CD box set by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in July 2001. It is a retrospective compilation of the band's work between 1979 and 1999. The first three cds include most of their singles, several album tracks, some alternate mixes, unreleased songs and B-sides published on 7-inch and 12-inch vinyls, plus versions recorded for John Peel sessions on BBC Radio 1. The fourth CD is a live cd with cover versions.
"The Pictures on My Wall" is the first single released by English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen and was released on 5 May 1979 in a limited issue of 4,000 copies. The single reached number twenty-four on the UK Indie Chart.
Shine So Hard is a live 12" EP released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen on 10 April 1981. The EP reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
"A Promise" is the fourth single by Echo & the Bunnymen and was released on 10 July 1981. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and peaked at number 49. Apart from the Australian-only release of "Over the Wall" later in the year, "A Promise" is the only single to have been released from the band's second album, Heaven Up Here (1981).
"Over the Wall" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in 1981 in Australia and is from the 1981 album Heaven Up Here. The b-side of the single, which was not released in any other country, was the title track from the band's 1980 debut album, Crocodiles. Unlike the band's previous singles, "Over the Wall" was released without a picture sleeve.
"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the band's third studio album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983.
"Lips Like Sugar" is a single by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen, which was released in August 1987. It was the second single from their eponymous fifth studio album (1987).
"I Want to Be There (When You Come)" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in September 1997. It was the second single released after Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson reformed the band. It was also the second single to be released from their 1997 album, Evergreen. It reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, number 26 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, and number 16 on the Canadian RPM Alternative 30 chart.
"Don't Let It Get You Down" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in November 1997. It was the third single released after Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson reformed the band. It was also the third single to be released from their 1997 album, Evergreen. It reached number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.
"It's Alright" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 23 April 2001 on the Cooking Vinyl record label. It was the first single to be released from the 2001 album Flowers. It reached number 41 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Sound of Echo is an EP that was released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in February 1984. The EP is also known as the Never Stop EP and the Echo and the Bunnymen EP. The EP takes tracks from their 1980 Crocodiles album, their 1983 Porcupine album and adds a non-album single and a live track. The EP was released on 12-inch vinyl. The live track, "Do It Clean", was recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 18 July 1983.
The Peel Sessions is an EP that was released in 1988 of music recorded by Echo & the Bunnymen for a John Peel radio show in 1979. The tracks on the EP were recorded in studio number four at BBC Radio's Maida Vale Studios on 15 August 1979 and they were first transmitted on The John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1 on 22 August 1979. The EP reached number seven on the UK Indie Chart.
Avalanche is an EP that was released in October 2000 by Echo & the Bunnymen. The EP was released on CD by Gimme Music and was only available to buy on the internet.
↑ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2010. Note: User needs to enter "echo & the bunnymen" in the "Search" field and then click "Go". The user then needs to click on "More Info >>" next to the entry for Crocodiles.
↑ "The 50 Greatest Albums of The '80s". NME. 25 September 1993. p.19. ISSN0028-6362.
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