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Underground > Radio & Music >

Echo and the Bunnymen

14:03 / 01.01.03

After loving the Killing Moon form Donnie Darko. I'm dying to here more. Can anyone suggest a few songs to start out with? Maybe enough to fill a cd.

14:19 / 01.01.03

There's a greatest-hits CD called Songs to Learn and Sing that's pretty good--really runs the gamut from the more aggressive/punky early stuff through the brief techno-dance phase through the lush, orchestral pop phase.

If you insist on downloading individual choons, here's a few to look for:

Rescue
The Puppet
Do It Clean
The Cutter
Silver
Seven Seas
Bring on the Dancing Horses
Lips Like Sugar

The Bunnymen were, like the Smiths, a quintessential singles band.

15:02 / 01.01.03

There's a more recent Best Of compilation: Ballyhoo: The Best of Echo & The Bunnymen which features a mixture of singles and album cuts that's a great introduction.

But I'd suggest getting hold of the early albums as you won't be disappointed: Crocodiles features classic Bunnymen songs such as Do It Clean, Rescue and Pictures On My Wall. Then there's Heaven Up Here - a more darker album that features the single A Promise. Porcupine is a great album that takes the Bunnymen back to a pop sensibility and features The Cutter, Back Of Love and Clay (one of my favourite songs). Ocean Rain ("The Greatest Album ever made" ran the ads) will give you The Killing Moon, Seven Seas, Silver and the brilliant title track. After that, I'd go for the excellent 1997 album Evergreen.

But also go check out the 4 disc box set Crystal Days which has pretty much all the best stuff: singles, alternative versions, radio sessions, 12" mixes etc etc. along with a book packed with photos and anecdotes about the band and their records.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

02:05 / 02.01.03

Crocodiles and Ocean Rain, definitely.

04:01 / 02.01.03

Check out Pavement's cover of Killing Moon, which is at least as good as E&tB's original version, if not better (though I'm leaning on the "better" side).

Matthew Fluxington

04:36 / 02.01.03

The Pavement cover of The Killing Moon is really amazing (particularly this one live version I have which includes a bit of R.E.M.'s "Green Grow The Rushes" sung over the ending), but let me tell you that in spite of my very heavy Pave-bias, I do think the original is pretty much the best, and I don't think it can be improved upon. There's just something so beautiful and timeless about the Echo version, it's got a very specific aura about it. I'm not a huge Echo fan, but I think that song is probably one of the finest rock songs ever recorded.

Speaking of Echo & The Bunnymen covers, Solex did a cover of "The Cutter" which I do think is a bit better than the original. It's sort of hard to come by, though.

14:09 / 02.01.03

Thanks guys. I'm not going to be able to buy an album for at least a few weeks. So can I have a few more songs before I put it on a CD? I've only got about 13:

Rescue
The Puppet
Do It Clean
The Cutter
Silver
Seven Seas
Bring on the Dancing Horses
Lips Like Sugar
A Promise
Back of Love
Clay
The Killing Moon
Pictures On My Wall

17:34 / 02.01.03

I'm partial to the earlier stuff, like from Crocodiles

Villiers Terrace
Breaking the Back of Love
Way Down and Up We Go, from "Revenge of the Killer B's"
Stars Are Stars
Rescue
Pride
Over the Wall

Try to find the "Zoo" version of Pictures On My Wall. It came from a compilation LP, To The Shores Of Lake Placid, that also included fellow Paisley Underground bands The Teardrop Explodes and Lori and the Chameleons ("The Lonely Spy"), and was included as a 7" with Songs To Learn And Sing. It's got a simpler arrangement than the later version on Crocodiles.

Also, try the live version of "The Puppet," from Urgh, a Music War.