Echo & the Bunnymen Albums (13)
'Breaking the Back of Love'
Release Date 4/15/2008
Tracks 12
Label Great American
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Yet another in an increasingly virulent stream of albums targeted at the final three hermits who do not yet have a copy of The Killing Moon at hand. Echo & the Bunnymen have been peculiarly overlooked in the pantheon of '80s greats, perhaps a consequence of never being quite as good as they said they were. And this set, taken from a live show at London's Shepherds Bush Empire during their 2005 Siberia tour, does little to remedy that situation. Always better in the studio than live and in the flesh, the album cobbles together a decent selection of the band's greatest hits, including "The Cutter," "The Killing Moon," "Lips Like Sugar," and "The Back of Love," while adding the newer "Stormy Weather" and "Scissors in the Sand" in case you overlooked the point. And yes, the older songs still stand the test of time, to some degree. The lyrics are suitably sappy, the tone still deliciously downbeat, the memories of the band in their early -'80s heyday do still linger. They were a vital part of the British musical tapestry, after all, and both Ian MCCulloch and Will Sergeant continue to prove themselves polished and cultivated showmen. Where the album falls down, however, is in the sheer lack of energy and apparent lack of interest from the band that permeates the set. Go back to the first four albums, pick up any number of compilations. Unless you're a completist, it's probably better to leave this one by the wayside. There are far better slabs of Echo & the Bunnymen to sample, both live and in the studio, with which to satisfy those necessary shoegazing cravings. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Whereas 2002's Live in Liverpool captured a glorious homecoming show for the band, Me, I'm All Smiles ends up being more of a celebration of their nearly 30 years together than a fantastic live album. Touring in support of 2005's Siberia, Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant are spot-on throughout this 19-song set at Shepherds Bush Empire in London. McCulloch's signature swagger is a bit more slinky and lazy with age; his vocals are less dramatic, so live rarities such as "Going Up," "Villiers Terrace," and "With a Hip" come off flirty and fun. Newer tracks such as "Stormy Weather," "Of a Life," and "In the Margins" are equally enjoyable, but it's the thunderous delivery of "Scissors in the Sand" that proves the Bunnymen have still got it. However, there are few moments of greatness, despite some skilled playing, especially from Sergeant, who steals the spotlight from McCulloch more than a few times. Nine of the songs included here are also featured -- and done better -- on Live in Liverpool. Purists might disagree, but Me, I'm All Smiles isn't a must for most fans' collections. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Since their 1997 comeback, Echo & the Bunnymen have made some genuine attempts to keep the momentum going. Evergreen and What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? were eager, bright, and still a little brash. Flowers was nice with its light canvas; however, most fans still preferred their earlier material. That's not to say an older Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant don't make great music together. It's just that the recent material seemed too prosaic. Their sound is so distinctly their own with Sergeant's silvery, tight guitar work and McCulloch's fashionable, sweet-and-sour kind of vocal charm. Siberia, Echo's tenth studio album (including the sans-McCulloch disaster, Reverberation), is the album the two school friends have been trying to make since getting back together to record Evergreen. This 11-song set has every crass beat of Crocodiles and every sparkling thread of Heaven Up Here while the edgy pop moments of the underrated Porcupine are sprinkled throughout. And of course, Ocean Rain will not be forgotten. If anything, Siberia mirrors the passion of that 1984 classic most of all. Sergeant's playing has never sounded better, particularly on the playful self-reflections of "Parthenon Drive" and "Of a Life." McCulloch's lyrics are exactly on par, and vocally, he's sharper than ever. Call it an age thing, but Siberia makes total sense for where Echo & the Bunnymen stands 20 years on as a band. They couldn't have created this album before now. Songs such as the bittersweet musings of "Stormy Weather" and "All Because of You Days" capture Echo & the Bunnymen at their most confident. Album standout "Scissors in the Sand" finds the band's usual cool and cocky demeanor still intact. Really, Siberia is a beautiful album. All those years ago, Echo & the Bunnymen gave the world some "songs to learn and sing." With Siberia, they do it again. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant shaped Echo & the Bunnymen's dreamy post-punk into something timeless. Their 1997 reincarnation sparked new life for the band, and McCulloch and Sergeant have maintained their strong appeal of passionate rock & roll. On a live setting, they're charming and their first proper live album, Live in Liverpool, proves that. The duo have a weird musical madness together, and they're comfortable with it. The two night stint captured August 2001 at Paul McCartney's Liverpool of Performing Arts, McCulloch's romantic brood and Sergeant's riveting guitar work are at its best. It's a merry collection of cult classics ("Seven Seas," "The Killing Moon," "Never Stop") and new material ("SuperMellow Man," "Eternity Turns"), but a homage to the band itself. The psychedelic bombast of "All That Jazz" is slick and savvy. Songs from the Crocodiles album take on that tone, but with a signature lust and a sneaky intensity. "Over the Wall" brings that side of the band to the forefront. In a live setting, it's eerie and alluring. "Rescue" and "The Cutter" soar with lush guitar riffs and McCulloch's warm vocals illustrate something primitive. "Nothing Lasts Forever," from 1997's Evergreen, is a sweet sign of age, but it's also graceful. McCulloch and Sergeant are fond of what Echo & the Bunnymen have become. Two nights churning out fan favorites and band mainstays in their hometown makes it much sweeter. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Still clinging to the post-punk snarl that made them cult favorites during the '80s, Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant maintain a stunning inventiveness as they enter into the third decade of the band. They're older, but an ignited passion remains central. What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? was more or less a lackluster Ian McCulloch effort, but the mediocrity of that album was twisted into a clear beauty for Echo's ninth album, Flowers. After contractual battles with London Records, a deal with SpinArt contributed to the redefined structure of the band, and Flowers solidified McCulloch's and Sergeant's brotherly musical jaunt, reaching a respectable status. McCulloch isn't an angst-ridden punk -- he's aged with class -- and Sergeant's typically moody guitar work has mellowed. The alluring rawness of the band is intact, and songs such as "King of Kings" and "Hide & Seek" are playful cuts with reminiscent production work of 1983's musical prize, Ocean Rain. "It's Alright" rolls with layered guitars, and McCulloch experiments vocally for a rough-edged spiral of psychedelics and '60s pop flair. "Everybody Knows" and "An Eternity Turns" get back to basics, circa Crocodiles, and they are the most consistent set of songs on the new album. Ian McCulloch is at his finest with a lyrical clarity that is typically dark, intelligent and swaggering. Sergeant's rippling accompaniment is rightfully complimentary to define that Echo and the Bunnymen have stayed in tune to what makes them an effective unit. Flowers doesn't possess the initial fiery power of the band's first four albums, but the underlying concept that brought McCulloch and Sergeant together in 1978 is what matters, and this album holds true to such a bond. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
'What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?'
Release Date 6/1/1999
Tracks 9
Label London
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Echo & the Bunnymen made a dignified return in 1997 with Evergreen, but that record displayed some hints of rustiness and a desire to stay hip -- two things notably absent from its superb sequel, What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? Trimmed to just the duo of Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, Echo has succeeded where many of their peers have failed -- they have matured without getting stodgy, they have deepened their signature sound without appearing self-conscious. Indeed, What Are You Going to Do With Your Life? feels of a piece with their earlier albums, not only sonically, but in terms of quality. Clocking in at just 38 minutes, the record is concise and dense with detail, finding the precise tone between the floating grandeur of early Echo and the timeless romanticism of classic torch songs. It's melancholy without ever being self-pitying and it never once sounds gloomy or depressing. The key is that McCulloch and Sergeant never push too hard. They never force themselves to play up-tempo, nor do they try to recapture their "edge" -- they settle into a sad groove and find all the possible variations in the sound, both sonically and emotionally. The perfect thing is, this is exactly the kind of record a post-punk band should be making as they reach their 20th anniversary -- it speaks to where they are now, and it speaks to their aging fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The cover alone is a dead giveaway, echoing as it does the cover of Crocodiles, with what looks like a set of trees and a car in place of De Freitas. But that telling and unavoidable absence alone puts the promise and problem of Echo's comeback album in perspective -- McCulloch and Sergeant had been working together again and Pattinson returned to the fold, but without De Freitas something remained unavoidably absent. Replacement drummer Michael Lee fills in adequately but not completely, rendering what was a special group something less so. The remaining core three discharge their duties well enough, but the focus is unavoidably on McCulloch this time around, rendering Sergeant and Pattinson to the status of talented backing players and making Evergreen seem like an extension of McCulloch's solo career more than anything. While Sergeant in particular shows many flashes of the brilliance of Echo's first phase, his work is more conventional here, perhaps the result of his experimental tendencies with his solo project, Glide. As an album Evergreen is closest to Ocean Rain due to the liberal appearance of the London Symphony Orchestra throughout, sometimes with impressive results, though without achieving the total heights of artistry of that earlier collection. There's nothing quite like "The Killing Moon" or "Ocean Rain" itself this time around. For all that, when Evergreen shines at its best, it's still an attractive piece of work. The album's most successful number, the gently epic "Nothing Lasts Forever," gets an extra boost from an uncredited backing singer, Oasis' Liam Gallagher, while "I Want to Be There (When You Come)," the title track, and the moody "Just a Touch Away" kick up some smoke. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
What's that echo you hear? One of the Bunnymen has decided to sit things out, and it's none other than the frontman himself. Reverberation is really an Echo & the Bunnymen album in title only. Ian McCulloch is out to pasture on this one, embarking on a solo career, and in his place is Noel Burke. Somehow, newcomer Burke is a great fit with the remaining Bunnymen, and the result is a true delight, even if it makes little sense in the band's discography. Realistically, Burke sounds nothing like McCulloch, as his vocals are far higher than McCulloch's deep croon. Will Sergeant could have easily gone the route that Peter Hook would go years later, when he found a Bernard Sumner sound-alike for New Order offshoot Monaco, so Sergeant is certainly a risk-taker in this sense. When Burke does affect McCulloch's tones, he sounds more like Mark Burgess of the Chameleons, and that's an interesting proposition in itself. The Burke and Sergeant team cracks out their own share of would-be classics. "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Enlighten Me" throb with catchy glee, and "Flaming Red" paints a picture of beautiful, quiet grace. "King of Your Castle" is perhaps the only occasion where Burke overly extends his range and falters, but the song's optimism is still quite winning. Indeed, the album could qualify as Sergeant's brightest and most uplifting creation. "Flaming Red," in particular, would have been far darker with Ian McCulloch at the helm, as its music seems a close cousin to "The Killing Moon," but Burke's vocals lighten the mood into one of delicate grace. It should also be noted that original Bunnymen drummer Peter DeFreitas died in a motorcycle accident shortly before Reverberation was recorded, and future Spiritualized and Lupine Howl drummer Damon Reece ably takes his place behind the drum kit. The liner notes dedicate the album to "Pete and all who loved him." Reverberation would have been a great debut had Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson decided to operate under a different moniker. Who knows if Sergeant thought McCulloch would someday return to the band, but it would have made more sense for these ten songs to have been released under a new band name, because whether one likes or dislikes this album, Echo & the Bunnymen doesn't exist without the distinctive voice of Ian McCulloch, and it seems rather unfair that Burke had to go up against the enigmatic legacy of McCulloch. Though it confuses the Echo & the Bunnymen catalog, Reverberation is an accomplished, charming album that most Echo & the Bunnymen fans will appreciate, if not cherish. Why Noel Burke wasn't able to hop away from his time with the Bunnymen and make his own name is a reverberating mystery of its own. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Inspired by psychedelia, sure. Bit of Jim Morrison in the vocals? OK, it's there. But for all the references and connections that can be drawn (and they can), one listen to Echo's brilliant, often harrowing debut album and it's clear when a unique, special band presents itself. Beginning with the dramatic, building climb of "Going Up," Crocodiles at once showcases four individual players sure of their own gifts and their ability to bring it all together to make things more than the sum of their parts. Will Sergeant in particular is a revelation -- arguably only Johnny Marr and Vini Reilly were better English guitarists from the '80s, eschewing typical guitar-wank overload showboating in favor of delicacy, shades, and inventive, unexpected melodies. More than many before or since, he plays the electric guitar as just that, electric not acoustic, dedicated to finding out what can be done with it while never using it as an excuse to bend frets. His highlights are legion, whether it's the hooky opening chime of "Rescue" or the exchanges of sound and silence in "Happy Death Men." Meanwhile, the Pattinson/De Freitas rhythm section stakes its own claim for greatness, the former's bass driving yet almost seductive, the latter's percussion constantly shifting rhythms and styles while never leaving the central beat of the song to die. "Pride" is one standout moment of many, Pattinson's high notes and De Freitas' interjections on what sound like chimes or blocks are inspired touches. Then there's McCulloch himself, and while the imagery can be cryptic, the delivery soars, even while his semi-wail conjures up, as on the nervy, edgy picture of addiction "Villiers Terrace," "People rolling round on the carpet/Mixing up the medicine." Brisk, wasting not a note, and burning with barely controlled energy, Crocodiles remains a deserved classic. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Echo & the Bunnymen caught the group at a fortuitous career juncture; the clutch of songs here were among the hookiest and most memorable the band would ever write, while the arrangements are noticeably clean and punchy, mostly eliminating strings and similar clutter to focus almost exclusively on guitars, keyboards, drums, and occasional percussion touches. The warmly expressive "All My Life," which might perhaps have received an overheated arrangement on prior albums, benefited especially from this approach. The band rocked out convincingly on other selections, such as "Satellite" and "All in Your Mind." Pete DeFreitas' solid drumming at times veered toward the danceable on tracks like "Lost and Found," "Lips Like Sugar," and the overtly Doors-influenced "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo." Surprisingly, vocalist Ian MuCulloch appeared to have rediscovered the maxim "less is more"; his singing was comparatively restrained and tasteful, resulting in a more natural, unforced emotiveness that was extremely effective. The production values were excellent, with many subtle touches that do not detract from the album's overall directness. In short, doing it clean really paid off here. ~ David Cleary, All Music Guide
