Ocean Rain [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

"We wanted to make something conceptual with lush orchestration , not Mantovani , something with a twist". So said Echo & The Bunnymens guitarist Will Sergeant about their fourth album 1984,s brilliant Ocean Rain. I,d say they succeeded spectacularly well for Ocean Rain does indeed have lush orchestration, courtesy of a 35 piece orchestra ,and it,s definitely not Mantovani . Indeed it,s one of the great albums of the much maligned 1980,s a salty tanged windswept classic.
Recorded in such diverse locations as Paris, Bath and the bands hometown Liverpool it,s clear just from looking at the albums beautiful deep blue cover ( designed by Martyn Atkins) that this is an unashamed opulent production. As well as the spectacular sweeping string arrangements there are the bands usual chiming guitars and furrowed brow bass lines while singer Ian McCulloch while pillorying stadium embracing dullards like Bono and Jim Kerr seems to be making his own bid for mega-stardom with a series of epic vocal performances and some quasi-mystical vocal imagery.
The band produced the album along with Gil Norton and Henri Lonstan and i always thought Ocean Rain sounded just fine as it was but re-mastered it seems to explode from the speakers in a glorious swooping riot of vertiginous melody and admirable portentousness. Helped it must be said in no small measure by tremendous songs.
As well as the jaw droppingly gloomy hit single "The Killing Moon" -the indie equivalent of Led Zeppelins "Kashmir" i feel- there are the other two singles released off the album - the rather more upbeat "Silver" , a song indeed that verges on the ecstatic with it,s pirouetting strings , and the rustic shanty like called "Seven Seas" aptly enough. Thematically it,s nothing if not varied with the funereal "Nocturnal Me" leading into the jaunty lightweight "Crystal Days" ."Yo Yo Man " and "Thorn of Crowns" are the weakest songs on the album i feel, though still more than acceptable but this leads into the stunning side two of the vinyl version. "The Killing Moon"& "Seven Seas" are followed by the mid-tempo squally "My Kingdom" which again showcases McCulloch,s curious predilection for hiccupping his vocals ( see also "Crystal Days" and "Silver" with it,s "t, t, t, t, tips" line) Last is the awesome title track which is my favourite off the album. A desperately forlorn ballad with a wonderfully tender McCulloch vocal Ocean Rain creaks with the emotional weight of it,s nautical imagery. "All at sea again " , "Your port in a heavy storm harbours the blackest thorns".
I feel the extra tracks on this re-mastered CD sound awfully incongruous coming after the heavy and very final note of the title track so i would advise listening to them separately though this is , of course, up to the individual listener. The live versions are fine with the tile track again standing out and "Angels And Devils" -the b side to "Silver" is also passable but i do draw the line at the live cover of "All You Need is Love".
Ian McCulloch with typical lippyness called Ocean Rain the"greatest album of all time" and while no one would , i feel, agree with this i assume tongue in cheek assessment it is a great album, certainly the best Echo & The Bunnymen ever produced.Ocean Rain has a sweep and grandeur rarely matched in popular music. A delight to listen to - it thrills from the end of your toes to the tingling extremities of your finger t, t, t, t, tips.

Enough has been said about this LP's 'greatest album in the world' credentials (a claim made not least by the Bunnymen's own Ian McCullough) - it would have become tedious if it were not so close to the truth. From the opening chords of 'Silver' to the closing crescendo of the title track, this is the Bunnymen's masterpiece. Following their previous records, the band set out to record the 'perfect album', and they delivered - Mac's lyrics are Lear-esque, darkly surreal nonsense, Pete de Freitas learns how to play the drums with brushes, and Will Seargent perfects the art of understated, minimal guitar. In fact, very few tracks are guitar-orientated, the band instead making use of a string section to sublime effect. The combination of lyrics, songwriting, instrumentaion and production give the record a feeling of being completely out of time - it sounds in no way dated today, and I'm sure it will stand the test of time for many more years.

The bonus tracks will be of interest to fans, as they include the 'Life at Brian's' sessions, with substantially reworked versions of 'Stars are Stars' and 'Villiers Terrace' plus a cover of 'All you need is Love' and versions of 'Silver' and 'Killing Moon', although these tracks are all let down by virtue of sounding like they were recorded from the gent's lavvy at Lime Street Station - very flat, disappointing recording quality.

'Angels and Devils' is a B-side from the 'Silver' single, and seems to sit rather uneasily tacked on the end of the original album. Still nice to see it included though...

Two live songs (from 'A Crystal Day' in Liverpool) close this remastered package - a blistering, energetic 'My Kingdom' and 'Ocean Rain', which misses the lush string orchestration of the studio version.

I can't urge you enough to buy this album.

They were never this good again.

so different to the youthful, rocking crocodiles and porcupine, but beautiful in its own unique way. the imagery of skies, seas and ships is so powerful and pagan, it's like a dream and mc culloch sounds sexier than ever. includes the lovely killing moon, but its the final track, ocean rain that'll give you the shivers...reminds me of rain lashing the windoes at night--dark and romantic.