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Review
The Echo & the Bunnymen of the past decade may bear little similarity, beyond the presence of Ian McCulloch’s vocals and Will Sergeant on guitar, to the band that courted such acclaim with their first four albums – Crocodiles (1980), Heaven Up Here (1981), Porcupine (1983) and Ocean Rain (1984) – but line-up changes haven’t prevented the post-punk outfit from scoring critical hits. Their first record without founding bassist Les Pattinson, 1999’s What Are You Going to Do With Your Life?, picked up a 9/10 in the NME, and broadsheets took to 2005’s Siberia with all the enthusiasm that greeted their first wave of releases.
But while Siberia did an admirable job of conjuring a spirit comparable to the Liverpool band’s finest 1980s releases – it’s a closer cousin of Crocodiles than, say, the band’s 1997 reunion affair, Evergreen – The Fountain aims for an awkward middle ground between styles, failing to perfect that itchiness that made the Bunnymen so irresistible in their early days while also falling short in the Big Indie Anthem stakes. There’s no Nothing Lasts Forever here, however hard they’ve tried, and not even the presence of Coldplay’s Chris Martin on the title track can stir anything more than moderate interest.
Things begin bouncily enough, with Think I Need it Too riding a ripple of pristine guitar, the inevitable explosion of percussion arriving at the perfect moment to propel the piece towards a surging chorus. But while the song’s astutely arranged, it’s no more than you’d expect from a songwriting pair who’ve worked together since the late 1970s. It’s a safe bet, seemingly an auto-pilot affair that, while capable of ticking long-term fanboy boxes, is unlikely to attract fresh interest in a band now operating on the fringes of contemporary rock.
It’s McCulloch and Sergeant’s evident comfort on the sidelines that has led to a record like this. The Fountain never gets out of third gear, content to trundle when, in the past, its makers would have floored it for a few thrilling seconds, flying around blind bends far too fast. There are no surprises, a succession of songs blurring together to comprise a single mass of comparative mediocrity. If this was the work of a nervy new band you could forgive its hesitance; but knowing what these musicians are capable of, The Fountain can only be summarised as a wholly half-hearted affair. --Mike Diver
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By Critische
Format:Audio CD
Longtime Bunnyfans like me might prefer another dark and complex masterpiece like Heaven up Here, but if we compare this to mortal music, it's great stuff, full of hooks and feel with the usual distinctive combination of McCulloch's amazing voice and Sergeant's liquid guitar work. The pair craft music these days--don't expect groundbreaking art--but few are better at the craft. They deserve good things from this album.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A. Moseley
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Here's some parallels, back in 1987 Echo and the Bunnymen released their fifth album. It was much delayed, and was dismissed as their weakest album to date. Die hard fans were annoyed at the choice of Laurie Latham (of Paul Young fame) as producer because he produced pop records, and this sounded like an attempt to crack the US charts and betray all the band stood for. The album became known as the Grey Album, because of the predominant use of one colour on it's cover. Now fast forward 23 years, and the fifth album since the Bunnymen reformed. Delayed by more than a year, produced by John McLaughlin (of Busted fame) dismissed as their weakest album since they reformed, and with a cover dominated by one colour (Red). But is the red album the new grey album? The answer is sadly yes. The Fountain aims at the American market, and much like the grey album the songs simply don't have the conviction or passion that you expect from the Bunnymen. The first two tracks flatter to decieve, as I think I need it too is anthemic albeit in a one dimensional way, and Forgotten Fields is one of the best tracks they've ever made and would have fitted easily on Ocean Rain or comeback album Evergreen. From then on it's quickly downhill, with both music and lyrics going particularly awry on Do You Know Who I am and Shroud of Turin. It's not a bad album on the whole, and in the title track and the idolness of gods it has two more excellent tracks for people who like the band at their most reflective, but it's nowhere near as good as the criminally ignored Siberia. Ian McCulloch's lyrics sound like he doesn't care for most of the album.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
One of the best bands out of Liverpool have returned to form with the release of this album,after years in the wildernes.they are back with "The fountain"
A ll the trademarks are there,nasal voca ls,orchestrations,chiming guitars and an Epic s sounds
No songs stand out they are all worty of inclusion
Welcome back EATB!
A ll the trademarks are there,nasal voca ls,orchestrations,chiming guitars and an Epic s sounds
No songs stand out they are all worty of inclusion
Welcome back EATB!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"....have I hit rock bottom?"
So asks Ian McCulloch on the closing track, What If We Are?, on the band's previous outing, Siberia. On this evidence, at that point, not quite. Now he has. This is simply the worst thing Echo & The Bunnymen have ever recorded, and there have been some pretty dodgy songs in amongst the genius over the years. It's difficult to blame Will Sergeant, as his guitar still chops around in amongst the poppiness, and you certainly cannot blame the other musicians, as they are just doing what they are told. McCulloch, on the other hand, needs to sit down and take a long, hard look at the legacy he is leaving the once-mighty band. His voice is completely shot to pieces, and that is fine to a certain extent, as he is now writing songs that he is capable of singing instead of trying to desperately to hit the notes he once did. What is not fine, is the bland pop he is adding his voice to. The lyrics are mostly meaningless drivel (I'm sure he's just making words up for the sake of rhyming in Do You Know Who I Am?), or there's the odd bit of soppy lovey-dovey rubbish (I detest the stupidity of "I love that sack that you're in, I love your saccharin" in Shroud Of Turin). Perhaps the most relevant lyric comes in the chorus of Proxy, when he sings "Everybody look at us now". To me, it's like a "please can we still be famous" plea, but McCulloch needs to be careful that people don't take him at his word, because all they will see is a sad shadow, clinging on to the last remnants of a glorious past.
Listening to this, it strikes me that the Noel Burke-fronted Reverberation album was far more deserving of the Echo & The Bunnymen moniker than this.
Awful, just awful.
So asks Ian McCulloch on the closing track, What If We Are?, on the band's previous outing, Siberia. On this evidence, at that point, not quite. Now he has. This is simply the worst thing Echo & The Bunnymen have ever recorded, and there have been some pretty dodgy songs in amongst the genius over the years. It's difficult to blame Will Sergeant, as his guitar still chops around in amongst the poppiness, and you certainly cannot blame the other musicians, as they are just doing what they are told. McCulloch, on the other hand, needs to sit down and take a long, hard look at the legacy he is leaving the once-mighty band. His voice is completely shot to pieces, and that is fine to a certain extent, as he is now writing songs that he is capable of singing instead of trying to desperately to hit the notes he once did. What is not fine, is the bland pop he is adding his voice to. The lyrics are mostly meaningless drivel (I'm sure he's just making words up for the sake of rhyming in Do You Know Who I Am?), or there's the odd bit of soppy lovey-dovey rubbish (I detest the stupidity of "I love that sack that you're in, I love your saccharin" in Shroud Of Turin). Perhaps the most relevant lyric comes in the chorus of Proxy, when he sings "Everybody look at us now". To me, it's like a "please can we still be famous" plea, but McCulloch needs to be careful that people don't take him at his word, because all they will see is a sad shadow, clinging on to the last remnants of a glorious past.
Listening to this, it strikes me that the Noel Burke-fronted Reverberation album was far more deserving of the Echo & The Bunnymen moniker than this.
Awful, just awful.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Richard Hine
Format:MP3 Download
Middle-aged musicians who still make records have come to expect a certain reaction from cranky middle-aged music critics. It goes something like this:
"(NAME OF BAND) was so much better back in (YEAR), when they released their influential album (TITLE GOES HERE). But that was (NUMBER) years ago, and listening to their new album, it's hard not to feel sorry that they sound SO DIFFERENT/EXACTLY THE SAME. I just wish they HAD/HADN'T changed and that they weren't SIMPLY GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS/TRYING SO HARD TO CREATE A NEW SOUND. It's simply impossible for me to listen to this album without thinking of their old songs which affected me differently because I was so young and IMPRESSIONABLE/HIGH/HAD REALLY COOL HAIR."
Having said all that, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN sound recognizably themselves and occasionally fresh and different on their new album THE FOUNTAIN. "How can I change when I don't want to?" asks Ian McCulloch on the first single THINK I NEED IT TOO. "I've heard it a thousand times," he intones on follow-up LIFE OF A THOUSAND CRIMES. And maybe we have too. But McCulloch's vocals and Sergeant's guitar playing are as distinctive and pleasing as ever. They're still going strong, and, on the upbeat PROXY, issuing the present-day invitation: "Everybody look at us now."
Old fans (except perhaps the crankiest) won't be disappointed. And for new listeners, if you're not all hung up on those echoes of the past, there's plenty to enjoy, too.
"(NAME OF BAND) was so much better back in (YEAR), when they released their influential album (TITLE GOES HERE). But that was (NUMBER) years ago, and listening to their new album, it's hard not to feel sorry that they sound SO DIFFERENT/EXACTLY THE SAME. I just wish they HAD/HADN'T changed and that they weren't SIMPLY GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS/TRYING SO HARD TO CREATE A NEW SOUND. It's simply impossible for me to listen to this album without thinking of their old songs which affected me differently because I was so young and IMPRESSIONABLE/HIGH/HAD REALLY COOL HAIR."
Having said all that, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN sound recognizably themselves and occasionally fresh and different on their new album THE FOUNTAIN. "How can I change when I don't want to?" asks Ian McCulloch on the first single THINK I NEED IT TOO. "I've heard it a thousand times," he intones on follow-up LIFE OF A THOUSAND CRIMES. And maybe we have too. But McCulloch's vocals and Sergeant's guitar playing are as distinctive and pleasing as ever. They're still going strong, and, on the upbeat PROXY, issuing the present-day invitation: "Everybody look at us now."
Old fans (except perhaps the crankiest) won't be disappointed. And for new listeners, if you're not all hung up on those echoes of the past, there's plenty to enjoy, too.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Nondescript
The sound of really bad demos. Sketches of tunes. McCulloch sounds like he was recorded under water. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Stanley Spogot
2.0 out of 5 stars
CD case heavily scratched, doesnt look new
Arrived on time, but despite being described as new, the case was very heavily scratched with what looks like a promotional sticker half torn off the front of the case. Read more
Published 19 months ago by HonestJ
1.0 out of 5 stars
Rubbish beyond Compair
This is not the Bunnymen
It's a tribute band pretending to be the Bunnymen or an Ian McCulloch Solo album in disguise. Read more
It's a tribute band pretending to be the Bunnymen or an Ian McCulloch Solo album in disguise. Read more
Published on 24 Feb 2010 by P. Frizelle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Album
This album was a Christmas present, and what a really great album it is. I was a follower of the Bunneymen in the 80's went to some of their gigs and so on. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2009 by I. H. C. Mellor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome
I don't have words to describe "The Fountain". Shroud of Turin, The Fountain and Everlasting Neverendless are really magnificent.
Published on 1 Dec 2009 by Miguel Henriques
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ian McCullochs 4th Solo Record
You really always wish that a favourite band put out at least passable material. Quite simply, if you like Ian's solo stuff, buy this record. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2009 by Patrick Burkholder
5.0 out of 5 stars
best album ive bought in years
Im only a part time fan,with The Very Best Of, having been, my only possesion.When i heard of a new album i thought i`d give it a go just in case its half decent. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2009 by K. P. Wilson
2.0 out of 5 stars
It's Very Average
I own all the Bunnymen albums, though did get Sibera in the bargin bucket several months after it came out. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2009 by Fatpie 1664
4.0 out of 5 stars
Turin Shroud and calamine lotion??? Come off it...
Well here we go again- another enigma.
In my humble 25 year fan's opinion there are only
three tracks on this album that I'll be listening
to in a few weeks time. Read more
In my humble 25 year fan's opinion there are only
three tracks on this album that I'll be listening
to in a few weeks time. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2009 by B. C. Robertson
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