Ocean Rain

by

Echo & The Bunnymen

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Like the placid water and serene blue of the album's cover photography, the fourth recording from Echo and The Bunnymen conveyed a retreat into a calmer space. After the relentless aggression on "Porcupine," the change in direction to midtempo, texture heavy songs on "Ocean Rain" was a surprise to those who came to the table once they'd heard "The Cutter." Gone was the brute force, and in was a sudden rush of romanticism. It made for an intriguing set of songs, and certainly for a major shift in the perception of the band (and in leader Ian McCulloch).

It also lead to a batch of incredible songs. "The Killing Moon," "Crystal Days" and "Silver" are awash in strings and romantic allusions. In the liner notes, McCulloch recalls that he "fell in love with Paris" while the band was recording there, and the spirit of "Ocean Rain" reflects that. The tones are often muted - DeFreitas uses brushes and other odd percussion to spectacular effect. On the other hand, McCulloch was still not beyond self-aggrandizing overstatement. His "Thorn of Crowns" will prove that.

"Ocean Rain" also sports some of the Bunnymen reissue series' better bonus selections. The five songs from "Life At Brian's" are interesting in that the band sounds loose and relaxed, and the recording of The Beatles' "All You Need is Love" show a sense of humor. There's also a pair of live cuts (including Mac's comment about "the greatest album ever made") that shows E&TB as a first class concert act.

While I am hard pressed to decide which Echo album I like more, "Ocean Rain" or "Porcupine," the days I give the nod to "Ocean Rain" are when I listen to "The Killing Moon," which I consider to be one of the finest songs to emerge from the whole 80's liverpool scene. This album is worth having for that one song alone.