Songs to Learn & Sing

by

Echo & The Bunnymen

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ian mcculloch and co. practically invented the british guitar rock later adopted by the likes of the smiths, the stone rose, et. al. more melodic and accessible than the likes of joy division, echo and the bunnymen straddled the line between exquisite song crafting and experimentation.

ian mcculloch proved to be the perfect frontman -- the trademark haircut, the trenchcoat, the voice that threated to crack at any second, the enigmatic persona. while not a truly gifted vocalist, he never had to be. his raspy voice is ideally suited to the music. much of the bunnymen's charm lay in their working class roots, settling for less than perfect, slightly gritty production and focusing instead on quality beats and melodies. will sargeant single-handedly ushered in a new guitar movement. his playing was sometimes intrusive in the beginning, but always interesting melodically and sonically as he matured. (and coldplay oughta be paying him royalties for the riffs they've nicked from him.) add to that a more than capable rhythm section (r.i.p., pete), and the bunnymen became one of the most influential rock bands of the last 25 years.

some of the finest bunnymen songs are found here: the oft mentioned 'the killing moon,' 'never stop,' 'the cutter,' 'the rescue,' etc. even now (2005), they sound fresh. every time i play this cd in my car or at home, i'm blown away by how utterly *fantastic* a band they really are--inventive, unique, and ridiculously original; excellent arrangements, flawless melodies, superb musicianship. of course, it always helps to have ian broudie doing the knob-twiddling.

this collection is something of 'greatest hits' that chronicles one of the most important 'post-punk' bands to ever come out of the UK. a must have for any music afficionado.