The Cocteau Twins first came to my attention after a flat-mate had a copy of the "Pearly Dewdrops Drops" single, which I quite liked. I probably purchased Blue Bell Knoll after reading a favourable review in a Sunday newspaper, but was glad I did.
The Cocteau Twins were ( and still are ) unlike anything else in my record collection, with an atmospheric, dream-like sound, with jangly guitars, delicate organ and a soaring voice. It was once described as the music you would hear when you entered heaven. Indeed the term "Dream Pop" was coined to describe the music of The Cocteau Twins and their ilk.
Famously, the words to the songs, if they are indeed words, are indistinguishable and are often just sounds. This doesn't help remembering the names of the tracks, especially when many of them are jibberish, "Ella Megablast Burls Forever" anyone ?
My memory of the album was that Side 1 was excellent but after "Cico Buff" Side 2 was nothing special. It was probably no coincidence that the three songs I clearly remember are the ones with the most ordinary titles, namely "Blue Bell Knoll", "Carolyn's Fingers and "Cico Buff, and I couldn't remember how any of the others sounded. After all, Cocteau Twins song rarely have sing-along words in a catchy chorus !
The title track "Blue Bell Knoll" opens the LP and begins with a harpsichord, leads into a soaring vocal and ends with Cure style guitar. It's a dramatic piece although the Hee-Hee-Hee pretend laughter is slightly annoying.
"Athol-Brose" has a plodding beat and a slow rising vocal. It is nice but unremarkable but is followed by my favourite track on the album. "Carolyn's Fingers" starts with crisp, individual plucked guitar notes, and the song shows the full range of Liz Frazier's voice, spiralling to the high notes then descending to lower notes for the chorus. The multi-layered vocals are beautiful and guitar leading to the crescendo is brilliant. It's the outstanding track on the album, and was a minor hit in the US.
The tempo drops for "For Phoebe Still A Baby", which is a slow and dreamy lullaby. The chiming guitars and a prominent bass add to the beauty of the song.
"The Itchy Glowbo Blow" has a much more darker sound, more in line with some of their earlier releases. The guitar break until the fade out is perhaps the highlight.
Side 2 begins with "Cico Buff", which was used in a shampoo advert in the 1990s. There is a slow piano and a heavenly vocal. It is joyous and melancholic at the same time, and it's probably a love song, but without knowing the words you never can tell ! The rising guitar leading to the vocal crescendo before sweeping back down to a lower range is just wonderful. The song is far too short and it could go one forever.
Suckling The Mender" drifts slowly but has quite a catchy chorus and the instrumental play-out is nice whilst "Spooning Good Singing Gum" also has a slow, dreamy vocal over the guitar.
The intro to "A Kissed Out Red Floatboat" is a jerky, squeaky synthesizer blending into guitars and then another angelic vocal
The closer "Ella Megablast Burls Forever" is another ethereal piece of music and has a gorgoeus melody. I was surprised I couldn't remember it !
It was a joy to listen to Blue Bell Knoll again and several of the songs sounded much better than I remembered, especially those on side 2 ! It is hard to believe this is over 30 years old and it doesn't sound dated at all.
Side 1
1. Blue Bell Knoll
2. Athol-Brose
3. Carolyn's Fingers
4. For Phoebe Still A Baby
5. The Itchy Glowbo Blow
Side 2
1. Cico Buff
2. Suckling The Mender
3. Spooning Good Singing Gum
4. A Kissed Out Red Floatboat
5. Ella Megablast Burls Forever
UK Chart Position : 15
Singles :
Carolyn's Fingers ( 1988, - )
No comments:
Post a Comment