Echo And The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain

 

Unlike its predecessor "Porcupine", which wasn't the most commercial offering, "Ocean Rain" took a very different direction with lush orchestral arrangements and being as melodic as Echo and the Bunnymen could get. There was no longer a rich, complex wall of sound but a generally slower tempo, stronger tunes and even acoustic guitars on most of the songs. 

Whereas with "Porcupine" I struggled to remember the songs when looking at the track listing, here there were only two that drew a blank, but my memories were that there wasn't a bad track on the album.

"Silver", the second single from "Ocean Rain" immediately set the tone with strings for an intro for a guitar driven track. "Swung from a chandelier, my planet sweet on a silver salver".

The waltz like "Nocturnal Me" has a military beat and drumming, whilst the strings add an almost ghostly feel to the ending. "Take me internally, forever yours nocturnal me".

"Crystal Days" was much better than I expected. A short pop song with a nice guitar riff, it could easily have been another single from the album.

"The Yo-Yo Man" has tempo similar to "Nocturnal Me" but with a pretty instrumental break with a Chinese vibe.

The dramatic "Thorn of Crowns" closes side one. I'm not really sure what was meant with "c-c-c cucumber, c-c-c cabbage, c-c-c cauliflower, men on Mars, April showers" but they don't write them like that anymore !

Side two starts with "The Killing Moon" by some distance easily the best song ever recorded by Echo and the Bunnymen. Beginning with the sounds of a wind before the guitar motif,  the drums then kick start the song and the bass adds an urgency before the first verse. "Under blue moon I saw you, so soon you'll take me, up in your arms to late to beg you. Or cancel it though I know it must be, the killing time, unwillingly mine". There also a killer guitar break to help build to the dramatic crescendo.

"Seven Seas" is another outstanding single although much softer in nature, and almost happy and optimistic by the Bunnymen's standards. There is a David Bowie "Starman" style acoustic guitar intro and a great bass line to the fore. Another fabulous guitar break leads into a rising middle-eight, before returning to the gentleness of the verses."Seven seas, swimming them so well. Glad to see my face among them kissing the tortoise shell".

"My Kingdom" is a pleasant mixture of melodic acoustic guitar with psychedelic guitar breaks. "B-b-b burn the skin off and climb the roof top, thy will be done. B-b-bite your nose off and make the most of your king-kingdom, kingdom, kingdom"

The album closes with the funereal melodrama of "Ocean Rain" where the strings dominate over a tender guitar refrain. "All hands on deck at dawn, sailing to sadder shores. Your port in my heavy storm harbours the blackest thoughts"

In summary, "Ocean Rain" appears to have stood the test of time well, and remains an outstanding album. I would put it in the rare category of there isn't a bad track on the whole record.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Silver
2. Nocturnal Me
3. Crystal Days
4. The Yo-Yo Man
5. Thorn Of Crowns

Side Two :

1. The Killing Moon
2. Sevens Seas
3. My Kingdom
4. Ocean Rain

Released 1984
UK Chart Position : 4

Singles :

The Killing Moon ( No 8 - 1984 )
Silver ( No 30 - 1984 )
Seven Seas ( No 16 - 1984 )