Echo and the Bunnymen: Crystal Days (1979-1999) : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Never as pretty as the Smiths, as anthemic or grand as their rival U2 or as suicidal as Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen fell between the U.K. post-punk cracks at the dawn of the Eighties. But the band's proto-Brit-pop sound resonates today in bands ranging from the Stone Roses through Radiohead and Oasis. Frontman Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant dressed up the Stones' "Glimmer Twins" template with all mod cons, and their formula has proved lasting. Two new releases, the studio album Flowers and the box set Crystal Days 1979-1999, help solidify the band's place in rock history. More Byron than Bono, McCulloch danced between Bryan Ferry's lounge lizard and Jim Morrison's lizard king; on Flowers, he's still in fine voice, and wonderfully louche. "King of Kings" finds him making tweaked Jesus Christ poses as he did on classic Echo tracks like "Thorn of Crowns." And the aquatic six-string ambience that guitarist Sergeant brings to "Hide and Seek" proves he's as innovative as ever.

All of the band's classic moments are collected on Crystal Days. A completist's compilation, this four-disc set features lots of unreleased songs, demos and alternate versions, along with witty tributes from Pavement and the Flaming Lips in the liner notes. But most important, Crystal Days suggests that Echo's songwriting, with their evocative lyrics and sweeping Ennio Morricone-esque atmosphere, produced some contemporary standards. McCulloch mentions in the liner notes that he would have loved to hear Sinatra essay Echo's haunting signature "The Killing Moon," and gorgeous epics such as "Ocean Rain" wouldn't have been bad by Ol' Blue Eyes, either. Echo were unafraid to move from tribal drums to orchestras, and the swirling-dervish hit "The Cutter" may be the best pop utilization of Indian strings since fellow Liverpudlians the Beatles got into the mystic. Scrappy live versions of songs by Television, the Doors, the Rolling Stones and Jonathan Richman provide additional peeks into Echo's source lab. The "Sweet Jane" chords of Flowers' "Buried Alive" dovetail nicely with the box set's Velvet Underground covers, and both releases prove that Echo's crystal days haven't shattered yet.

MATT DIEHL

(Posted: Aug 20, 2001)

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Monkeys - (original version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Pictures On My Wall, The - (original single version)
Read It In Books - (original single version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Villier's Terrace - (Peel Session version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Rescue (track not available in Rhapsody)
Simple Stuff - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Stars Are Stars (track not available in Rhapsody)
All That Jazz (track not available in Rhapsody)
Crocodiles (track not available in Rhapsody)
The Puppet (track not available in Rhapsody)
Do It Clean (track not available in Rhapsody)
Show Of Strength (track not available in Rhapsody)
Over The Wall (track not available in Rhapsody)
A Promise (track not available in Rhapsody)
Heaven Up Here (track not available in Rhapsody)
All My Colours (track not available in Rhapsody)
Broke My Neck (track not available in Rhapsody)
No Hands - (John Peel Session version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Fuel - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Subject, The - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
The Back Of Love (track not available in Rhapsody)
The Cutter (track not available in Rhapsody)
Way Out And Up We Go - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Clay (track not available in Rhapsody)
Heads Will Roll (track not available in Rhapsody)
Gods Will Be Gods - (alternate version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Never Stop - (Discotheque version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Watch Out Below - (previously unreleased, John Peel Session version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Killing Moon, The - (previously unreleased, all night version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Silver (Tidal Wave) - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Angels And Devils - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Crystal Days (track not available in Rhapsody)
Seven Seas (track not available in Rhapsody)
My Kingdom (track not available in Rhapsody)
Ocean Rain (track not available in Rhapsody)
All You Need Is Love - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Bring On The Dancing Horses (track not available in Rhapsody)
Over Your Shoulder - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Lover I Love You - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Satisfaction - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
New Direction - (previously unreleased, original version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Ship Of Fools - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
All My Life (track not available in Rhapsody)
The Game (track not available in Rhapsody)
Bedbugs And Ballyhoo (track not available in Rhapsody)
Lips Like Sugar - (single version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
People Are Strange (track not available in Rhapsody)
Rollercoaster - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Don't Let It Get You Down (track not available in Rhapsody)
I Want To Be There (When You Come) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Nothing Lasts Forever (track not available in Rhapsody)
Hurracaine - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Rust (track not available in Rhapsody)
What Are You Going To Do With Your Life? (track not available in Rhapsody)
In The Midnight Hour - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Start Again - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Original Cutter-A Drop In The Ocean, The - (previously unreleased) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Heads Will Roll - (previously unreleased, Summer version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Bed Bugs And Ballyhoo - (previously unreleased, original single version) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Zimbo - (with The Royal Burundi Drummers, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Angels And Devils - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
She Cracked - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Soul Kitchen - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Action Woman - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Paint It Black - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Run, Run, Run - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Friction - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Crocodiles - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Heroin - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Do It Clean - (previously unreleased, live) (track not available in Rhapsody)
Cutter, The - (hidden track, alternate version) (track not available in Rhapsody)