I was in first year high school in 1981 when I was introduced to Echo and the Bunnymen by my classmate, Nicky R. That was their first album, Crocodiles. I got myself a copy and was enthralled by their sound. It's like they picked up on Joy Division but with a more atmospheric sound. More than the music, I loved the oddness about them. The weird videos and use of shadow and silhouettes on their album art.
I got al their albums and loved everyone of them including this self-titled album above that you see.
Unfortunately, this was my last Echo and the Bunnymen record. Oh, I did get the next one which was a compilation -- Songs to Learn and Sing but I never got another. It's not that I do not like them. I do. But after this album, I went for louder bands -- Jane's Addiction, Pixies, Guns N' Roses, and the like.
I love Ocean Rain which may be their best record and the self-titled is all right. I prefer Side Two.
And strangely, even as I revisited my old favorite bands of the 1980s, I never went past this album. I did pick up a live album that was released much later, but I have largely been unimpressed.
But it's just great listening to the old records from Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, Ocean Rain, and this.
