Ocean Rain
Encyclopedia
Ocean Rain is the fourth studio album by the British post-punk
band Echo & the Bunnymen
. It was released on 8 May 1984 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart
, number 87 on the United States Billboard 200
, number 41 on the Canadian RPM
100 Albums and number 22 on the Swedish chart. Since 1984 the album has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
. Ocean Rain includes the singles
"The Killing Moon
", "Silver
" and "Seven Seas
".
The band wrote the songs for the new album in 1983. In early 1984 they recorded most of the album in Paris using a 35-piece orchestra, with other sessions taking place in Bath and Liverpool
. Receiving mixed reviews the album was originally released as an LP
and a cassette
in May 1984 before it was reissue
d on CD in August. The album was reissued on CD in 2003, along with the other four of the band's first five studio albums, having been remaster
ed and expanded before again being reissued in 2008 with a live bonus disc. The artwork for the album was designed by Martyn Atkins and the photography was by Brian Griffin. Echo & the Bunnymen played a number of concerts in 2008 where they performed Ocean Rain in full and with the backing of an orchestra.
, the band recorded the single "Never Stop". The title track of the single was produced by Hugh Jones, who had produced the band's second album, 1981's Heaven Up Here
. The single introduced a new sound for the band with an expanded arrangement including conga
s, marimba
s, violins and cellos. After "Never Stop" was released on 8 July 1983 the band toured the Outer Hebrides
in Scotland before two successful concerts at the Royal Albert Hall
in London on 18 and 19 July. Also that month, the band was filmed by RPM Productions for the Channel 4
documentary series Play at Home. Filmed in a café used by the band they recorded acoustic
versions of two old songs, "Stars Are Stars" and "Villiers Terrace", as well as two new songs, "The Killing Moon
" and "Silver
", for their episode of Play at Home titled Life At Brian's.
After spending some time in Liverpool writing new songs for the album, the band recorded their sixth session for John Peel
's radio show on BBC Radio 1
on 6 September 1983. The songs recorded were "Nocturnal Me", "Ocean Rain", "My Kingdom" and "Watch Out Below", which would all later appear on the band's fourth album Ocean Rain – "Watch Out Below" was later renamed "The Yo Yo Man". When the band's John Peel session was broadcast on 10 October 1983, the punk zine
Jamming said, "[The songs] hint at a readjustment and a period of new positive recovery."
Echo & the Bunnymen were booked to headline a two-week youth festival at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
in Stratford-upon-Avon
on the evening of 23 October 1983. Due to a high demand for tickets a matinee performance was added. The matinee concert at Stratford-upon-Avon saw the live debut of "The Killing Moon", "Seven Seas
" and "Silver". With representatives from the band's record company and lead singer Ian McCulloch's
mother in the audience, the performance was nervous and uncertain; although the evening performance, without the record company representatives and McCulloch's mother, was much improved.
At the end of 1983 Echo & the Bunnymen recorded a live special called A Crystal Day for the Channel 4 programme The Tube
. Ignoring their old material, the band played "The Killing Moon", "Nocturnal Me", "Ocean Rain" – which had now developed into a ballad
– and an early version of "Thorn of Crowns" called "Cucumber".
"The Killing Moon
" – which was released on 20 January 1984 – at Crescent Studio in Bath, Somerset. After catching a cold, McCulloch completed the recording of the vocals for the song at Amazon Studio in Liverpool
, where de Freitas also completed the drumming. The band then went to Paris where they were booked into Les Studios des Dames and Studio Davout. Henri Lonstan, the engineer
at des Dames, assisted on the string
passages and Adam Peters provided the string arrangement
s and played cello and piano. McCulloch, not happy with the lead vocals he had recorded in Paris, re-recorded most of the vocals at Amazon Studio in Liverpool. The rest of the band members were happy with their contributions.
Continuing the band's prominent use of strings – which began with the 1982 single "The Back of Love
" – they recorded Ocean Rain using a 35-piece orchestra. Lead guitarist Will Sergeant
said, "We wanted to make something conceptual with lush orchestration; not Mantovani
, something with a twist. It's all pretty dark. 'Thorn of Crowns' is based on an eastern scale
. The whole mood is very windswept: European pirates, a bit Ben Gunn; dark and stormy, battering rain; all of that." During recording De Freitas used xylophone
s and glockenspiel
s in addition to his usual percussion, bass player Les Pattinson
used an old reverb
machine at des Dames and Sergeant's solo on "My Kingdom" was played using a Washburn
acoustic guitar
which he distorted through a valve radio.
was designed by Martyn Atkins and the photography was by Brian Griffin. With the band wanting to continue the elemental theme of the previous three albums, the photograph used on the front cover of the album is a picture of the band in a rowing boat which was taken inside Carnglaze Caverns
, Liskeard
, Cornwall. In his 2002 book Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen, author Chris Adams describes the cover as "a perfect visual representation of arguably the Bunnymen's finest album".
The picture on the front cover of the original album was kept for the 2003 reissue. However, the design was altered slightly by graphic designer Rachel Gutek of the design company guppyart. This release contains an expanded booklet written by music journalist Max Bell giving the background to the album. The booklet contains a number of photographs which are credited to Sergeant and Pattinson.
and on cassette
by Korova
in Europe. It was subsequently released by Sire Records
in the United States on 14 May and on CD in Europe and the United States on 24 August 1984. The album was marketed as "the greatest album ever made" and McCulloch later said it was because they believed it was. Although he also said it was meant as a joke when he said, "That wasn't my idea! I was on the phone to[ Rob Dickins, managing director of Warner Bros.], just joshing and I said 'Oh, it's the greatest album ever made.' And he used it on the poster." In a 2005 interview for Record Collector
magazine, Sergeant asked, "Why not?". After wondering "what all the fuss was about", he went on to ask, "Doesn't every band think that way when they've got a new record out?"
Along with the other four of the band's first five albums, Ocean Rain was remaster
ed and reissue
d on CD in 2003 – these releases were marketed as 25th anniversary editions. Eight bonus tracks were added to the album: "Angels and Devils", which had been recorded at The Automatt
in San Francisco, was the B-side
to the single "Silver
" and was produced by The Bunnymen and Alan Perman; five Life At Brian's – Lean and Hungry
tracks ("All You Need Is Love
", "The Killing Moon
", "Stars Are Stars", "Villiers Terrace" and "Silver") which had been recorded for the Channel 4
programme Play At Home; and two live tracks ("My Kingdom" and "Ocean Rain") which were recorded for A Crystal Day, a Channel 4 special for The Tube
. The Life At Brian's – Lean and Hungry track, "Silver", and the two A Crystal Day tracks had previously been unreleased. The reissued album was produced by Andy Zax
and Bill Inglot. A collector's edition was released in October 2008 which, while still including "Angels and Devils", replaced the bonus tracks of the 25th anniversary edition with the extended 12-inch single
versions of "Silver" and "The Killing Moon". The collector's edition also includes a bonus disc containing a recording of the band's 1983 Royal Albert Hall
concert.
There were three tracks from the original Ocean Rain album which have been released as singles
. The first of these was "The Killing Moon" which was released on 20 January 1984. The second single was "Silver" which was released on 13 April 1984. The final single to be released from the original album was "Seven Seas" which was released on 6 July 1984. This was the first time Echo & the Bunnymen have released more than two singles from one album.
newspaper, "This time vocalist Ian McCulloch has tempered his metaphysical songs with a romantic sweetness and the band's melodies are more to the fore. Acoustic guitars, brushes and sparingly used keyboards all add to the album's optimistic warmth and there is a consistency of atmosphere in songs like 'Seven Seas' and 'Silver', the current single, which justifies the departure." In the review of the original release on Allmusic, Ocean Rain was described as Echo & the Bunnymen's "most beautiful and memorable effort" and went on to describe "The Killing Moon" as the band's "unrivalled pinnacle". When reviewing the 2003 remaster
ed edition Allmusic added "the bonus material is nothing less than superb, and makes the band's best album even better". Blender
described the album as "a portrait of splendid derangement with spectacular orchestrations". Mojo
said the album had "effervescent songs, sympathetically orchestrated". In his 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978–1984, British music journalist Simon Reynolds
describes the album as "lush, orchestrated and [...] overtly erotic".
Pitchfork
described the album as being "stuffed with queasy midtempo tracks and bizarre orchestration" although they did say that the album was not impenetrable. Rolling Stone
described the album as "too often a monochromatic dirge of banal existential imagery cloaked around the mere skeleton of a musical idea". Saying that the album had some nifty choruses and nice atmospheres, the review went on to say it "evinces too little melodic development and too much tortured soul-gazing". In his 1984 review for NME
, Biba Kopf said, "... Ocean Rain has been designed to buttress the notion of the group's importance. Not unnaturally the results have the opposite effect." He went on to criticise McCulloch's lyrics, which he described as "tired juxtapositions of mysterious buzzwords, nonsense, and banality", and the music, "mellotron-style wash of strings and bleating wood winds". Reviewing the collector's edition for the BBC
, Chris Jones described the album as "the point where the cracks began to show, but were masked with such beauty as to hardly matter". Jones went on to say how the 35-piece orchestra helped on tracks such as "Nocturnal Me" but made others, such as "The Yo-Yo Man", "flounder under the weight of intrusive arrangements".
Ocean Rain reached number four on the UK Albums Chart
in its first week of release and stayed on the chart for 26 weeks. In the United States it entered the Billboard 200
at number 172 on 9 June 1984 and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks, reaching a peak of number 87. It entered the Canadian RPM
100 Albums chart at number 89 before it reached a peak of number 41. Staying on the Swedish chart for three weeks the album reached a peak of number 22. As of 1984, Ocean Rain has been certified gold
by the British Phonographic Industry
for having sold more than copies. Of the singles from the album; "The Killing Moon
", which was released on 20 January 1984, reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart
and number seven on the Irish Singles Chart
; "Silver
", released on 13 April 1984, reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and number 14 on the Irish Singles Chart; and "Seven Seas
", released on 6 July 1984, reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.
On 16 September 2008,Echo & the Bunnymen played a concert at the Royal Albert Hall
in London playing the album with the backing of a 16-piece orchestra. Two similar concerts subsequently took place at Radio City
in New York City on 1 October 2008 and at the Liverpool Echo Arena
on 27 November 2008. These concerts were played with a 10-piece orchestra which was conducted by Rupert Christie. The posters used to advertise the concerts have the image of the band from the cover of the album overlaying an image of the venue. Further concerts took place in Europe and North America during 2009.
The concerts were received well. Simon O'Hagan, reviewing the London concert in The Independent
, described it as "a moving, memorable evening" and went on to describe McCulloch's voice as "torn silk" and "magnificent". Giving the London concert five out of five stars, Angus Batey, writing in The Guardian
, described "The Killing Moon" as a "dizzying high" which was "topped by 'Ocean Rain' itself, where the strings are held back until the end of the second verse so that they hit with a euphoric punch of almost physical intensity, sunny melodic optimism piercing the lyrics' chiaroscuro of storm clouds and 'blackest thoughts'." However, Adam Sweeting, for The Daily Telegraph
, said the orchestra "often didn't add much beyond a vague sonic sludge". Reviewing the New York concert for Rolling Stone, Jim Allen described Radio City as an "appropriately dramatic, grandiose setting", and added that McCulloch "was in fine voice, growling and sneering wondrously". Reviewing the Liverpool concert, Jade Wright wrote in the Liverpool Echo
that McCulloch "was on form – one part Lou Reed
, one part Oliver Reed
, with a bit of Jim Morrison
thrown in for good measure."
, Ian McCulloch
, Les Pattinson
and Pete de Freitas
except where noted.
Original album
2003 bonus tracks
2008 bonus tracks
2008 bonus disc
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
. It was released on 8 May 1984 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, number 87 on the United States Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, number 41 on the Canadian RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
100 Albums and number 22 on the Swedish chart. Since 1984 the album has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
. Ocean Rain includes the singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
", "Silver
Silver (song)
For the song by Moist, see Silver "Silver" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 13 April 1984. It was the second single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, reaching a peak of number 30. It also reached number 14 on...
" and "Seven Seas
Seven Seas (song)
"Seven Seas" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 6 July 1984. It was the third single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.-Overview:...
".
The band wrote the songs for the new album in 1983. In early 1984 they recorded most of the album in Paris using a 35-piece orchestra, with other sessions taking place in Bath and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Receiving mixed reviews the album was originally released as an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
and a cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
in May 1984 before it was reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
d on CD in August. The album was reissued on CD in 2003, along with the other four of the band's first five studio albums, having been remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed and expanded before again being reissued in 2008 with a live bonus disc. The artwork for the album was designed by Martyn Atkins and the photography was by Brian Griffin. Echo & the Bunnymen played a number of concerts in 2008 where they performed Ocean Rain in full and with the backing of an orchestra.
Background
Following the poor reception of Echo & the Bunnymen's third album, 1983's PorcupinePorcupine (album)
Porcupine is the third studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart despite initially receiving poor reviews...
, the band recorded the single "Never Stop". The title track of the single was produced by Hugh Jones, who had produced the band's second album, 1981's Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released in 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States...
. The single introduced a new sound for the band with an expanded arrangement including conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s, marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
s, violins and cellos. After "Never Stop" was released on 8 July 1983 the band toured the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
in Scotland before two successful concerts at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London on 18 and 19 July. Also that month, the band was filmed by RPM Productions for the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary series Play at Home. Filmed in a café used by the band they recorded acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
versions of two old songs, "Stars Are Stars" and "Villiers Terrace", as well as two new songs, "The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
" and "Silver
Silver (song)
For the song by Moist, see Silver "Silver" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 13 April 1984. It was the second single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, reaching a peak of number 30. It also reached number 14 on...
", for their episode of Play at Home titled Life At Brian's.
After spending some time in Liverpool writing new songs for the album, the band recorded their sixth session for John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's radio show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
on 6 September 1983. The songs recorded were "Nocturnal Me", "Ocean Rain", "My Kingdom" and "Watch Out Below", which would all later appear on the band's fourth album Ocean Rain – "Watch Out Below" was later renamed "The Yo Yo Man". When the band's John Peel session was broadcast on 10 October 1983, the punk zine
Punk zine
A punk zine is a zine devoted to punk culture, most often punk rock music, bands, or the DIY punk ethic. Punk zines are the most likely place to find punk literature....
Jamming said, "[The songs] hint at a readjustment and a period of new positive recovery."
Echo & the Bunnymen were booked to headline a two-week youth festival at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
on the evening of 23 October 1983. Due to a high demand for tickets a matinee performance was added. The matinee concert at Stratford-upon-Avon saw the live debut of "The Killing Moon", "Seven Seas
Seven Seas (song)
"Seven Seas" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 6 July 1984. It was the third single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.-Overview:...
" and "Silver". With representatives from the band's record company and lead singer Ian McCulloch's
Ian McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
mother in the audience, the performance was nervous and uncertain; although the evening performance, without the record company representatives and McCulloch's mother, was much improved.
At the end of 1983 Echo & the Bunnymen recorded a live special called A Crystal Day for the Channel 4 programme The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
. Ignoring their old material, the band played "The Killing Moon", "Nocturnal Me", "Ocean Rain" – which had now developed into a ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
– and an early version of "Thorn of Crowns" called "Cucumber".
Recording and music
The band recorded and self-producedRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
"The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
" – which was released on 20 January 1984 – at Crescent Studio in Bath, Somerset. After catching a cold, McCulloch completed the recording of the vocals for the song at Amazon Studio in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, where de Freitas also completed the drumming. The band then went to Paris where they were booked into Les Studios des Dames and Studio Davout. Henri Lonstan, the engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
at des Dames, assisted on the string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
passages and Adam Peters provided the string arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s and played cello and piano. McCulloch, not happy with the lead vocals he had recorded in Paris, re-recorded most of the vocals at Amazon Studio in Liverpool. The rest of the band members were happy with their contributions.
Continuing the band's prominent use of strings – which began with the 1982 single "The Back of Love
The Back of Love
"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
" – they recorded Ocean Rain using a 35-piece orchestra. Lead guitarist Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
said, "We wanted to make something conceptual with lush orchestration; not Mantovani
Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....
, something with a twist. It's all pretty dark. 'Thorn of Crowns' is based on an eastern scale
Musical scale
In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
. The whole mood is very windswept: European pirates, a bit Ben Gunn; dark and stormy, battering rain; all of that." During recording De Freitas used xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
s and glockenspiel
Glockenspiel
A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
s in addition to his usual percussion, bass player Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool based band, Echo & the Bunnymen....
used an old reverb
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
machine at des Dames and Sergeant's solo on "My Kingdom" was played using a Washburn
Washburn Guitars
Washburn Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer. It was established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Washburn is a part of U.S. Music Corporation.- History :...
acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
which he distorted through a valve radio.
Cover
As with their previous albums, the album coverAlbum cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
was designed by Martyn Atkins and the photography was by Brian Griffin. With the band wanting to continue the elemental theme of the previous three albums, the photograph used on the front cover of the album is a picture of the band in a rowing boat which was taken inside Carnglaze Caverns
Carnglaze Caverns
Carnglaze Caverns consists of three man-made caverns formed as part of a slate quarry in the Loveny Valley, near the village of St Neot, Liskeard, Cornwall, England...
, Liskeard
Liskeard
Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth, west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles east of Bodmin...
, Cornwall. In his 2002 book Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen, author Chris Adams describes the cover as "a perfect visual representation of arguably the Bunnymen's finest album".
The picture on the front cover of the original album was kept for the 2003 reissue. However, the design was altered slightly by graphic designer Rachel Gutek of the design company guppyart. This release contains an expanded booklet written by music journalist Max Bell giving the background to the album. The booklet contains a number of photographs which are credited to Sergeant and Pattinson.
Releases
Ocean Rain was first released on 8 May 1984 as an LPLP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
and on cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
by Korova
Korova (record label)
Korova is a record label, distributed by the Warner Elektra Asylum group of record companies.The imprint was founded in 1979 as an outlet for Echo & the Bunnymen, with its first album release being their debut Crocodiles...
in Europe. It was subsequently released by Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
in the United States on 14 May and on CD in Europe and the United States on 24 August 1984. The album was marketed as "the greatest album ever made" and McCulloch later said it was because they believed it was. Although he also said it was meant as a joke when he said, "That wasn't my idea! I was on the phone to
Record Collector
Record Collector is the United Kingdom's longest-running monthly music magazine. It distributes both within the UK and worldwide. It started in 1979.-The early years:...
magazine, Sergeant asked, "Why not?". After wondering "what all the fuss was about", he went on to ask, "Doesn't every band think that way when they've got a new record out?"
Along with the other four of the band's first five albums, Ocean Rain was remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed and reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
d on CD in 2003 – these releases were marketed as 25th anniversary editions. Eight bonus tracks were added to the album: "Angels and Devils", which had been recorded at The Automatt
The Automatt
The Automatt was a sound recording studio in San Francisco, California, promoted for its early mix automation system. During its eight active years, 1976 to 1984, it was one of the top recording studios in the region...
in San Francisco, was the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
to the single "Silver
Silver (song)
For the song by Moist, see Silver "Silver" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 13 April 1984. It was the second single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, reaching a peak of number 30. It also reached number 14 on...
" and was produced by The Bunnymen and Alan Perman; five Life At Brian's – Lean and Hungry
Seven Seas (song)
"Seven Seas" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 6 July 1984. It was the third single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.-Overview:...
tracks ("All You Need Is Love
All You Need Is Love
"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Watched by 400 million in 26 countries, the programme was broadcast via satellite on 25 June 1967...
", "The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
", "Stars Are Stars", "Villiers Terrace" and "Silver") which had been recorded for the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programme Play At Home; and two live tracks ("My Kingdom" and "Ocean Rain") which were recorded for A Crystal Day, a Channel 4 special for The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
. The Life At Brian's – Lean and Hungry track, "Silver", and the two A Crystal Day tracks had previously been unreleased. The reissued album was produced by Andy Zax
Andy Zax
Andy Zax is a music historian and producer of CD boxed sets and reissues by Talking Heads, Rod Stewart, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Judee Sill, John Cale, Nico, The Neon Philharmonic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, The Sisters of Mercy,...
and Bill Inglot. A collector's edition was released in October 2008 which, while still including "Angels and Devils", replaced the bonus tracks of the 25th anniversary edition with the extended 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
versions of "Silver" and "The Killing Moon". The collector's edition also includes a bonus disc containing a recording of the band's 1983 Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
concert.
There were three tracks from the original Ocean Rain album which have been released as singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. The first of these was "The Killing Moon" which was released on 20 January 1984. The second single was "Silver" which was released on 13 April 1984. The final single to be released from the original album was "Seven Seas" which was released on 6 July 1984. This was the first time Echo & the Bunnymen have released more than two singles from one album.
Reception
Describing Echo & the Bunnymen's change from the more rock sound of their previous albums to the lighter sound of Ocean Rain, music journalist Max Bell said in his 1984 review for The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper, "This time vocalist Ian McCulloch has tempered his metaphysical songs with a romantic sweetness and the band's melodies are more to the fore. Acoustic guitars, brushes and sparingly used keyboards all add to the album's optimistic warmth and there is a consistency of atmosphere in songs like 'Seven Seas' and 'Silver', the current single, which justifies the departure." In the review of the original release on Allmusic, Ocean Rain was described as Echo & the Bunnymen's "most beautiful and memorable effort" and went on to describe "The Killing Moon" as the band's "unrivalled pinnacle". When reviewing the 2003 remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed edition Allmusic added "the bonus material is nothing less than superb, and makes the band's best album even better". Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
described the album as "a portrait of splendid derangement with spectacular orchestrations". Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
said the album had "effervescent songs, sympathetically orchestrated". In his 2005 book Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978–1984, British music journalist Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
describes the album as "lush, orchestrated and [...] overtly erotic".
Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
described the album as being "stuffed with queasy midtempo tracks and bizarre orchestration" although they did say that the album was not impenetrable. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
described the album as "too often a monochromatic dirge of banal existential imagery cloaked around the mere skeleton of a musical idea". Saying that the album had some nifty choruses and nice atmospheres, the review went on to say it "evinces too little melodic development and too much tortured soul-gazing". In his 1984 review for NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, Biba Kopf said, "... Ocean Rain has been designed to buttress the notion of the group's importance. Not unnaturally the results have the opposite effect." He went on to criticise McCulloch's lyrics, which he described as "tired juxtapositions of mysterious buzzwords, nonsense, and banality", and the music, "mellotron-style wash of strings and bleating wood winds". Reviewing the collector's edition for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Chris Jones described the album as "the point where the cracks began to show, but were masked with such beauty as to hardly matter". Jones went on to say how the 35-piece orchestra helped on tracks such as "Nocturnal Me" but made others, such as "The Yo-Yo Man", "flounder under the weight of intrusive arrangements".
Ocean Rain reached number four on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in its first week of release and stayed on the chart for 26 weeks. In the United States it entered the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at number 172 on 9 June 1984 and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks, reaching a peak of number 87. It entered the Canadian RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
100 Albums chart at number 89 before it reached a peak of number 41. Staying on the Swedish chart for three weeks the album reached a peak of number 22. As of 1984, Ocean Rain has been certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
for having sold more than copies. Of the singles from the album; "The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
", which was released on 20 January 1984, reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and number seven on the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
; "Silver
Silver (song)
For the song by Moist, see Silver "Silver" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 13 April 1984. It was the second single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, reaching a peak of number 30. It also reached number 14 on...
", released on 13 April 1984, reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and number 14 on the Irish Singles Chart; and "Seven Seas
Seven Seas (song)
"Seven Seas" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 6 July 1984. It was the third single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.-Overview:...
", released on 6 July 1984, reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.
Ocean Rain tour
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London playing the album with the backing of a 16-piece orchestra. Two similar concerts subsequently took place at Radio City
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
in New York City on 1 October 2008 and at the Liverpool Echo Arena
Liverpool Echo Arena
Echo Arena Liverpool is the arena half of ACC Liverpool located on the former King's Dock in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. The BT Convention Centre forms the other half of the complex...
on 27 November 2008. These concerts were played with a 10-piece orchestra which was conducted by Rupert Christie. The posters used to advertise the concerts have the image of the band from the cover of the album overlaying an image of the venue. Further concerts took place in Europe and North America during 2009.
The concerts were received well. Simon O'Hagan, reviewing the London concert in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, described it as "a moving, memorable evening" and went on to describe McCulloch's voice as "torn silk" and "magnificent". Giving the London concert five out of five stars, Angus Batey, writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, described "The Killing Moon" as a "dizzying high" which was "topped by 'Ocean Rain' itself, where the strings are held back until the end of the second verse so that they hit with a euphoric punch of almost physical intensity, sunny melodic optimism piercing the lyrics' chiaroscuro of storm clouds and 'blackest thoughts'." However, Adam Sweeting, for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, said the orchestra "often didn't add much beyond a vague sonic sludge". Reviewing the New York concert for Rolling Stone, Jim Allen described Radio City as an "appropriately dramatic, grandiose setting", and added that McCulloch "was in fine voice, growling and sneering wondrously". Reviewing the Liverpool concert, Jade Wright wrote in the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
that McCulloch "was on form – one part Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, one part Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
, with a bit of Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
thrown in for good measure."
Track listing
All tracks written by Will SergeantWill Sergeant
Will Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
, Ian McCulloch
Ian McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
, Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool based band, Echo & the Bunnymen....
and Pete de Freitas
Pete de Freitas
Pete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
except where noted.
Original album
- "SilverSilver (song)For the song by Moist, see Silver "Silver" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 13 April 1984. It was the second single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, reaching a peak of number 30. It also reached number 14 on...
" – 3:22 - "Nocturnal Me" – 4:57
- "Crystal Days" – 2:24
- "The Yo-Yo Man" – 3:10
- "Thorn of Crowns" – 4:52
- "The Killing MoonThe Killing MoonThe Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
" – 5:50 - "Seven SeasSeven Seas (song)"Seven Seas" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 6 July 1984. It was the third single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.-Overview:...
" – 3:20 - "My Kingdom" – 4:05
- "Ocean Rain" – 5:12
2003 bonus tracks
- "Angels and Devils" – 4:34
- "All You Need Is LoveAll You Need Is Love"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Watched by 400 million in 26 countries, the programme was broadcast via satellite on 25 June 1967...
" (Lennon/McCartneyLennon/McCartneyThe Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
) (live) – 6:44 - "The Killing Moon" (live) – 3:27
- "Stars are Stars" (live) – 3:07
- "Villiers Terrace" (live) – 6:00
- "Silver" (live) – 3:22
- "My Kingdom" (live) – 4:01
- "Ocean Rain" (live) – 5:18
2008 bonus tracks
- "Angels and Devils" – 4:23
- "Silver (Tidal Wave)" – 5:11
- "The Killing Moon (All Night Version)" – 9:11
2008 bonus disc
- "Going Up" – 5:14
- "Villiers Terrace" – 3:12
- "All That Jazz" – 2:47
- "Heads Will Roll" – 3:57
- "Porcupine" – 4:07
- "All My Colours (Zimbo)" – 4:12
- "Silver" – 3:21
- "Simple Stuff" – 2:38
- "The CutterThe Cutter (song)"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
" – 3:40 - "The Killing Moon" – 3:02
- "RescueRescue (song)"Rescue" is the second single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 5 May 1980 and subsequently included on the Crocodiles album, which was released on 18 July 1980. It was the band's first single to chart, reaching number 62 on the UK Singles Chart...
" – 4:06 - "Never Stop" – 4:37
- "The Back of LoveThe Back of Love"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
" – 3:14 - "No Dark Things" – 3:35
- "Heaven Up Here" – 3:54
- "Over the WallOver the Wall"Over the Wall" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in 1981 in Australia and is from the 1981 album Heaven Up Here. The b-side of the single, which wasn't released in any other country, was the title track from the band's 1980 debut album, Crocodiles...
" – 6:51 - "Crocodiles" – 7:00
Personnel
- Ian McCullochIan McCulloch (singer)Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
– vocals - Will SergeantWill SergeantWill Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
– guitar, harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
("Angels and Devils"), sitarSitarThe 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
(Life At Brian's sessions) - Les PattinsonLes PattinsonLes Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool based band, Echo & the Bunnymen....
– bass - Pete de FreitasPete de FreitasPete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
– drums - Adam Peters – piano, cello
- Alan Perman – harpsichord (Life At Brian's sessions)
- Luvan Kiem – clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
(Life At Brian's sessions) - The BunnymenEcho & the BunnymenEcho & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
– producer, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Gil NortonGil NortonGil Norton is a British record producer known for his work with such bands as Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen, Foo Fighters, Tribe, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Feeder, The Distillers, Maxïmo Park, Counting Crows, Terrorvision, The Triffids, Del Amitri, James, The Feelers, The Beekeepers,...
– producer, engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixing - Henri Lonstan – producer, engineer
- Jean-Yves – assistant engineer
- Adam Peters – orchestral arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s - David Lord – recorded by ("The Killing Moon")
- Brian Griffin – photography
- Martyn Atkins – cover design
- Andy ZaxAndy ZaxAndy Zax is a music historian and producer of CD boxed sets and reissues by Talking Heads, Rod Stewart, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Judee Sill, John Cale, Nico, The Neon Philharmonic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, The Sisters of Mercy,...
– producer (reissue) - Bill Inglot – producer (reissue), remasterRemasterRemaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ing (reissue) - Dan Hersch – remastering (reissue)
- Alan Perman – producer ("Angels and Devils")
- David Frazer – engineer ("Angels and Devils")
- Rachel Gutek – cover design (reissue)