"Crocodiles"

Echo And The Bunnymen:  "Crocodiles"

Secondhand Vinyl Album

Purchased at the Fargo Record Fair

Original Release Date:  1980

My Rating:  4 Stars

Side One

Going Up

Do It Clean

Stars Are Stars

Pride

Monkeys

Crocodiles

Side Two

Rescue

Villiers Terrace

Read It In Books

Pictures On My Wall

All That Jazz

Happy Death Men

   It's not uncommon for me to have a preconceived notion of what an album is going to sound like.  Sometimes the expectation I've constructed in my head does not accurately define the actual sounds emanating from my stereo.  When this happens it takes this blogger more than a few listens to form an honest opinion.  Otherwise I simply find myself entangled in the idea, "Wait, this isn't right. Where's my 80's New Wave?  I want angst damn it!  Angst!"  These were the exact sentences running through my head upon the first listen of, "Crocodiles," by Echo And The Bunnymen.  

   Eventually, after my initial confusion, I reminded myself most musicians experience an evolution process throughout their body of work.  One can't judge a group's entire discography by their greatest hits collection.  Basically, every band has to start somewhere.  Apparently, by the sound of their debut album, the starting point for Echo And The Bunnymen was somewhere between Prog Rock and Punk.  No wonder after my first listen I was left thinking, "Wha?"

   Despite these feelings of disorientation, I eventually found myself warming up to this new concept of a rather old band.  In particular, it was the psychedelic soaked songs of, "Going Up," "Do It Clean," and, "Happy Death Men," that convinced me that this group's later, more Emo based work, is not necessarily their best.  In conclusion, don't always trust the, "Crocodile," tears of Echo And The Bunnymen.  They weren't always so brooding.

-r.