Echo and The Bunnymen
Ocean Rain

THE REVIEW

Besides being an original masterpiece, with the reissue of the album released in 1984, eight tracks have been added, six of which are "in the wild," natural and spontaneous, with additional improvised arrangements and two live tracks, giving the album further added value. The completely orchestral structure is assigned a role of spectacular and essential effect, like the arrangements of strings, violins, cellos, basses, oboe, acoustic guitars, and harpsichord, which manage to convey existential as well as human emotions, every track is of high interpretive quality, a sort of ambient psychedelic rock.

It’s a very mature album compared to the previous ones and the omnipresent voice of Ian McCulloch, very intense and triptic, completes with great magic the canvas of this majestic picture. “Silver” fantastic pop epic of violins, cellos of great suggestion; “Nocturnal Me” a sad and dark ballad but rhythmic and cadenced by chases of mandolins and harpsichord; “Crystal Days” joyful ventilations of acoustic guitars, piano and double basses; “The Yo-Yo Man” emblematic repetitive and controversial lullaby of guitars, bells, and banjo; "Thorn Of Crowns” is almost a kind of schizophrenic excitement, of Ian’s moans and cries of pleasure juggling with the instruments like a pleasant game between voice and instrument, between highs and lows that rekindle the song when it seems to be concluded. But here it is...blast at full volume the sublime “The Killing Moon” one of the most beautiful songs of the '80s, an endless romantic kiss with hazelnut flavor full of galvanized hormones ready to explode. “Seven Seas” another track of charismatic pop, majestic bell tolls where bass and acoustic guitars take the main stage, “My Kingdom” melancholy chorus in search of escapes in open and green spaces, “Ocean Rain” closes the debut album, with a very gentle slow dance, a caress on the face, a deep gaze, a penetrating jolt reaching the vital parts of the human being, and in my opinion, the second skeletonically fundamental track.

The additional tracks are: bonus “Angels and Devils”, followed by the wonderful “All You Need Is Love” by the legendary Beatles that concludes on the notes of "Sex Machine” by James Brown, “The Killing Moon”, “Stars Are Stars”, “Villiers Terrace”, and “Silver”, all wonderfully distorted from the originals with the insertion of clarinets, tambourines, basses, percussion, and acoustic guitars, almost creating on one hand an arabesque atmosphere and on the other a baroque one, thus going from one extreme to another with such imagination and ease and with excellent results, and concluding with two live tracks “My Kingdom” and "Ocean Rain”. The constant listening offers such tranquility that mirrors the cover of their Album “Heaven Up Here”, an endless beach, a winter sunset, a flock of seagulls, and the shadow of the soul reflected in small waves crashing on the shore.

Stunning album as well as...ethereal.