Ocean Rain (studio album) by Echo & The Bunnymen

If forced to choose just one Echo & The Bunnymen CD, I would have to opt fort either Porcupine or Heaven Up Here, but this one is exceptionally good too. Nocturnal Moon, Seven Seas, The Killing Moon and the title track are the standouts.

One of the best b-sides in the history ending up in majestic title track Ocean Rain. On a-side silver And crystal days are catchy but Killing noin And Steven seas are geniine masterpieces

There's a couple of top class tracks on this (we all know what one's they are), that are the definite cornerstone of this album. Without these this album would fall into a very banal category as most other tracks are either average or just above.

This is an album filled with rich and grand instrumentation that results in intriguing and high quality music that I love every time I revisit it. Despite this, there is two huge issues with this record and it is the songs Thorn Of Crowns and The Yo Yo Man. This is because they feel simplistic and don't utilise the orchestral arrangements as much as the other songs. This makes them feel like they don't belong on here as they should be on an earlier release and every time they come on I am sucked out of the album completely. However, everything else on this record is pure brilliance. The instrumentation is complex and diverse whilst also being infectious and catchy. The record opens with what is my favourite Echo & The Bunnymen song of all time in Silver which is packed full of energy and is such an exhilarating song to experience. Then throughout the rest of the album we are treated to musical masterpieces such as The Killing Moon, Seven Seas and another personal favourite Ocean Rain. The bookends of this album are stunning with one perfectly preparing you for the music by pumping you up and the other slowly easing you out of the release with a smooth and beautiful composition. McCulloch has some outstanding vocal and lyrical moments throughout as well. Overall, this is a demonstration of a band at its greatest with a fantastic mix of complexity and catchiness that would be ranked so much higher if it wasn't for those two anomaly songs.

This is a great album, I really like its vibe and sound that is really unique taking what is the best from contemporary bands like R.E.M. or The Smiths. Silver and Crystal Days are immediate bangers, Nocturnal Me was growing on me with each listen, The Yo-Yo Man and Thorn Of Crowns are dragging this album down, because they are just filler and then we have The Killing Moon which is definitely one of the greatest 80s indie rock songs, it sounds like new wave merging into something new & fresh. Seven Seas and My Kingdom are both very enjoyable and underrated tracks, but the second biggest highlight is Ocean Rain - ending track that is immensly beautiful and gorgeous.

From pedro1976 05/02/2022 06:01

Album of the year. 1984

From Jboy56 02/01/2022 13:18

Not me jam, bro

superficial melancholy pop

From santropez 09/22/2019 00:06

Favourite track: "The Killing Moon"
Least-favourite track: "Thorn Of Crowns"

Lush orchestration lifts ocean rain rain above is occasionally repetitive lyrics.