One Day In Chicago

Kevin Coyne, Kevin Coyne with Jon Langford & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 31, 2005)
• Original Release Date: May 31, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Buried Treasure Records
• ASIN: B0009VS3NG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,015 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

First spied in 1974 on the Whistle Test with his guitar on his lap moaning and yelling, fretting the chords with his thumb Kevin caused a stir at my school on a par with Alvin Stardust’s dramatic TOTP debut. Apart from a slew of great Reggae albums, Kevin’s Millionaires And Teddy Bears and Babble were the only thing worth nicking out of the Virgin Records press office when we were briefly label-mates back in 1979. John Lydon once confessed to pilfering from his arsenal of crazed squawks and wails and my pal John Hyatt unashamedly channeled Kevin for The Three Johns. In 1990 The Mekons covered his song Having A Party, a unsubtle stab at Virgin’s owner (reportedly a huge Coyne fan to this day) that mirrored our sorry situation on A&M at the time. One night at the Duchess Of York in Leeds I handed him a copy and he looked a bit baffled.

For a man who turned down the job as Jim Morrison’s replacement in The Doors, was billed as the English Beefheart and refused to write lyrics for Tubular Bells, Kevin Coyne spent a remarkably long, yet fruitful, time in the rock wilderness. Brutally neglected in Britain and never even on the radar in the USA he made his home in Southern Germany where he found love and respect and created wonderful artwork, books and albums that are out there just waiting to be discovered.

Advance ticket sales were so bad for his last Chicago show I had to beg, bribe and threaten people to turn up. Kevin was charming, rude and hilarious, vogue-ing for the crowd like some mad medieval friar while ad-libbing whole songs with masterful ease and precision. The crowd was amazed (Kevin was amazing) and I got phone calls & e-mails for days from grateful friends I’d bullied into coming. Paul Morley predicted a Kevin Coyne revival earlier this year but maybe in death he’s still to willful, wild and cantankerous for your average conservative rock fan.

Jon Langford

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Final Coyne in vintage form, December 3, 2005

By 

J. Hundley "katies phil" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: One Day In Chicago (Audio CD)

I was terribly saddened by Coyne's death last year and had assumed the vaults were emtpy, so it was a great and pleasant surprise to find this disc. Even more rewarding is that the disc is so strong. If it isn't up to his peak records (Marjorie Razorblade, Bursting Bubbles), it is certainly in the second tier.

The music is somewhere between his rocking Siren-era R&B and the stripped-down elegance of his bands with Brain Godding in the early 80's. Langford and his band do Coyne proud, filling in backgrounds and understated (one would never say "tastefull" when talking Coyne) but solid support. The Hammond organ is particularly nice on several tracks.

Maybe the best part is hearing Coyne so obviously having fun, both on the studio and live tracks. Both versions of "Money Like Water" are a hoot and if his self-mocking is gentler here (say, on "Happy Island Girl" or even the live version of "Fat Girl") than in the past, I hope that translated into a happier frame of mind in his last years, too.

I doubt this disc will have much chance to fall into the hands of anyone who isn't already aware of this incrdible and unique man. A pity, really, as this would make a pretty good introduction. But if you are reading this your are probably an appreciater, so by all means - buy it and enjoy it. This is probably it, now, and I am pleased to report that what may be the last Coyne we can savor is a fitting cap to his amazing career.

Thank you, Mr. Langford, for recording this and letting the rest of us share it.