Customer Reviews

Ep Collection 1 & 2

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I agree with the other reviewer that said this was an odd compilation with an inappropriate and misleading title. While this is called the EP Collection Volumes 1 & 2, this is sadly not the case at all. In fact, this collection is missing quite a few songs from their actual respective ep releases and instead replaces them with common album tracks instead leaving this far from a complete ep collection at all.

I have recently compiled every single and ep from their initial Escapable EP to the Shining Road Double Single onto cd-r's and still had a little room to spare on the first disc. The following is what I compiled in complete and chronological order and what should have been released if this were to have been a real EP Collection. Songs with the asterisk are the songs that are missing from their EP Collection.

My Compilation:
Disc 1
01. Inescapable
02. Give
03. Dada 331
*04. Inescapable II (Inescapable EP)
*05. Untitled (Gigantic 2 compilation)
06. I Hope
07. E.G. Shining
08. Cha Cha Escueta
09. Adoration
10. Brigher
11. Tomorrow's Tears
12. Casa Blanca
*13. Sixth Of May (Wings Of Joy CD)
14. Dreamless
15. Starblood Remix (hidden on the official release)
*16. Fuse (Self-Non-Self CD)
*17. Self-Non-Self (Wings Of Joy Bonus 12")

Disc 2
01. Adrift
*02. Everywhere (common track on Forever)
03. Underwater
*04. The Puppet (Forever UK Bonus CD)
*05. Shine Like Stars (Forever German/UK Bonus CD)
*06. At Sea (Forever German Bonus CD)
07. Slide (hidden on the official release)
*08. Wings Of Joy (Forever German Bonus CD)
*09. Trumpet Song (Forever German Bonus CD)
*10. Jewel (Robert Smith Remix)(Jewel CD-Single)
*11. Leave Her To Heaven I (Jewel German CD-Single)
*12. Leave Her To Heaven II (Jewel German CD-Single)
*13. Clear (Ring Tailed Snorter Mix) (Jewel CD-Single)
*14. Cloudless (Thais Mix) (Jewel CD-Single)
15. Shining Road
16. Lilies
17. September
*18. Green Song 7 (Shining Road CD-Single)
*19. Shining Road (Brauer Mix)(Shining Road CD-Single)
20. Lilies (Flood Mix)
*21. Don't Close Your Eyes (Shining Road CD-Single)
*22. Organ Song (Shining Road CD-Single)

Now looking at that, you are missing 5 songs from disc 1 and a whopping 15 songs from disc 2. And thats considering that I was including album songs that were originally on the eps/singles which could have been removed to make room for more of the senseless Forever Remixes that add nothing to the songs anyways. In fact, some of the best songs like Leave Her To Heaven I & II and the awesome Robert Smith remix of Jewel were completely ignored. Granted, some of the missing songs probably should be left missing, but my aim was to have a complete ep/singles collection unlike the one offered to us. Oddly enough, there are two hidden tracks tacked on to the last song on disc 2 of the official release which contains the songs Slide and Starblood(Remix). Unfortunately you have to wade through 5 minutes of silence before you get to them. I've never understood nor cared for this "hidden" track gimmick.

All in all, this isn't a bad way to get a lot of hard to find and expensive ep/singles tracks and to also get a good best of collection of Cranes songs. Unfortunately, some of the missing songs are extremely hard/rare to find and often times very expensive if found. I just wish they would have put together something that was more in line with what they were claiming to offer.

I give this 3 stars for being a decent collection of ep/singles and common songs for the casual Cranes collector listener. But I dock it 2 stars for the inappropriate title and missing an abundance of very hard to find tracks.

Music is a dumb thing to review. Ears differ too much, but i can try to review The Cranes EP collection from a personal view.

When listening to The Cranes EP collection, it becomes evident to me why i gradually lost interest in their music. A band can often times sound better in their rough, raw beginings. Such is the case with the Cranes SELF-NON-SELF and WINGS OF JOY. Moody, fresh, there is an energy in those two albums, particularly on WINGS OF JOY, that is less and less a part of thier subsequent works. In those stark, hungry, days, recording in what sounds like an abandoned, decaying factory, they have an edge that disappears as they began to polish their sound and structure on FOREVER and LOVED (though those albums still contain some really great songs). It is kind of like what happened to Dinosaur Jr, the invigorating, alive, fuzz laden YOU'RE LIVING ALL OVER ME and BUG gave way to albums more and more polished, dull, and repetitive.

The first disc contains tracks from thier earliest days, and it is this disc that is worth the price of the album. They dont sound like any other gloomy band, thanks mainly to A. Shaw's vocals, and J. Shaw's gritty compositions. Here they are inventive and loose, pounding out melancholy, drenched in murk. There are a few misses, but interesting misses, a band finding thier way.

The second disc is kind of a telling downfall. While it does have some good songs, as it presses on, it is quite clear their sound loses its grime. A dark band that had songs like no other, morphs into a strange, generic, pop pop produced, diluted band. Age takes it toll. The last two songs are a failed exersise, The Cranes interpret Satre, but then, tacked onto the end are two hidden tracks, one of witch is good, new? song, and the other a live version of a WINGS OF JOY song. It is these last two tracks that happily close the disappointing second disk. They remind me of what the Cranes once were, and hopefully, someday will re-discover, being a band that stands apart.

An odd collection this. It doesn't represent ALL of their E.P. tracks. It includes many album-tracks which most fans will have already. And, most annoyingly, with so many excellent b-sides not included, there's EMPTY SPACE at the end of the first CD which could have been utilised!! That said, the music is still amazing, beautiful, heavenly. The gripes and groans posted elsewhere in regards to Alison's voice are empty gestures. Like Dylan and Cohen, either you get past the voice and wallow in the sonic heaven, or you don't. Cranes have always been one of the more original outfits to emerge from the UK... epic sweeping songs, droning beats, and vocals which drip like treacle around the listener's head. It's not a good starting point (nor is it very complete); all the same, this collection is HIGHLY recommended.

This collection is worthwhile if you don't own very much music by the Cranes -- but there are only a couple of tracks here that haven't been released on Self-Non-Self, Wings of Joy, Forever, Loved, or Population Four (which should, incidentally, be at the bottom of your list.) If you like the Cranes that you have and want more, I'd just suggest purchasing one of the regular albums. As a compilation, it's fairly lukewarm anyhow. However, I still give it three stars, for the song "September" alone, which, although not wildly inventive, is one of the loveliest if not *the* loveliest Cranes song that I have ever heard, and I own all of their albums.

it's very safe to say that Cranes are a unique band. the music is simple and sometimes very stark with minimal elements that add a touch of fragile beauty. their unique appeal is only strengthened by the vocals, which at times, sound like a frightened child. Cranes have created a musical landscape that borrows from the composer Satie, Cocteau Twins, and maybe even a little bit of Velvet Underground. but they have twisted all these elements into a form and shape that is all their own. a challenging listen that is worth investigation.

Out of all of the albums I have, and I am SERIOUSLY obsessed with music...I would say The Cranes' music has gotten deep into a part of me that all other pieces of music I've heard have failed to reach. I, like many others, discovered The Cranes through The Cure. The mood is similar to The Cure, but overall The Cranes are very, very different. Where The Cure are heavier, moodier and much grander in their theartical, epic depression, The Cranes are much more subtle, fragile, and achingly, hauntingly, unbearably beautiful. They're a perfect balance between Treasure by the Cocteau Twins and Disintegration by The Cure. Sad, mourning, ethereal, but calmer and more purely sad and beautiful than The Cure and less sweet than The Cocteau Twins. As another reviewer said, I also associate The Cranes with a very happy part of my life, so I guess I might be a little biased, but all I know is The Cranes are one of the only bands besides possibly Rasputina, My Bloody Valentine or Kate Bush that I never tire of. We are all searching for that totally emotionally satisfying band that speaks to us and soothes us. This might be it for me. Buy their stuff and see for yourself.

I really like the Cranes. They are masters of dreamy atmospheres and cinematic rock. This double album doesn't include all of their best tracks, like Jim's track "Stalk" from Population Four or the absolutely essential "Far Away" from Forever. EP Collection 2 is obviously the better disk, but if you're new to the band, then this is the way to start. Like many true art bands, Cranes have been through unfortunate disputes with labels that refused to release art rather than shallow entertainment. But like other bands before them, they've persevered. In fact, they just released a new album directly over the internet.

And to the imbecile named "LP", her name is Alison, and she doesn't have to try to sound like that; it's actually her normal voice.

The Cranes have an effective formula and they use it a bunch, at least in this collection of songs. Alison Shaw's helium-laced vocals float alongside brother Jim's sinister power pop. It's like Little Red Riding Hood singing along with the big bad wolf. Another comparison would be Jarboe (formerly of Swans) doing the soundtrack for a David Lynch movie. The music has a lean, edgy rhythm that leaves just enough room for the singing.

Highlights, Disc One:
"Beach Mover" - This one sounds a lot like something Jarboe or Lydia Lunch would do.
"Inescapable" - Power pop with David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti menace.
"Give" - Good contrast between fragile vocals and Concrete Blonde-esque rock.
"Cha Cha Escueta" - The conga drum lightens the music up a little. Has a strong 80's British "alternative" sound.
"Brighter" - An excellent goth dance track, with Spanish guitar.
"Dreamless" - This one sounds like a Cranes cover of Swans. Perfect killer-in-the-basement pop.

Disc Two:
"September" - Soothing flanged folk guitar, though it's hard to make out the words. A great rainy-day song.
"Adoration" - More David Lynch lounge music.
"Paris and Rome (Flood Mix)" - Alternates between a 60's lounge song and "Disintegration"-era Cure.
"Lilies (Flood Mix)" - OK, enough soft stuff...POW! Sounds like Hole, with a better singer.
"Tangled Up" - Another nice acoustic guitar ballad.
"Breeze" - Sounds like every car commercial on TV right now. (NOT The Cranes' fault.)
"In The Temple" - A good one if you like Black Tape for a Blue Girl's "The Scavenger Bride." German expressionism with French words.

It's a good retrospective, though quite a few of the songs are similar in key and style. When you hear the little girl singing in the unlit basement, the music reminds you not to go down there alone.

Allison Shaw's voice is absolutely phemomonal and angelic. This album has all of the greatest songs. If you love cranes then you will love this particular album. I definetly reccommend it for all cranes fans out there!!

Formed by the brother/sister team of Jim and Alison Shaw, the Cranes won considerable accalim from some critics for their combination of Alision Shaw's eerie, supposedly beautiful voice with their "noisy", synthesiser-driven music.

However, a listen to the work on "EP Collection, Vols. 1-2" really shows the Cranes were never in league with such art-rock masters as Cocteau Twins or early Dead Can Dance. Whereas those bands were able to find focus through acoutically-produced, but still extremely dense, soundscapes, the earliest songs on "EP Collection, Vols. 1-2" uses synthesisers and drums that quite explicitly recall what stadium-rock bands were producing at the time - and the stadium rock of the late 1980s has dated horribly to put it mildly. Even though Alison Shaw's voice tries to be as incomprehensible as Lisa Gerrard or Liz Fraser or Bilinda Butcher, she does not come off as passionate like a singer of this type should. For instance, on "Beach Mover" her voice is stop-start like Björk at her best but never seems to have any feeling, whilst "Heaven or Bliss" is simply awful techno-rock with an irritating "blip blip".

The band's inability to produce a truly "ethereal" sound does not improve in the next section of tracks, even if Alison Shaw's voice is at times distinctly touching even though it never gets going into the kind of vocal gymnastics this sort of music needs to stand out. The eerie middle line of "Dada 331" is the highlight of the whole record set, but still would not rank among the greats. "I Hope" is quieter and actually intense but seems directionless compared to MBV or the Band of Susans. However, "E. G. Shining" really shows the band at their best with a power ballad that actually fits Alison's voice with all passion and no pomp. "Cha Cha Escueta", however, is merely instruemntal funk, and the remaining songs on the first disc move towards a sound that lacks the distinctivenes the band briefly established.

The second disc, quieter still, reminds one of much of today's folk-pop in tone and its dreaminess is not develped enough to compensate. This direction had been noticed on the piano-based "Casablanca" where the lack of catchy or comprehensible lyrics actually becomes irritating because there is nothing memorable (lyrics or passionate instrumental passages) in the songs. "Dance of the Furies" might pretend to be folk but it is really part of their annoying "blip blip" early sound and Alison Shaw actually talks in a way that is quite in appropriate unless she were a young child.

All in all, this is not the work of a first-tier band. Dated in parts, lacking passion in others, apart from "E. G. Shining" you will not understand why the Cranes gained the following they did.