Customer Reviews

Heaven Up Here

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Building on the youthful vigour and dynamicism of 'Crocodiles', 'Heaven Up Here' is the Bunnymen's pinnacle of expression. On the cover the band are seen to walk on water, a miracle they achieve musically on each and every song. The record spawned only one single, 'A Promise', which can sound rather overbearing out of context. Here it is a glorious piece of the whole cloth.

Starting with 'Show of Strength', the drums and bass form a solid mesh over which the foghorn guitar swoops and wails. Mac cries out for recognition, his glorious melody confident enough that we can believe his magisterial romanticism. The rhythm guitar magically binds all of this together into a seamless whole, as the song roller-coasters to a jagged coda. 'With a Hip' derives from sounds heard in the industrial wilderness, and ends with a commitment to greatness. In between guitars build a tension that's released through thunderous snare shots. 'Over the Wall' is a midnight trip up and down the hillside, while a fog sweeps in and the doubts gnaw beneath the skin. Drummer de Freitas is a minor deity, here and throughout the album. That's only three parts of the wonder here on display.

The one b-side from this period, 'Broke My Neck', is thankfully included in its full version. Four previously unreleased live tracks are not up to the sound quality of 'Shine So Hard' but still beg for a full concert release, rather than being tacked on here.

This is the one called "Heaven" / And this is the one for me.

One review of another Bunny disc described this one as "messy." My question is: What were you listening to--a bad bootleg of Heaven Up Here? This is possibly the greatest album ever made. Of course, I'm prejudiced being a Bunnymen fan and all but it's as close to perfect as any album ever released by any artist period. Here's a tip, turn off all your lights in your home and listen to this album in the dark and then tell me it isn't magical. That voice of Ian McCulloch is in top form and the guitar shards slashed out by Will Sergeant esp. on Heaven Up Here are intense, manic and beautiful all at the same time.

After their raw, exuberant debut album "Crocodiles", Echo & the Bunnymen went back to the drawing board. They came back with "Heaven Up Here," and from the very first listen it's clear that this record is chock full of Ideas, man. It sounds a lot like four [possibly] naive young men trying to deconstruct rock as they saw it in the UK in the early 80's: all sleek, chic, and retro-redundant.

Punk arrived in 1975/76 to teach the dinosaurs a lesson, and while it quickly became a parody of itself, the movement galvanized the efforts (and turned the mental/emotional/spiritual wheels) of thousands of would-be musicians.

The Bunnymen, it would seem, took punk's lessons to heart, and although they dispensed of its machinations early in their career, "Heaven Up Here" could arguably be termed the best punk-influenced record ever made. While some of the sounds on the record seem dated and cliched by today's standards, it's important to listen to this music with one's mind attuned to the context of the Times in which it was released.

Guitars shimmer and glisten like raindrops falling into puddles, as the bass churns out hypnotic Nuggets/Krautrock-inspired riffs and the drums pound out cymbal-less, tribal rhythms. And then you notice the Voice: It soars, dives, drives, and fights with the music, sometimes all in the course of a single song. This Voice drips with drama and pathos, delivering cryptic lyrics that draw you into a strange internal logic that actually begins to make a lot of sense after awhile. After thirty listens, one begins to think, "Aha! This song really DOES mean something!"

Yes, you should probably buy this album. And once you do, remember this Tip: "Heaven Up Here" actually sounds even better on an overcast, rainy day.

I think I played this album 3x/day for 20 years. Okay, maybe for 15. It is pure energy. The way Talking Heads is energy but there's something more mystical about Echo's "Heaven Up Here" than any other rock album that I've found on earth. Something more philosophical and self-motivating as well. It becomes your album. As if you created it. And now you must act beacuse of it. The Cure get there in creating nostalgia and have some similar drums at times but are not as driving. Listening to "Heaven Up Here" is like taking a shot of oxygen (or vodka) and then letting a slightly jaded consciousness of the universe explode in your brain while the guitar riffs rip your spine out and the drums take you back in time, tribal-style. There are also more dark moments on the album as well as some strange, open sky, dreamscape moments which along with the mesmerizing lyrics may seep into your unconscious. Ian McCulloch's voice is ominous and there's something god-like and ancient about it that makes you want to believe him. Warning: Don't buy this album unless you want your consciousness and energy level to change. In the end, if you listen to it enough you may begin to realize that all you want is all you want.

Echo & The Bunnymen were the first "cool" band I fell in love with. The album art is incredible, the name was cool and "strange", and most importantly the music was awesome, from the lyrics to the atmosphere. I love all their work and this one took the longest to get into, but became my favorite, right next to the brilliance of Ocean Rain. Porcupine was my favorite on first listen and Crocodiles is always fun so there is a lot of competition. This is the darkest of the 4 and maybe that is why I love it. It also rocks out as powerfully as any album I own so maybe that is what pushes it over the edge. The CD starts with "Show Of Strength", edgy and powerful, setting you up for a fight with the outside world and personal demons, this song transitions to "With A Hip", a really cool song that carries the flag filling you with a rush of adrenaline. Next is "Over The Wall", a powerful song you can't escape, drawing you into a magical world and not letting you up. The next two songs do let you relax a bit until "Heaven Up Here". This is one of my favorite songs ever. Ian's demons are all exposed and he is giving everything to escape this world while at the same time giving into its dark pleasures. He fails to escape and acknowledges his pain in the truly sad "The Disease". One of the darkest tracks to be written about the futility of life. The Bunnymen aren't afraid to expose the pain of reality and this is another reason this CD is so powerful. This atmosphere builds until "Turquoise Days" where the tension builds to the most incredible adrenalin rush of all time recorded on CD where you feel like you can grab the world by the balls and crush it. The CD than lets up a bit allowing the listener go to a world where we must take pleasure in the simple things to find any comfort at all in "All I Want". A work of genius.

Echo & the Bunnymen's debut album, "Crocodiles", introduced the band as a talented group of musicians with a raw, live-sounding set of memorable songs, appearing to draw from both 60s psychedelic and 70s punk inspirations alike. "Heaven Up Here" presents a darker and more melodic side of the band that wasn't fully tapped in their first album. They achieve this effect successfully, with a stronger bass, more introspective lyrics, and Ian McCulloch's vocal delivery given with greater conviction and desperation.

The songs on their second album are not nearly as memorable or catchy as those on their first (with the possible exceptions of "A Promise" and the title track "Heaven Up Here"). I personally feel that the album is best listened to from start to finish, since many of the songs are not powerful enough to stand alone.

Many fans of Echo & the Bunnymen appear to be divided between those who love this album and those who hate it. True, it isn't as 'accessible' to listen to as some of their other albums, for both newer and older fans. "Heaven Up here" is not as easy to grasp, at first listen, as "Crocodiles" is. Their debut album differs immensely from the slow, wandering, and gloomy atmosphere of "Heaven Up Here". Nonetheless, "Heaven Up Here" is still a pretty good album from a very accomplished group of musicians, despite showing a different, darker side.

This re-mastered edition includes five extra tracks: one B-side ("Broke My Neck") and four live songs ("Show of Strength", "The Disease", "All I Want", and "Zimbo").

Simply the best rock album of all time. Move over Led Zeppelin!

Echo and the Bunnymen released this album in 1981. Let me see,
that's 28 years ago! I purchased "Heaven Up Here", mainly for
the classic art work. It reminds me of a beach in Northumbria, England...
As for the band themselves, one description might be 'atmospheric'.
Another could be 'mesmerizing'; or even 'Liverpudlian Lads venture
on a magical mystery tour'.

As for the dark and and cliched vocals, bass hollowness
[complete with Flea riffs], interspersed with tribal hints...many bands
have sauntered down this road. Such as the Talking Heads, and The Cure.
Heaven Up Here is intensely long.The listener can reach a stage of
utter despair ; lost in the bleakness and solitude that somehow
fits the art work of the slip sleeve - quite well.

Echo & the Bunnymen surged with prolific 'songwriting' from 1978-1992.
Then came the 4 year hiatus Ian McCullough took upon himself. In 1996
a resurgence, [which is still in effect today] with "The Fountain".
Beware : Echo's best work is found on the early works. "Ocean Rain",
1984 "Porcupine", 1983 and "Crocodiles" 1980. If you add "Heaven Up Here",
[re-mastered, etcetra...nice sleeve..brilliant art work..] to the above,
I think back to back the albums would sound incredible. To compound the
experience, make sure to listen for the overall eeriness.. Happy listening!
Bunnymen of the world unite, you alone know what is right..what is right...

Liverpool's answer to Manchester's Joy Division. A great album from 1981. McCulloch and Co. deliver a grand performance.

Let me begin by saying that I buy and listen to a lot of music. This is an epic masterpiece. Rich, creative, layered, imaginative and inspirational. The fact that it was made in the early 80's has almost no imprint on the sound. The band is working together to create sonic joy with a sound that has emotional integrity. Its amazingly original. By contrast, many Echo and the Bunnymen records sort of follow a style - and the game plan is transparent. Not the case with Heaven Up There. This is also a really well produced record. You can make out the lyrics - while the percussion and guitars just flow around the drums and keyboards with each coming forwards like an actor lit up on-stage - all moving in perfect harmony. I swear I'm not just some fanboy listening to this high as a kite... This really is a Sergeant Pepper.

If anyone from the band reads this - can I beg you to try to get back here.