Customer Reviews

Jehovahkill

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You'll want to sit back and listen to this album from start to finish without doing anything else - definitely try listening with headphones. This is trippy psychedelic pop with influences from Kraftwerk to Iggy Pop and everything in between. Unbelievably excellent production, songwriting, and vocals. The title may scare some people off, but the theme of the album as you may guess is organized religion and how it has screwed our society up - excellent lyrics that are never preachy. Why is Julian Cope not much more famous and why has this album been deleted without ever receiving the publicity it deserves? Probably because the major labels want us to consume "Safe" music. This is one of Julian Cope's 4 masterpieces (my favourite one overall)- the others being Peggy Suicide, Autogeddon, and 20 Mothers.

Julian Cope hit a creative peak in the early 90's with Peggy Suicide and then this album. Peggy Suicide was more commercially viable, but Jehovahkill is a genuine powerhouse. Musically all over the map -- from the pop bliss of "The Mystery Trend" and "Fa-Fa-Fa Fine" to blistering Krautrock primal scream therapy ("Upwards at 45 Degrees", "The Subtle Energies Commission") to techno-dance ("Poet Is Priest"). On the closing mother-goddess "war of the genders" epic, "The Tower", Cope recalls The Doors' "The End", sounding uncannily like Jim Morrison at times. This album is a feast of musicianship and experimentalism with a cynical, mystical neo-hippy edge that only arch drude Julian can deliver so perfectly. A classic.

Julian Cope is a bit of a legendary figure who has a tendency to write really earthy ragged pop songs with an offbeat edge. his songs are so great because he infuses them with pure personality. this kind of characteristic seems to drive the songwriting process forward into a solid effort everytime the studio reels start rolling. Cope's tunes are filled with joy, sorrow, confusion, and many times silliness. his love of obscure psychadelic music is well documented on his HeritageHead website; and his solo work draws alot of inspiration from that particular style. the guitar work tendfs to be a bit spacey at times, and the rhythms are primal and well thought out. every song seems to have it's own steady pulse and Julian rides over all of it like some sort of half-crazed insightful singing shaman.

Jehovakill starts off alot like how Peggy Suicide ended. with the strums of an acoustic guitar and Cope's low voice telling us how he was "lost and loveless in your soul desert." a great beginning to a strange tale of an album. things seem to be a little more scaled back on this record...which draws out a very cool starkness to some of these pieces. particularly "Know (Cut My Friends Down)", "Slow Rider", and "Give Me Back My Flag." that same skeletal feeling is ripe on the 10 minute "The Tower." in my opinion, Jehovakill is just as good as Peggy Suicide and could almost be seen as companion albums.

This is an amazing album. Julian Cope is an amazing singer and his writing on this album is extremely mature. "Upwards at 45 Degrees" and "Fear Loves This Place" are chilling. This is one of the few albums I've ever heard where I say, "I wouldn't change a single thing about that record." And it's a very LONG record, so that says a lot in my opinion.

i'm struck by the inherent catchiness, the instant appeal, of jehovakill's sounds, contrasted by the intriguing mysticism of cope's lyrics. after all, an album that makes you both tap your foot and think a tad is rare, is it not? the album's tones and musical media are diverse, ranging from "Know(cut my friends down)'s" vocal strength and acoustic simplicity to the edgy guitar riff of "Slow Rider." and i must say, cope's interest in Ancient British cults, and his devotion to redefining Christianity's Cross as a universal human emblem, are amusing if not interesting. i wholeheartedly recommend this album through the ears of someone who stumbled upon it and has been diggin' its weird science ever since.

Whatever you say about julian, he always does things with passion. Ther closet he ever came to half stepping was the commercial retread of My Nation Underground. This album represents a new vision fully realised in the wake of the abrasive raw turnaround which began with Droolian and Skellington and came to commercial attention with Peggy Suicide. The album is a journey that should be felt with headphones. I diisagree with anyone who says this isn't the best. Peggy may have been the most exciting time but this album gets as close to the edge in a way like tonight's the nighjt did for neil young. Julian's laser was on target and he had blinders on when he did the album. If you ever see them pick up on the jehovakill fear loves this place dual cd singles with 6 extra non-lp tracks. If you haven't been there you, need to go. this is modern soul searching cosmic artistry at its finest. too bad the masses are so wrapped up in walmart and mtv to give merit to where it belongs. this is a classic album, time will bear me out.

I won't pretend to know what the heck Julian is singing about most of the time. I am a fan of his voice and how he uses it. This disc shows off his voice booming and quiet and in-between. It's a good listen.

Easily, one of my favourite albums ever and possibly my favourite. Unfortunately, it seems like it's going to remain a lost classic.This is Julian's finest hour combining Krautrock, Psychedelia, Pop and general weirdness. It's beautifully and simply recorded and it still puts a shiver down my spine.

Good in parts but I wish it was a lot more "up". Peggy Suicide is fa-fa-better. I quite like Upwards at 45 Degrees, Mystery Trend, Fear Loves This Place & Tower. Necropolis is a killer track I can play over & over it's so much fun. Ahead of it's time in bleakness & a sign of a few of his albums to come I'm afraid.