Customer Reviews

Kilimanjaro

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked up (and reviewed) The Teardrop Explodes' Wilder first, and was floored by how good it was. This is easily that album's equal, if not its better - I can't decide just yet. On one hand, this album is more energetic and driving than Wilder; Wilder, on the other hand, is more varied and more subtle.

The Teardrop Explodes had a lot of musical assets, and all are on display here - Julian Cope's vocals are gripping, the melodies quirky but very hooky, the lyrics worth some thought, and the production (credited to the Chameleons, mostly) and instrumentation inventively off-kilter and interestingly textured. Especially great is the use of a horn section, which is employed in unusual ways, and adds a really distinctive element to the band's sound. Sound-wise, the result is impossible to describe, but I'll note that the music mixes psychedelic rock, dance music, and early-80's British post-punk (and, as a previous reviewer noted, some Tijuana Brass, too!) In sum, this album still sounds completely fresh after twenty years, a remarkable achievement for a twenty-year-old record, and especially remarkable for a record that was a product of the New Wave post-punk early 80's, when sounds dated quickly, it seems. "HA HA I'm Drowning" "Sleeping Gas" "Went Crazy" "Treason" and "When I'm Dreaming" stand out, but there is not a weak song in the original set of 11, and only a couple of weak ones on the bonus EP. Highly recommended.

Simply put, the 1980-81 version/lineup of the Teardrop Explodes simply had no equal. From the sheer suss of their songs, arrangements, lyrics and attitude to their 1970's revival stage show, THEY WERE THE JOE-COOLEST OF THE 1980'S (only the early bunneymen, Dexy's and the Jam came anywhere near). 'Nuff said.

About twenty years ago--yes, kids, back in the vinyl days--I found "Kilimanjaro" in the record store cut-out bin. I bought it on a whim, knowing nothing of its personnel or genesis, and I was rewarded with an album that prodded me into exploring whole other genres of music. After all this time the music still holds up wonderfully well, frenetic and melodic and spooky. Nearly every cut is a gem. Unlike some, I never thought Julian Cope was much of a lyricist--as my writing teachers used to tell me, "Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's profound"--and I suppose the horns on "Kilimanjaro" are synthesized, but they still pack a wallop. The album does too. Very worthwhile.

So you're fan. You bought singles, and Kilimanjaro on vinyl, then you bought the CD with the bonus tracks. Of course you also bought, 'Piano' when that was released in the early 90's, and the 'BBC sessions' CD.
So you come to buy this thinking plenty of unheard bonus tracks right. Wrong! if you have aforementioned Cd's, all you get for your [...] bucks is the last 3 tracks on disc 3 from a mike read BBC session that didn't make it onto the 'BBC sessions' CD. Thanks Mercury/Universal for trying to squeeze yet more blood from the consumer stone. To make matters worse, the material would've fit neatly onto 2 Cd's, and they also managed to miss the 'from the shore's of lake placid' Zoo compilation tracks that were on 'Piano', meaning you still need to keep it. The Zoo singles are all mastered from vinyl, they sound marginally better than the 'Piano' versions but not much.
The music as we know is of course fantastic, but really, such a shoddy release for the die hard deserves nothing but contempt.

Julian Cope. Kilimanjaro. The Teardrop Explodes had few equals at the time, perhaps Echo and the Bunnymen. But they nearly disappeared from sight. Put the record on and remember their great songs. Oh, I mean the CD. Ooops! Listen to this on your iPod while wearing dark sunglasses. Life is good!

Julian Cope's first commercial success band, The Teardrop Explodes were formed when Cope and Echo and the Bunnymen frontman Ian McCullough failed to get their co-op project off the ground. In fact, several tracks on "Kilimanjaro" also appear on the Bunnymen premier album "Crocodiles." Ooooo! If only they could have sorted out their artistic differences!

This is a must have for any CD collection. Cope's lyrics are their usually esoterically intelligent, the production values lush and the musicianship first-rate.

Great songs great album. Hard to believe I swapped it for "Bad and Lowdown World of the Kane Gang" (but to be fair, that is also a good album). There is probably only one other great example of the use of a brass section from this period and that is the A-side of "Diamond" by Spandau Ballet, where the redoubtable Beggar and Co provided the horns. The B-side however should be taken around the back and shot.

This album mixed disturbing funky little psychedelic imaginings with blasting foot stompers, all powered by Julian Copes great voice. This album really is a forgotten classic.

I bought this as a gift for my son who wanted it, but I have been fortunate enough to hear it because we commute together and play it in the car. I love Julian Cope and I'm 65-years old!

His voice, his music, his band make me happy and bring me out of a funky mood from the office on my way home from work every evening. Thank God for Julian Cope!

kilimanjaro and wilder are even more fantastic if you listen to them and read copes book(s) head-on and repossesed at the same time. As a thirty something who was formed on this stuff I think the guy from the observer (uk press) says it all with "it made my heart burst".
It helps if you are english when you listen and read but I am sure others will love it too.

I became aquainted with this album way back in 1980 when I received a maxi-single while working in radio -- it included "Ha Ha, I'm Drowning", "When I Dream", and "Reward"(not on the original LP). That it still stands up 27 years later is a testament to the talent of lead singer Julian Cope (who is still active). Cope's horn arrangements add power that was missing in much of the pop of that period. Good times, good times...