Customer Reviews

The Raincoats [Vinyl]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album is a moving first record that really set the stage for what became decades worth of greatness. It is masterfully pieced together, and the liner notes by Kurt Cobain are a nice touch for the re-released CD.

Particular highlights are a cover of the Kink's "Lola" and the opening track "Fairytale in the Supermarket." But it's all great. It was good to hear this album after hearing some of their later works. Everytime I listened to a new Raincoats' CD, I felt like it was a completely different band. This one is no exception. You can, however, really hear the dissonance and innate songwriting ability that is more thoroughly tuned in their newest release, Looking in the Shadows, however "uncool" it might seem to like that later, more available record.

There are several different labels that this album was released on. I decided to write this review because I am disgusted by the markup by sellers. It's truly an album that should be heard by many.

Kurt Cobain makes reference to music snobs who horde records as some sort of personal anthem. He says they're bollocks. I agree. If you want a copy, go to the Rough Trade website and they have them there for the equivalent of US $20 including shipping. I got my album in brand new shape and think the hundreds of dollars sellers here are charging is ridiculous.

bought this on the recommendation of my good friend kc a few years back - thought it was a joke at first - gave it a few listens - what's that? singing? ha ha a few months later put it on and realised it was a great album - the whole time I was at work that day I was itching to get home to play it..

Once you get over the initial shock of the new sounds (all genuinely new art should appear ugly at first, so they say) you can hear it for what it is. The violin hurting scathing and completely calm at once, the jagged punky but warm guitars and the defiant (i am a woman this is my voice - shouting weary sad happy, not just screaming) singing. I love this album so much - "fairytale" and "the void" especially. As someone says in the introduction it is like being in an attic listening to them, sounds better looking out to grey rainy streets from that little window.

Forget the typical riot ggrl fem. rock (L7 etc.)- this is real - completely punk completely different.. buy it buy it buy it.

making good on the unspoken promise of "punk"'s freedom but not sounding like anything before it (and especially not a punk rock band), the raincoats use their multiple vocal harmonies, gliding clamor, rattling rhythm, and their distinct female point-of-view to produce something that sounds not at all what you'd expect from a band whose primary influence was punk.

effortless beauty

...it could be a great album. Say it's a drizzly day in March, you didn't get the grade you know you deserved on your Camus essay (that professor never smiles when you talk, he smiles at everyone else, does he have a problem with you?), that girl you were supposed to meet for falafel never showed, and some trucker cussed you out, racially, for crossing the street on a walk signal. You want everyone in the world to die.

Then you trudge back to your room, kill the lights, and throw on this CD. It's energetic, discordant, yet somehow...dreamy. Voices and rhythms drift, ripple and crest in a hazy, amorphous ether. The beat, driving and almost tribal, never pushes so hard that it's machinelike, yet the tone never softens enough for you to start pitying yourself. With its muffled anger, tensile force and air of frayed sadness, it's the perfect balm for a weary, wounded soul.

Now suppose you key it up at a party, or on a cool June morning when you have nothing but pick-up basketball planned, or if you're just in a mood for fun and action. Ugh. What's with those droning, out-of-tune fiddles? Those clinking guitars? And what are these hoarse, off-key chicks howling about as they fail miserably to sing in unison? Something about supermarkets, the Void, soldiers as professional rapists. Do I want to listen to this right now? Do I need a raincoat on a beautiful day like today? The answers are the same.

If anything, this band is well-named. In certain moods, terrain, and meteorological states they are essential. In others, they're about as fun as rubber clothing.

I choose not to look at the Raincoats as a great "girl" rock/punk band. They are a great rock/punk band regardless of sex. They have inspired many great musicians and listeners of both genders. To call them "punk" could cause some people to think of music that has no more than three chords, screaming replacing singing, and lots of spit and blood. This would be a mistake in regards to the Raincoats and many other great "punk" bands. The Raincoats create a style of music like no others. They wrote intelligent music with superior vocal harmonizing as well as lyrical writing. The way they infused beats and guitars (not to mention some wicked violin) can only be fully appreciated by listening to their songs over and over, it's infectious. This is not just a great girl band, this is a group of women musicians who prove that great music is made from brains and not balls. Their music is timeless and if you can't enjoy/respect it on some level, then you might need to check your pulse.

If you have the chance to buy this CD then get it!

One of my favorite albums, this is incredibly catchy and unique post-punk. The Raincoats employ jittery, unconventional melodies and somewhat innocent sounding vocals which make for endearing songs that quickly grow on you. For whatever reason, the band never gained the recognition of many of their male counterparts and as a result their albums are quite difficult to find. Try Ebay. All in all, an unbelievable, unabashedly feminine punk rock album.

P.S.- Check out Liliput and The Slits as well.

This is one of my top 10 albums of all time. But that does not mean you will like it. Whenever I play it at work someone always asks me to turn it off.
It is the most perfect flawed album. off pitch and dissonant. it is very emotional and dissonant. It is a sound like you have never heard. Give it a few listens on headphnes and it will grow on you.

Any one seeking 'perfectly crafted pop perfection' can look away now because this album provides music that is energetically wild, and chaotic, bordering on the ramshackle. But that's the point: It's supposed to be like that!

The album is, perhaps, best known for the cover of 'Lola', but it's just one of the highlights. The use of scratchy violin lends a manic punk-folk edge to some of the tunes and there is an odd mix of musical styles here. It isn't perfect, but music like this isn't about perfection.
If I had to compare it to anyone, I would say maybe, The Slits or Gang of Four.

At the time of writing, this album was unavailable through Amazon but I discovered that it(and all the other Raincoats Albums)can be obtained(new!)from the Rough Trade shop(by phone or online)and for sensible money. So go on, treat yourself.

As soon as I got this cd I wanted to skim over it on my way to sleep but it ended keeping me awake the entire length of the album with a smile on my face. It even gets better and better ever time I hear it. Can't say I've heard aything else like it.

This is one of my favorite albums ever. If you want "normal" music or boring plodding ordinary punk rock, forget it. The Raincoats sound like no one else before or since. If you can appreciate the beauty of chaos, this record is a wonderful example of that. Intensely personal music, with wonderful drumming by Palmolive, sincere shouted/sung vocals, and unique instrumentation (this album is the best argument for violins in rock since Amon Duul II). If you want to hear something unique that you will never forget, give it a try. Their second album, Odyshape, is also brilliant.