Customer Reviews

St Julian

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

 

 

Cope is a lovable nut job. He tasted major stardom in Britain as the leader of The Teardrop Explodes from 1979-82. What followed after was the conspicuous consumption of enough LSD to make Grace Slick's head pop off, as well as some weird and very uneven solo work with flashes of brilliance. Fast forward to 1986. He curtailed his indulgences some and recorded a great, dare I say almost mainstream album with a band that rocks like Bowie's Spiders from Mars.

Saint Julian got him some long overdue exposure here, mainly on MTV, with two videos: "World Shut Your Mouth" and "Trampolene".
His image had changed radically from the clean cut, almost preppy looking lad from 1980, to a long haired acid head from 82-85, and then, the leather clad menace seen here, railing against God and the church. He was an atheist or agnostic at the time and would later claim a spiritual awakening which lead him into the study of Wicca and the ancient Druids. He has written a book also available here on the history of the mysterious stone circles of the British Isles.

Cope sings in two voices. His tenor is very unique and when he slips down into his lower register, he can sound remarkably like Jim Morrison or Iggy Pop, though he's a much better singer than either of them.
Saint Julian rocks hard, but has a poppy edge to some of it that often serves as counterpoint to his strange lyrics. He has always been able to write clever tunes with hooks that reach out and grab the listener, even on his more left field efforts.
I also recomend "Peggy Suicide" from 1991. The only other release of his from the 90's I'm up on is "20 Mothers", which was very uneven. Also, be sure to check out his Teardrop Explodes material, since it's been reissued. If he's ever on tour here again, don't miss him. I've had the pleasure 3 times.

This was the first Julian H. disc that I ever bought, and it still remains among my favorites. It's as solid from start to finish as they come, and what a finish it is. I'm surprised that "A Crack in the Clouds" eluded the folks who put together the Floored Genius collections. I must have played "Pulsar" about a million times, and "Spacehopper" and "World Shut Your Mouth" are not that far behind. I also love the arrangements he was using at the time- check out the english horn on "Saint Julian", absolutely gorgeous and unique. Since this disc pre-dates both Jehovakill and Peggy Suicide, it is neither as heady and fulfilling as either, but it comes in a close third. Plus this one actually works at parties.

Great music, I move it between my car and my house, it's great to listen to in the car when you want to think but it's also kind of boppy and poppy. The last song is incredibly beautiful. But Julian Cope is great, so no surprise here!

This was the last great Julian Cope album. I never really got into Peggy Suicide and all that even though there were songs here and there that I liked.