Customer Reviews

What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

After a few stagnant years (IMHO), Ian and Will are back with a fantastic album. Although hardly a "true" Bunnymen reunion, this effort is far better than "Evergreen" and the Electrafixion era. Harkening back to "Ocean Rain" (my favorite song and Bunnymen album), the strings and orchestral touches are a bit more understated, and there are some surprising arrangements that initially make you wonder if this is really a Bunnymen recording. A bit older, sadder and wiser (judging by the lyrics), this ain't your father's Bunnymen.

Will Sergeant (a vastly underrated guitar player IMO) comes through with some of his finest work to date, and Ian McCullough's weary vocals add to the elegance of the songs.

Songs like Rust, Get in the Car and Baby Rain are pure pop gems. They make me want to pick up that dusty acoustic guitar and play along. In fact, that's just what I'm going to do.

It's been a long, dry 15 years since the grandiose gorgeousness of "Ocean Rain": the horribly compromised 1987 "grey album", a pair of so-so Ian McCulloch solo albums, Will Sergeant's noble-but-doomed "Reverberation," the good-but-not-great Electrafixion and 1997's decent-if-uninspiring comeback "Evergreen." By rights, "What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?" should have been another by-the-numbers piece of product destined to please no one but a dwindling group of hard core fans. Somehow, though, it's anything but. McCulloch & Sergeant have finally risen to the occasion and delivered an album that stands as their first tangible sign of musical greatness since the closing seconds of "Ocean Rain." Improbable as it sounds, this is an utterly ravishing album that completely recaptures the Bunnymen magic of yore. What a pity they didn't release something like this in 1987; they'd have conquered the earth with it. For skeptical, long-suffering Bunnyfans like me, this album is nothing short of a miracle. See you at the barricades...

Following up their excellent reunion album, 1997's Evergreen, with this lush little gem, What...? proves that Echo & The Bunnymen are back for good. Whereas Evergreen found the band brash and playful in its "we're-back" sound, the new album recalls their 1984 masterpiece, Ocean Rain, in its brooding, introspective moodiness and orchestration. The nine tracks, however, clock in at only 38 minutes, and while that may have been acceptable in the days of vinyl, it seems downright stingy now. Especially considering that the 4 b-sides available on the 2 "Rust" cd-singles could have easily been incorporated into this release. Fortunately, these nine tracks have clearly been chosen for their cohesiveness and quality, leaving the listener with little to sequence or edit.

The opening title track sets the tone for what will follow - melancholy strings punctuated by laid-back guitar strumming and Ian McCulloch's trademark yearning vocals. Reminiscent of the song "Ocean Rain", the placement of this track at the beginning is a hint that this album is more candlelight than glitterball. This is followed by the single, "Rust", which has a similarly orchestral sound built around yet another melancholy lyric line borrowed in part from one of Ian's last solo b-sides, "Ribbons And Chains". The pace picks up with "Get In The Car", a soothingly upbeat radio-friendly tune, and "Baby Rain". After the lush orchestration of the preceding tracks, "History Chimes" gleams elegantly - a simple, soulful combination of Ian's voice accompanied only by piano, and arguably the best track on the album. "Lost On You" is another remodeled Ian b-side originally titled "Birdy". "Morning Sun" recalls the Evergreen sound, with heavier drums and guitars and a catchy chorus. "When It All Blows Over" provides a short retro respite before the concluding shimmer of "Fools Like Us" brings the album to a close with an onslaught of violins and guitars.

While not quite the masterpiece that Ocean Rain was, What...? earns the distinction of being the Bunny-est album in 15 years. Highly recommended despite its short length - sometimes big things do come in small, elegant packages.

Once again an excellent offering. Smooth, comfortable. Read Beth Massa's (of Amazon) review, she's hit the nail right on the head. The Bunnymen are still the Bunnymen, but if you were expecting the screaming, squealing vocals of yesterdecade, may I recommend Ocean Rain, or Porcupine. This group didn't sell out, or slow down... they evolved. If you didn't like Evergreen, you probably won't like this either. On the other hand if your tastes have matured as gracefully as Echo's style has, you're going to love it.

Ten years of wearing out the grooves on their first five records...content to replace the old vinyl for CDs in that time...left with the last true echo that was Candleland...FLASHBACK: 1997...an unlikely comeback - a triumphant comeback aptly named Evergreen. Two years later, underserving as I was of the comeback I never dared dream would happen...I hold in my hand the continuing chapter in the Echo & the Bunnymen legacy. I've been listening to it for 3 weeks already, so forgive me if this is bursting to come out. Truly, this album is a sparkling crystalline gem in the pile of shite that is the state of music today. Shorn of the angst of the early albums (which would irk some fans no doubt), it shimmers instead with a fragile beauty and a sweeping emotive quality not unlike the surge of tide ala Ocean Rain. But while Mac never quite achieves the highs of the wailing cressendo of that particular song in any one moment on this disc, what he does deliver is his most even patch of songcraftsmenship ever. Each & every song possesive of a hook & melody to die for and a set of lyrics Leonard Cohen would be proud of. Mac's pen drips with a heartfelt directness that more than amply replaces the poetic mysticism of Echo Past. The voice has never sounded better...it still takes me places. Will's guitar is understated (again, bound to irk some fans) but the astute listener would realise that it had to be this way on a record such as this. And in that context, Will plays with a subtle invention that is a credit to his versatility...some of the guitarwork on this album is astounding...it just isn't obvious. Then again, sometimes the best things in life aren't either.

Unless this CD falls into unlikely hands, it's improbable that Mac & Co. would conquer Stateside radio. It's pretty sad that an album of this quality will pass largely unheard by the masses. For those fortunate to chance across it...surely the soundtrack of the summer of '99. A record for young lovers and anyone who ever had a heart.

Echo & The Bunnymen still have the vision. With frontman Ian McCulloch and Guitarist Will Sergeant having found the fire again in 1995 with side-project Electrafixion, Bass player Les Pattinson returned to the fold for the Bunnymen 1997 outing, Evergreen. This new album, minus Pattinson once again (due to a family loss), save for the final track, Fools Like Us, weighs in at under 39 minutes, but, oh what a 39 minutes it is! McCulloch has a great voice, and the songs are more bare and organic but still as grand and cinematic as earlier epics like Ocean Rain. The arrangements are more simple and focused, with guest turns from the Fun Lovin' Criminals and The London Metropolitan Orchestra. All in all, this stands up with the best Bunnymen albums, certainly among the best of the year. In summary, one fantastic album from the "greatest band ever"

The best Echo album ever, in my opinion. To hell with those who criticize artists for not being "innovative" or "new." This album is the most recent distillation of the Echo genius; it's unmistakably Echo, but filtered through years of experience. What I'm trying to say is that the reason I love it is that band didn't stray from their style to appease anyone. If you're an Echo fan, you'll love this album.

This is a gorgeous piece of work, akin to both "Ocean Rain" and Ian McCulloch's 1989 masterpiece, "Candleland". It is basically a McCulloch solo album - arguably his best.

There will always be a place in my heart for straight ahead melodic rock/pop music. Unlike the Bunnymen's 80's output there are no spiky punk attitudes or towering rock infernos and to be honest 'What Are You Going To Do With Your Life' is all the better for it. The material here is rich, mellow and rewarding; the aural equivalent of that favourite whiskey you keep stashed away for a special occasion which always goes down rather nicely. Ian McCulloch is on a definite winner with the song 'Rust' and he knows it - it simply gleans with beauty. The rest of the album kicks along nicely at it's own steady pace with nary a bad track amongst it - this is a record that is very comfortable in it's skin from a group that's found a better place in the musical landscape and realized their potential. A fulfilling listen.

Maybe it's because Ian McCulloch and I are the same age, maybe it's because as I get older I yearn for albums rich in melody, structure, atmosphere and emotion...but damn! this is one superb album! Like other long-time fans, I miss the edginess in Ian's voice that made such breath-taking songs as "The Killing Moon" and "Kingdom" so enchanting. EVERGREEN, the band's previous effort, contained bold, brassy rockers. For fans of the band's quirky, art-altrna-rock side it seemed disjointed and somewhat disappointing. But it, and WHAT...? are the sound of punkers hitting their late thirties. And people who expect them to stick to the same type of thing they did at their beginnings haven't really seen the band's maturity and experience. The songs here are grand, moody pieces. Very British, very introspective, very rewarding. Ian's low register on the title track alone is worth the price of admission (especially when it cracks as he delivers the chorus' second line). OK, its doesn't contain the chards-of-plexiglass guitar-work of early efforts or the psychological symbolism of albums like OCEAN RAIN, but WHAT...? (and EVERGREEN) will appeal to those looking for melody above pyrotechnics, lyricism over word-play, maturity over commercial banility. It's the sound of punk hitting middle age and not liking it one bit...