Crocodiles

Echo & The Bunnymen

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: July 18, 1980
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KO5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,884 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Along with the Teardrop Explodes's Kilimanjaro and the Psychedelic Furs' self-titled LP, Echo and the Bunnymen's Crocodiles was one of several debut releases in 1980 that ushered in the U.K.'s neopsychedelic movement. Darker and less reliant on typical pop conventions than the work of most of their peers, Crocodiles presented Liverpool's Bunnymen as a truly original and inspired fusion of punk's nihilism and the psychedelic era's open-ended experimentation. Will Sergeant's innovative guitar sound, slipping seamlessly between sharp, brittle attacks and warm, lush embraces, made a perfect foil for frontman Ian McCulloch's somber vocals and self-conscious, introspective lyrics. With his rich, gloomy voice and cryptic tales of despair and disillusionment, McCulloch recalled influences as disparate as the Doors' Jim Morrison and Joy Division's Ian Curtis on haunting songs such as "Stars Are Stars," "Villiers Terrace," and the apocalyptic "Happy Death Men." However, it's when McCulloch lightens up and the band loosens up that they realize their full potential. "Do It Clean" is a potent three-chord rocker propelled by Pete DeFreitas's dead-on drumming and a frenzied organ courtesy of producer (and Teardrop Explodes keyboardist) David Balfe. "Rescue," the LP's single, is a soulful pure-pop gem that would have been a huge radio hit in an alternate, ultimately more just universe. --Paul Ducey

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a classic new-wave masterpiece, June 30, 2001

By A Customer

I just want to point out that the label "neopsychedelic" as applied to Echo & the Bunnymen is ultimately shallow and meaningless. Echo & the Bunnymen are not for nostalgic fans of Grateful Dead and Cream; if that's your musical milieu, then don't bother with Echo & the Bunnymen. They really aren't all that much like the Doors, either. This band actually fits into the late-70's/early 80's post-punk movement, with peers such as Joy Division, Magazine, Bauhaus, Talking Heads, Chameleons, the Sound, Gang of Four, Comsat Angels, Wall of Voodoo, Cocteau Twins, and lots of others.... arguably the most exciting and innovative scene in rock history, and Echo & the Bunnymen were among the cream.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Debut, February 16, 2002

By	Eric Beck (Stafford, TX United States) - See all my reviews

You are sure to feel the immediacy of this CD - a band certain of its importance arriving on the scene. I don't think the band could have envisioned a better debut for themselves even when they first started jamming together. It has that mysterious, Doorsy psychedelic feel - and they were all major, major Doors fans - while showcasing their punk credibility - important at the time especially and still a timeless ingredient. This has the strongest psychedelic feel along with Heaven Up Here of the band first four albums, all of which are classics. However, Crocodiles is built on melodies- great melodies from top to bottom - whereas Heaven Up Here is based heavily on atmospheres, making them two completely, completely different albums - but definitely linked by the Bunnymen's distinct sound. It also sounds more restrained and focused than the other Bunnymen classics, foregoing the elaborate, ambitious, HUGE sound of Porcupine and to a lesser extent Ocean Rain. I also don't think Will Sergeant's guitar playing sounds as unique as it does later even and especially as soon as a year later on Heaven Up Here, the watershed album for all of post-punk guitar IMO. The band together plays just exponentially greater than the sum of its parts here - something great to hear.

All in all, this is one of the rare albums that is solid from top to bottom with absolutely no filler and that maintains an intense, cool vibe throughout as well. After a few spins, it has become my second favorite Bunnymen album - a high mark considering I'm a huge Bunnymen fan. I highly recommend it!!!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first in a sequence of 4 classics, January 16, 2004

By	Wee Jimmy (Tring, Hertfordshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

Ever since I got them a couple of weeks ago, I've been of the opinion that if you don't have the first four Bunnymen albums (this, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine and Ocean Rain) then you don't deserve to call yourself a music fan. Harsh? You bet. But seriously, these albums will hugely improve the quality of your life. They faded fast, but from 1980-84 Echo & the Bunnymen were quite possibly the best band in the world. Exciting, psychedelic, danceable, melancholic - this band could capture every emotion ever expressed by popular music and fire it back in your face.
Crocodiles is possibly the best entry point into Echo & the Bunnymen's world. Although not as sweepingly magnificent as Heaven Up Here, as accomplished as Porcupines or as beautiful as Ocean Rain, and possibly wearing its influences on its sleeve a bit more than those others, this album makes up for all that by featuring one of the best collections of tunes ever committed to tape. Rescue, Pride, Pictures On My Wall, Villiers Terrace and Stars are Stars are the highlights, but everything here achieves a brilliantly unique and accessible mixture of moods.
Oh yeah, and the album cover's really cool.