Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Greatest Chill Out Album...Ever-5 Stars++++, January 8, 2002
Of all the record companies who have influenced modern music,I reckon none have done so as much as 4AD records.From Indie rock to trance,from alternate sounds to ambient-this company had groups that were always one step ahead of the rest and were always willing to look beyond the mainstream.When This Mortal Coil were created-an amalgamation of all these groups it was certainly an exciting prospect.Groups like Cocteau Twins,Dead Can Dance,The Wolfgang Press,etc working together to write songs and also do amazing covers of songs by Tim Buckley,Alex Chilton,etc-it was a daunting prospect and one that worked so amazingly well.It also provided a great introduction to try out the music of those 4AD groups properly. As you can imagine with so many people working on an album-the sounds of the tracks are quite diverse.The difference between Howard Devoto of Buzzcocks fame singing Holocaust with it's piano's and cello to the Indie guitar romp track 11 "Not Me".Liz Fraser does the most amazing cover version of Buckley's "Song To The Siren"-comparisons to the original are quite startling.She almost has this soothing spiritual lilt that sounds sort of Asian,and this accompanies the most amazingly gentle shimmering guitar from Robin Guthrie-I didn't know it was a guitar until I read the innersleeve and this was made in the early 80's long before studio trickery could be used so effectively.Compare this to Lisa Gerard's frightening hypnotic vocals on the track "Dreams Made Flesh"-they're described as "yang t'chin" vocals and they are just unbelievable.Her Dead Can Dance partner Brendan Perry plays what called a bass drone-which sounds like some sort of Ancient Greek instrument.There are long Pink Floyd type instrumentals and shorter minimalist tracks of romantic sentiment.Yet despite all these contrasts each track has a close bond.It's almost like going on some sort of spiritual journey in a storm-full of different emotions-soothing,harsh,ambient and raging.There is a great sense of blissed out satisfaction when you reach the end of the c.d. For those people who are into listening to the "chilled out" experiences that seem to make up 90% of all compilations-then maybe you should check out where this concept had it's origins.This Mortal Coil are a group of sorts that very few people seem to be aware of-yet if you name some of it's members people seem more aware.I've given this c.d. to so many people and to a person they have all come back with the reaction of "where has this been all my musical life".One of the greatest albums ever released in my opinion!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Life, Love and Sorrow in the eightees, May 13, 2000
TMC really captures the new wave eightees sound with this album. My sister, dressed in black in those days, used to play this album to death, which was why I pretended to not like it, while in reality I secretly recorded her album on cassette to play it on pirate-radio and in clubs myself. Looking back I'm convinced that TMC (and Cocteau Twins singer Liz Fraser in particular) took down many barriers that existed between 'alternative' and other genres. At the end of DANCE club-nights I could easily get away with playing Song To The Siren, and I still recall that as being a VERY exceptional experience back in 84 and 85. I could not only feel shivers down my own spine, but saw it happening to the crowd as well. Almost each track of this album is comforting to listen to when in sorrow, this is music you'll feel, no matter what your age is or where you come from.
I have always remembered the cleanliness of this album, but it would have gotten 5 stars from me if it didn't have those very few technical engineering's imperfections (but you have to be really into that to let them bother you).
Probably the most important thing about It'll End In Tears is that to me it's still getting better everytime I play it, and music that doesn't bore me is rare. I totally love this album.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lovely and sometimes heartbreaking 4AD classic, November 24, 2000
IT'LL END IN TEARS is the first album of This Mortal Coil, a loose collective gathered by 4AD record-label head Ivo-Watts Russell. It's twelve tracks come together to form the epitome of the "4AD sound" that characterized the label up until the mid-90s.The amount of talent in this release is captivating. The cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" is performed by Liz Fraser (voice) and Robin Guthrie (guitar) of Cocteau Twins, and Liz's divine voice fits the song perfectly. Liz Fraser provides the vocals also for the sweet "Another Day." "Barramundi" is a piece by Cocteau Twin's bassist Simon Raymonde, and its dark brooding nature creates a truly Gothic soundscape. "Dreams Made Flesh" and "Waves Become Wings" feature Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance in two beautiful early efforts. Just as crucial to the loveliness of the music is the excellent design by 23 Envelope (now v23), 4AD's in-house design team led by the magisterial Vaughan Oliver. The photography and layout of the album is truly beautiful. Granted, there are a few tracks on this album which do not live up to the heartbreaking sweep of the others, "Kangaroo" is rather dull, but IT'LL END IN TEARS captures an era, a record label, and collaborative genius wonderfully.
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