Project 1001: Ocean Rain by Echo & the Bunnymen
Wait for me on the blue horizon / Blue horizon for everyone / Wait for me on a new horizon / New horizons for everyone /
This is a stunning album. Even 40 years later. Every song is strong and some of them rise to the level of epic. Lots of romantic poetry in the lyrics. Just one example, the opening verse of “Seven Seas”
Stab a sorry heart with your favourite finger
Paint the whole world blue and stop your tears from stinging
Hear the cavemen singing
Good news, they're bringing
Tons more where that came from. An amazing record. My rating:
Contemporary critics did not love Ocean Rain using words like “banal”, “monochromatic”, and “blustery”.1 It’s funny how often critics get it wrong when it comes to music.
Retrospective reviews have been much kinder and, in my view, fairer.
AllMusic Review by Jason Ankeny
“Channeling the lessons of the experimental Porcupine into more conventional and simple structural parameters, Ocean Rain emerges as Echo & the Bunnymen's most beautiful and memorable effort. Ornamenting Ian McCulloch's most consistently strong collection of songs to date with subdued guitar textures, sweeping string arrangements, and hauntingly evocative production, the album is dramatic and majestic; "The Killing Moon," Ocean Rain's emotional centerpiece, remains the group's unrivalled pinnacle.”2
Blender asserted Ocean Rain to be “a portrait of splendid derangement with spectacular orchestrations and their greatest song, ‘The Killing Moon.’”3 And Record Collector gushed, “A disparate, one-off masterpiece in an already amazing oevre, Ocean Rain was an album of unparalleled scope and ornateness.”4
In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Mark Blackrock wrote:
“While their peers U2 and Simple Minds were playing stadiums, Echo And The Bunnymen were touring islands off the west coast of Scotland. Ocean Rain proves which ultimately was more rewarding…The confidence of Ocean Rain means that it stands the test of time better than any other Bunnymen album. ‘Our definitive statement,’ said singer Ian McCulloch.”5
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
Prime Playlist: 224. Ocean Rain by Echo & the Bunnymen
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For details about this project, read this: Project 1001 Albums
Charts
• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: #876
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: n/a
• RIAA certification: n/a
Released on May 4, 1984. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”7
• Number one album: Footloose Soundtrack8
• Number one movie: Police Academy by Hugh Wilson9
• Most watched TV programs: 60 Minutes, Dallas, Dynasty, The A-Team, Simon & Simon, Magnum, P.I., Falcon Crest, Kate & Allie, Hotel, Cagney & Lacy, Knots Landing10
• NYT bestseller, fiction: The Aquitaine Progression by Robert Ludlum11
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession12
Some other albums released that month
• Hysteria by The Human League
• Legend by Bob Marley & The Wailers
• Stay Hungry by Twisted Sister
• Chicago 17 by Chicago
• Hallowed Ground by Violent Femmes
• Couldn't Stand the Weather by Stevie Ray Vaughan
• All Over the Place by The Bangles
• Private Dancer by Tina Turner
• A Pagan Place by The Waterboys
• Fat Boys by The Fat Boys
• Nuclear Furniture by Jefferson Starship
• Civilized Man by Joe Cocker
• Major Moves by Hank Williams, Jr.
• Through the Fire by Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve (HSAS)13
Sport
• May 5 110th Kentucky Derby: Laffit Pincay Jr aboard Swale wins in 2:02.4.
• May 8 The Soviet Union announces it will not participate in Los Angeles Summer Olympics in retaliation for the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
• May 13 Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff's last competitive match.14
Notable Births
• May 3 Cheryl Burke, American professional dancer (Dancing with the Stars), born in San Francisco, California.
• May 7 Drew Stanton, American football player, Michigan State legend.
• May 14 Mark Zuckerberg, American internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Facebook, born in White Plains, New York.15
Historical Events
• May 4 Itaipu Dam begins generating electricity on the border between Paraguay and Brazil, - the world's second largest generator of electricity (considered one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world).
• May 7 $180m out-of-court settlement reached in Agent Orange suit.
• May 12 South African prisoner Nelson Mandela sees his wife Winnie Mandela for the 1st time in 22 years.16
Notable Deaths
• May 1 Gordon Jenkins, American arranger and orchestra leader (Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra), dies of Lou Gehrig's disease at 73.
• May 2 Jack Barry, American game show emcee (Joker's Wild), dies of cardiac arrest at 66.
• May 10 Robert Moore, American director and actor (Murder by Death, Marshall-Diana), dies from AIDS-related pneumonia at 56.
• May 16 Andy Kaufman, American comedian and actor (Taxi -"Latka"), dies of cancer at 35.
• May 16 Irwin Shaw, American writer (Rich Man, Poor Man), dies at 71.
Blacklock, Mark, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Fifth printing, ed. by Robert Dimmery p. 526.
Ibid.