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Crocodiles (album)
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Everything about Crocodiles Album totally explained

Crocodiles is the debut album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen and was released on July 18, 1980. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.

Background and recording

Having released their first single, 1979's "The Pictures on My Wall", Pete de Freitas joined Echo & the Bunnymen as the band's drummer. In early 1980 the band recorded their second single "Rescue" which was released in May 1980. The single was recorded at Eden Studios in London and produced by fellow Liverpudlian and ex-member of Big in Japan Ian Broudie. A British tour in June 1980 then followed before the band went to Rockfield Studios in Wales to record their first album. Despite talk of asking the American singer Del Shannon to produce the album it was produced by the band's manager Bill Drummond and his business partner and The Teardrop Explodes keyboard player David Balfe. Despite the recording of the album only taking three weeks,

Music

The music on Crocodiles is generally dark and moody, in 1980 NME described lead singer Ian McCulloch's lyrics as a being "scattered with themes of sorrow, horror, and despair, themes that are reinforced by stormy animal/sexual imagery" and American music magazine Creem described Crocodiles as "a moody, mysterious, fascinating record". Whilst in 1981 music journalist David Fricke writing for Rolling Stone magazine said, "Instead of dope, McCulloch trips out on his worst fears: isolation, death and emotional brankruptcy."

Cover

The photographs used on the cover of the Crocodiles were taken by photographer Brian Griffin. Describing the picture used on the front cover of the album, music journalist Chris Salewicz said, "[...] the Bunnymen are placed in poses of histrionic despair in a near-neurotically gothic woodland that evokes memories of elfin glades and fabled Arthurian legends." In his 2002 book, Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen, author Chris Adams said that in 1980 Creem magazine had written, "The cover art suggests four boys dazed and confused in a drugged dream, a surreal where-are-we landdscape. The Bunnymen's images are of loneliness, disconnection, a world gone awry."
   Originally the band wanted the pictures to include burning stakes, however, given the possible KKK connotations, they settled for moody lighting instead. Although guitarist Will Sergeant was less happy saying that he "was pissed off that there was a solo picture of [McCulloch] on the back cover".

Releases

The album was originally released as an LP in the United Kingdom on 18 July 1980 by Warner Bros. subsidiary label Korova. The LP didn't inlcude two tracks, "Do It Clean" and "Read It in Books", which were recorded for the album because the managing director of Warner Bros., Rob Dickens, thought that they contained swear words. "Rescue" was released a year later on 5 May 1980 and became the band's first song to chart when it reached number 62 on the UK Singles Chart.

Reception

Writing for NME in 1980 Chis Salewicz described the album as "being probably the best album this year by a British band".
   Following its release, Crocodiles reached a peak of number 17 on the UK Albums Chart in July 1980.
   In 1993, the NME listed Crocodiles at number 28 in its list of the 50 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2006, Uncut magazine also listed the album at number 69 on its list of the 100 greatest debut albums.

Cover versions

Scottish band Idlewild covered the track "Rescue" on their single "These Wooden Ideas" in June 2000. In late 2001 American singer-songwriter Kelley Stoltz released the album Crockodials, a track by track cover version of the original Crocodiles album.

Track listing

All tracks written by Will Sergeant, Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson and Pete de Freitas except where noted.

1980 UK LP version

  • "Going Up" – 3:57
  • "Stars Are Stars" – 2:45
  • "Pride" – 2:41
  • "Monkeys" – 2:49
  • "Crocodiles" – 2:38
  • "Rescue" – 4:26
  • "Villiers Terrace" – 2:44
  • "Pictures on My Wall" (Sergeant, McCulloch, Pattinson) – 2:52
  • "All That Jazz" – 2:43
  • "Happy Death Men" – 4:56

    1980 US version and 1980 UK cassette version

  • "Going Up" – 3:57
  • "Do It Clean" – 2:44
  • "Stars Are Stars" – 2:45
  • "Pride" – 2:41
  • "Monkeys" – 2:49
  • "Crocodiles" – 2:38
  • "Rescue" – 4:26
  • "Villiers Terrace" – 2:44
  • "Read It in Books" (McCulloch, Julian Cope) – 2:31
  • "Pictures on My Wall" (Sergeant, McCulloch, Pattinson) – 2:52
  • "All That Jazz" – 2:43
  • "Happy Death Men" – 4:56

    2003 remastered version

  • "Going Up" – 3:57
  • "Stars Are Stars" – 2:45
  • "Pride" – 2:41
  • "Monkeys" – 2:49
  • "Crocodiles" – 2:38
  • "Rescue" – 4:26
  • "Villiers Terrace" – 2:44
  • "Pictures on My Wall" (Sergeant, McCulloch, Pattinson) – 2:52
  • "All That Jazz" – 2:43
  • "Happy Death Men" – 4:56
  • "Do It Clean"[A] – 2:44
  • "Read It in Books"[A] (McCulloch, Cope) – 2:31
  • "Simple Stuff" – 2:38
  • "Villiers Terrace" (early version) – 3:08
  • "Pride" (early version) – 2:54
  • "Simple Stuff" (early version) – 2:37
  • "Crocodiles"[B] (live) – 5:09
  • "Zimbo"[B] (live) – 3:36
  • "All That Jazz"[B] (live) – 2:53
  • "Over the Wall"[B] (live) – 5:28

    Notes

  • A. ^1 2 Originally included on the US release of Crocodiles.
  • B. ^1 2 3 4 From the Shine So Hard EP (Korona ECHO 1, 1981). Recorded live at the Pavillion Gardens, Buxton, UK, 17 January 1981.

    • Personnel

  • Ian McCulloch – vocals, guitar
  • Will Sergeant – lead guitar
  • Les Pattinson – bass
  • Pete de Freitas – drums
  • Bill Drummond[C] – producer (original album and Shine So Hard tracks)
  • David Balfe[C] – producer (original album), keyboards
  • Ian Broudie – producer ("Pride" and "Rescue")
  • The Bunnymen – producer ("Simple Stuff")
  • Pat Moran – producer (early versions)
  • Hugh Jones – producer (Shine So Hard tracks), engineer (original album)
  • Andy Zax – reissue producer
  • Bill Inglot – reissue producer, remastering
  • Rod Houison – engineer ("Pride" and "Rescue")
  • Gary Edwards – engineer (early versions)
  • Dan Hersch – remastering
  • Brian Griffin – cover photography
  • Bill Butt – insert photography

    Notes

  • C. ^1 2 Credited as The Chameleons. Further Information

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