''Crocodiles'' is the debut album by the English
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
band
Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. "
Pictures on My Wall" and "
Rescue
Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation.
Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...
" had previously been released as singles.
Recorded at
Eden Studios in London and at
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.
Facilities
Rockfield is a two- ...
near
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
, ''Crocodiles'' was produced by
Bill Drummond and
David Balfe, while
Ian Broudie had already produced the single "Rescue". The album received favourable reviews from the music press, receiving four out of five stars by both ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' and ''
Blender'' magazines.
Background and recording
Echo & the Bunnymen formed in 1978 and originally consisted of
Ian McCulloch (lead vocals),
Will Sergeant
William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is th ...
(lead guitar),
Les Pattinson
Leslie Thomas Pattinson (born 18 April 1958 in Ormskirk, Lancashire) is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool-based band Echo & the Bunnymen,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discog ...
(bass) and a
drum machine. They released their debut single, "The Pictures on My Wall", in May 1979 on the independent label
Zoo Records. The band then signed with
WEA
The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of the ...
subsidiary label
Korova and were persuaded to employ a drummer.
Pete de Freitas subsequently joined the band, and in early 1980 they recorded their second single, "Rescue". 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 followed in June 1980 before the band went to
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.
Facilities
Rockfield is a two- ...
to record their debut album. Despite talk of the American singer
Del Shannon being asked to produce the album, it was produced by the band's manager Bill Drummond and his business partner and
The Teardrop Explodes keyboard player
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...
David Balfe.
[ Adams 2002, p. 39] The recording of the album only took three weeks,
but Pattinson was surprised by the boring nature of the recording process: "There was a lot of hanging about. I didn't get all the 'drop-ins' and 'edits' bit."
Music and lyrics
The music on ''Crocodiles'' is generally dark and moody: In 1980, the British music magazine ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' described McCulloch's lyrics as "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."
[ Adams 2002, p. 41] 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 bankruptcy."
In his 2005 book ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978–1984'', British music journalist
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...
describes the sound of the album as "pared and sparse."
[ Reynolds 2006, p. 440] He goes on to describe Pattinson's "granite basslines" carrying the melody; Sergeant's guitar playing as "jagged-quartz" and avoiding "anything resembling a solo, apart from the odd flinty peal of lead playing"; de Freitas' drumming as minimal and "surging urgency"; and McCulloch's vocals as having "precocious authority." Reynolds describes the songs as being rooted in "doubt, anguish, despair" while the "tightness and brightness of their sound transmits contradictory sensations of confidence, vigour and euphoria."
He also describes how the line "Stars are stars and they shine so hard" from the track "Stars Are Stars" showed how the band felt no embarrassment in their wish to be famous.
[ Reynolds 2006, p. 443] In 1989 McCulloch told Reynolds how, as a teenager, he felt there was "a big movie camera in the sky." McCulloch described the opening line of the track "Going Up" "Ain't thou watching my film" as a terrible line, and he went on to say "It was meant to be tongue in cheek, but that was what spurred me on."
Cover
The cover photograph is one of a series taken by photographer
Brian Griffin
H. Brian Griffinas shown in Brian Griffin's House of Payne is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. An anthropomorphic white labrador retriever voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's mai ...
in the woods near
Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and t ...
, Hertfordshire at night. The photos show themes of introspection, despair and confusion.
[ Adams 2002, pp. 39–40] Describing the cover photo, 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."
''Creem'' magazine said, "The cover art suggests four boys dazed and confused in a drugged dream, a surreal where-are-we landscape. The Bunnymen's images are of loneliness, disconnection, a world gone awry."
Originally the band wanted the pictures to include burning stakes, but given the possible
KKK
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
connotations, they settled for moody lighting instead.
However, McCulloch was pleased with the cover, saying "the cover
..is better to look at than the
Mona Lisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
." Sergeant was less happy, saying that he "was pissed off that there was a solo picture of
cCullochon the back cover."
In the book ''The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds'' by
John Higgs
John Higgs is an English writer, novelist, journalist and cultural historian. The work of Higgs has been published in the form of novels (under the pseudonym JMR Higgs), biographies and works of cultural history.
In particular, Higgs has writt ...
, Bill Drummond says that he saw the face of "Echo", an imagined giant rabbit, in the cover design.
Releases
The album was originally released as an
LP in the United Kingdom on 18 July 1980 by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
subsidiary label
Korova. Two tracks, "Do It Clean" and "Read It in Books", were included on the cassette but were initially omitted from the LP version of the album because the managing director of Warner Bros.,
Rob Dickins, mistakenly thought that they contained obscenities.
After Dickins realised his error, the tracks were included on the American version of the album, which was released by
Sire Records on 17 December 1980. The two tracks were included with the UK release as a
limited-edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
single. The album was first released on CD in May 1989 by
WEA
The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.
Today, the descendants of the ...
in the UK. It was released on CD in the US by
Sire Records the following year. The track listings found on these versions were the same as those of the original LP releases for each country.
Along with Echo & the Bunnymen's first five albums, ''Crocodiles'' was remastered and reissued on CD in 2003, marketed as a 25th-anniversary edition ten
bonus tracks on the UK version and eight on the American version. The UK version contained the missing tracks "Do It Clean" and "Read It in Books". The other bonus tracks included "Simple Stuff", which was the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
to the single "Rescue"; early versions of "Villiers Terrace", "Pride" and "Simple Stuff" from the album's recording sessions; and the four tracks from the ''
Shine So Hard
''Shine So Hard'' is a live 12" EP released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen on 10 April 1981. The EP reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
Overview
Having returned from the United States where they were promoting their debut album ''Cr ...
'' EP, "Crocodiles", "Zimbo", "All That Jazz" and "Over the Wall". The reissued album was produced by music historian
Andy Zax and producer Bill Inglot.
Two singles were released before the album's release. "Pictures on My Wall" (as "The Pictures on My Wall"), the band's first single, was released on 5 May 1979. The single version was recorded before de Freitas had joined the band, but the song was re-recorded for the album with de Freitas on drums. The band's second single, "Rescue", released on 5 May 1980, became the band's first song to chart when it reached number 62 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
Scottish band
Idlewild covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
the track "Rescue" on their single "
These Wooden Ideas
These may refer to:
*the plural proximal demonstrative in English
*These, a variation of the Greek Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, e ...
" in June 2000. In late 2001, American singer-songwriter
Kelley Stoltz
Kelley Stoltz (born 1971) is an American singing, singer, songwriter and musician. He currently resides in San Francisco, California. His music has been compared to that of Brian Wilson, Velvet Underground, Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen.
Musica ...
released the album ''Crockodials'', a track-by-track cover version of the original ''Crocodiles'' album.
Reception
Writing for ''NME'' in 1980,
Chris Salewicz described the album as "being probably the best album this year by a British band."
In his review of the album for ''
Smash Hits
''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...
'', Ian Cranna said that the album was "proof positive that there's just no substitute for a good song delivered with power and emotion." Cranna added, "
he band
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
deliver attractive melodies with dark and moody (but not obscure) personal lyrics, all turned into compulsive listening by a driving beat, ringing guitars and a hauntingly emotional voice."
Reviewing the album in 1981 for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, David Fricke awarded it four out of five stars and described McCulloch's vocals: "
especializes in a sort of apocalyptic brooding, combining
Jim Morrison-style psychosexual yells, a flair for
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
-like vocal inflections and the nihilistic bark of his punk peers into a disturbing portrait of the singer as a young neurotic."
Fricke went on to say, "Behind him, gripping music swells into
Doors-style dirges ('Pictures on My Wall'),
PiL
Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...
-like guitar dynamics ('Monkeys'), spookily evocative pop ('Rescue') and
Yardbirds-cum-
Elevators ravers jacked up in the New Wave manner ('Do It Clean,' 'Crocodiles')." Reviewing the 2003 remastered version for American music magazine ''
Blenders website, reviewer Andrew Harrison also gave the album four out of five stars and said, "
..the Bunnymen were a pure nihilistic thrill, with Will Sergeant's desperate, mantra-like guitar summoning up a primal night of blinking hallucinations."
''Crocodiles'' reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart in July 1980.
The album has since sold over copies and the band were awarded a
gold disc for the album on 5 December 1984 by the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
. In 1993, the ''NME'' listed ''Crocodiles'' at number 28 in its list of the 50 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2006, ''
Uncut'' magazine listed the album at number 69 on its list of the 100 greatest debut albums. The album was also included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''. In 2020, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' included ''Crocodiles'' in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising "Will Sergeants’ ice-dagger guitar and Les Pattinson’s spelunking bass, making “Rescue” and “Pictures on My Wall” the perfect invitations to crawl down into Ian’s hot pit of despair."
Track listing
All tracks written by
Will Sergeant
William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is th ...
,
Ian McCulloch,
Les Pattinson
Leslie Thomas Pattinson (born 18 April 1958 in Ormskirk, Lancashire) is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool-based band Echo & the Bunnymen,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discog ...
and
Pete de Freitas except where noted.
1980 UK LP version and Canadian Cassette
Side one
#"Going Up" – 3:57
#"Stars Are Stars" – 2:45
#"Pride" – 2:41
#"Monkeys" – 2:49
#"Crocodiles" – 2:38
Side two
#"
Rescue
Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation.
Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...
" – 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
Side one
#"Going Up" – 3:57
#"Do It Clean" – 2:44
#"Stars Are Stars" – 2:45
#"Pride" – 2:41
#"Monkeys" – 2:49
#"Crocodiles" – 2:38
Side two
#"Rescue" – 4:26
#"Villiers Terrace" – 2:44
#"Read It in Books" (McCulloch,
Julian Cope
Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...
) – 2:31
#"Pictures on My Wall" (Sergeant, McCulloch, Pattinson) – 2:52
#"All That Jazz" – 2:43
#"Happy Death Men" – 4:56
2003 bonus tracks
#
"Do It Clean" ">/sup> – 2:44
#"Read It in Books" ">/sup> (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" ">/sup> (live) – 5:09
#"Zimbo" ">/sup> (live) – 3:36
#"All That Jazz" ">/sup> (live) – 2:53
#"Over the Wall" ">/sup> (live) – 5:28
Personnel
;Echo & the Bunnymen
* Ian McCulloch – vocals, guitar, piano
*Will Sergeant
William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is th ...
– lead guitar
*Les Pattinson
Leslie Thomas Pattinson (born 18 April 1958 in Ormskirk, Lancashire) is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool-based band Echo & the Bunnymen,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discog ...
– bass
* Pete de Freitas – drums
;Technical
* Bill Drummond ">/sup> – producer (original album and ''Shine So Hard
''Shine So Hard'' is a live 12" EP released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen on 10 April 1981. The EP reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
Overview
Having returned from the United States where they were promoting their debut album ''Cr ...
'' tracks)
* David Balfe ">/sup> – producer (original album), keyboards
* Ian Broudie – producer ("Pride" and "Rescue")
* The Bunnymen – producer ("Simple Stuff")
*Pat Moran – producer (early versions)
*Hugh Jones Hugh Jones may refer to:
*Hugh Jones (bishop) (1508–1574), bishop of Llandaff
*Hugh Jones (archdeacon of St Asaph) (c. 1816–1897), British religious leader
*Hugh Jones (archdeacon of Essex) (1783–1869), Welsh churchman
*Hugh Jones (runner) (b ...
– producer (''Shine So Hard'' tracks), engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
(original album)
* Andy Zax – reissue
In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions.
Reasons for reissue
New aud ...
producer
*Bill Inglot – reissue producer, remaster
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.
Mastering
A ...
ing
*Rod Houison
Rodney Houison (born ), is a British musician, producer, and sound engineer who has worked with The Who, Pete Townshend, Cliff Richard, Shakin' Stevens, Judge Dread, and Echo & the Bunnymen.
He has also worked with, and is married to, Miria ...
– engineer ("Pride" and "Rescue")
*Gary Edwards – engineer (early versions)
*Dan Hersch – remastering
*Brian Griffin
H. Brian Griffinas shown in Brian Griffin's House of Payne is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. An anthropomorphic white labrador retriever voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's mai ...
– cover photography
*Bill Butt – insert photography
Notes
*A. ^ 1 2 Originally included on the US release of ''Crocodiles''.
*B. ^ 1 2 3 4 From the ''Shine So Hard
''Shine So Hard'' is a live 12" EP released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen on 10 April 1981. The EP reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
Overview
Having returned from the United States where they were promoting their debut album ''Cr ...
'' EP (Korona ECHO 1, 1981). Recorded live at the Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, UK, 17 January 1981.
*C. ^ 1 2 Credited as The Chameleons.
References
;Bibliography
*
*
*
{{Authority control
1980 debut albums
Echo & the Bunnymen albums
Albums produced by Ian Broudie
Rhino Records albums
Sire Records albums
Warner Music Group albums
Albums produced by Bill Drummond
Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios