''Drunken Songs'' is the thirtieth solo album by

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 ...

, released in February 2017. The album is a collection of drinking songs that celebrate alcohol and the virtues of being drunk.Perry, Andrew.
Album of the week: Julian Cope – Drunken Songs
.

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

. 19 January 2017. Retrieved on 18 February 2017. It was written, produced and performed entirely by Cope, with the only outside contribution being additional vocals on "Clonakilty as Charged" by Christopher Holman of Cope side project Dope.Dope on Discogs.com
. Retrieved on 16 October 2018.

Background

In 1983, Cope gave up drinking for 20 years. While doing book research in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

in 2003 he was invited to a celebration in a village and was expected to drink.Julian Cope: Into the Wild
. M. 4 April 2017. Retrieved on 16 October 2018. "So I had nine mulberry vodkas that night and afterwards I was like a boy racer. Bring it on. From there, I just started bringing together tales from various experiences from the UK and weaved them into ridiculous songs."Interview: Julian Cope
. M. 24 January 2017. Retrieved on 16 October 2018.

Themes and musical style

In his review for ''

'' magazine, Andrew Perry wrote that the album sees Cope "celebrating beer as an expression of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

primitivism (say no to Southern European wine!), via a half-dozen thigh-slappin’ ditties which hark back, ironically, to the humoristic ‘acid-campfire’ songcraft" of Cope's 1989 album '' Skellington''.Perry, Andrew.
Album of the week: Julian Cope – Drunken Songs
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. 19 January 2017. Retrieved on 18 February 2017. Cope said of album opener "Drink Me Under the Table": "It’s about living in the moment, that we take risks and we fuck up. And that’s what ''Drunken Songs'' is about." The song features Cope's signature

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

orchestrations and "recalls some of the grandeur of mid-90s albums like '' 20 Mothers'' and '' Interpreter''", according to AllMusic's Timothy Monger. The acoustic "Liver Big as Hartlepool" is an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

Pete Wylie Peter James Wylie (born 22 March 1958) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of the band variously known as Wah!, Wah! Heat, Shambeko! Say Wah!, JF Wah!, The Mighty Wah! and Wah! The Mongrel. Career Early b ...

's "Heart as Big as Liverpool".Taylor, Stephen.
Interview: Julian Cope
". Native Monster. 23 January 2017. Retrieved on 18 February 2017. According to Andrew Perry, the song takes "an amusingly oddball strum through memories of

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 ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

".Perry, Andrew.
Album of the week: Julian Cope – Drunken Songs
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. 19 January 2017. Retrieved on 18 February 2017. "As the Beer Flows Over Me" was the catalyst for the album.Head Heritage - Julian Cope's Drunken Songs
. Headheritage.co.uk. Retrieved on 16 October 2018. Described by Cope as a "twisted funeral drinking song",Head Heritage - Address Drudion/December 2011
. Headheritage.co.uk. Retrieved on 16 October 2018. it celebrates northern latitudes and "beseeches listeners to diss the southern lands of the grape in favour of beer". The song first appeared on the 2013 album '' Psychedelic Revolution'' but is rerecorded here.Pigs, Ohhms, Fairies And Beer
. Amplifier Wordsmith. 30 January 2017. Retrieved on 18 February 2017. "Clonakilty as Charged" was described as "loony accordion-led pub balladry" by Timothy Monger, while ''Backseat Mafias Briandroid called it "whimsical folk-song surreal-ness".Briandroid.
Album Review: Julian Cope – Drunken Songs
. BackseatMafia.com. 16 February 2017. Retrieved on 16 October 2018. Musically, "Don't Drink & Drive (You Might Spill Some)" revisits ''

Autogeddon ''Autogeddon'' is the eleventh solo album by Julian Cope, released in 1994 on The Echo Label. According to the album's sleeve notes, written by Cope, it was "inspired by Heathcote Williams' epic poem of the same name and a little incident conce ...

'' territory, but "the sozzled version", according to ''Backseat Mafia''.Briandroid.
Album Review: Julian Cope – Drunken Songs
. BackseatMafia.com. 16 February 2017. Retrieved on 16 October 2018. "On the Road to Tralee" effectively acts as ''Drunken Songs'' entire "side two". Aaron Badgley of ''The Spill Magazine'' described the song as "an 18-minute ‘magical mystery tour’ of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

through an alcoholic gaze". AllMusic called it "a conversationally sung, acoustic recounting of a drunken bus ride through southwest Ireland" and "equal parts narrative, field recording, and miniature prog epic".

Critical reception

In his review for AllMusic, Timothy Monger wrote of the album: "With whiffs of '' Skellington'', ''

'', and even early '' World Shut Your Mouth''-era Cope, ''Drunken Songs'' is still its own unique animal and reveals our hero to be in fine creative fettle, still challenging himself and listeners even after 30 albums". Aaron Badgley of ''The Spill Magazine'' called it one of Cope's "best albums in his career" and added, "He sings of Liverpool and traces his Irish ancestry by, at times, using alcohol as a metaphor. By exploring his past, he has produced a very English album". ''Backseat Mafia'' magazine wrote that the album sees Cope returning to his "accessible and fertile 80s/90s period", noting that "With this album it’s clear that Mr Cope is enjoying himself again".Briandroid.
Album Review: Julian Cope – Drunken Songs
. BackseatMafia.com. 16 February 2017. Retrieved on 16 October 2018.

Track listing

Personnel

*Julian Cope – vocals, instruments, production, front cover drawing *Christopher Holman – vocals on "Clonakilty as Charged" *Philippe Legènde – recording *Avalon Cope – design *Albany Cope – illustrations

References

External links

''Drunken Songs'' on Discogs.com
Retrieved on 20 February 2018. {{Authority control 2017 albums Julian Cope albums