Echo & The Bunnymen

Ocean Rain

Great music, in its way

Review Score:

(8/10)
When this came out, people either loved it ("Amazing") or hated it ("Sounds like some old Moody Blues crap, by way of the Doors"). I was in the "love it" camp. Amusingly, I remember they actually advertised this in college-targeted print ads as "The Best Album In The World".

With the passage of time and the gaining of knowledge, I can peg the influences here better. Yes, the Doors were an influence - McCullough sang in the same register and seemed inspired by Morrison's shamanistic tendancies. On this particular album, "Silver" sounds like an expansion of the chorus ("Iiii'm... gonna love you ...") from the Doors' "Touch Me". McCullough also seemed influenced by "soft rock" and elevator fare such as Burt Bachrach and Neil Diamond. Most of all, his downcast lyrics and mournful tone remind one of his professed hero, Leonard Cohen.

These and other influences are thrown into a sparkling, shimmering stew quite unlike most music to that point or since. It's beautifully recorded and a very effective framework for the lyrics. Of those lyrics - to me, they haven't aged particularly well. Some of the music retains brilliance though.

Is it their best album? I'm not sure. I still like it a heck of a lot more than I like The Moody Blues, though.

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