Upon its release in 1984 Ocean Rain garnered fairly mixed reviews. It was certainly a departure of sorts for Echo & The Bunnymen, shunning straight forward, traditional rock songs in favour of the lighter, slower and more complex musical ideas that comprise this record. For some, it wasn’t necessarily welcome – specifically publications such as Rolling Stone and The New Musical Express (NME). Those willing to follow the band though, were treated to a tender, uplifting and glorious record with plenty of interesting moments to captivate the seasoned music fan, and enough big choruses and hooks to attract the casual listener.
Album opener, “Silver” is a fantastic introduction to the band’s relatively new sound and also shows off the thirty-five piece orchestra used to record the sweeping strings featured throughout the record. Strings had always been a large part of Echo & The Bunnymen’s studio output, but never before had they used them so effectively – the violins stabbing their way through the opener and then drifting menacingly into “Nocturnal Me,” all the while being expertly offset by shimmering electric guitar riffs and strummed acoustic chords.
Around the time of release, some criticism was launched at Ian McCulloch’s lyrics for being too vague, or obscure for the sake of being obscure. However, in retrospect, this style of writing went on to influence the way a lot of lyrics are written by today’s world beating bands – similar juxtapositions and turns of phrase being replicated by the likes of U2, Coldplay and Radiohead decades later. The use of strings too, would soon become the go-to tool of any stadium rock band, although they would be hard pressed to match the phenomenal arrangements that grace this record. For proof of this you need look no further than the final track, “Ocean Rain,” which features possibly the best use of an orchestra in pop music, lifting the song, and consequently the record, into a higher place of beauty and classic British melancholy.
Ocean Rain is not a perfect album, and the brevity of the record doesn’t completely paper over the cracks. The band perhaps leans too heavily on the orchestra at times, taking an interesting idea and relying on the string arrangements to carry it, sometimes unsuccessfully (“The Yo-Yo Man”). However, for every wasted opportunity there are two that the band grasped with both hands. Standout track (and one of the best tracks of the 1980’s), “The Killing Moon” is a stunning master class on how to write a pop song without being trite or condescending, and still retain a unique quality. The strings swoon and stab in all the right places, the bass pulses and the drums shuffle as McCulloch’s vocals soar, summing up the mood of the entire album across six minutes. This would be the penultimate record featuring the original line-up of the group due to McCulloch’s departure, and drummer Pete de Freitas’ death, after their 1987’s eponymous record.
Echo & The Bunnymen never topped Ocean Rain in terms of creativity, and the record still stands as one the most uplifting and dark experiences in the history of British music.
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[...]OBG: Echo & The Bunnymen – Ocean Rain – eBurban[...]…