Cocteau Twins - Love's Easy Tears [12"]

I already had the 7" version of this LOVE'S EASY TEARS single, but recently i came across the 12" as well. And since Those Eyes, That Mouth is still my favourite COCTEAU TWINS song i simply couldn't resist buying it. Loving that song to bits. There's one track extra on this 12" compared to the 7". Sigh's Smell Of Farewell is sweet tune, yet a typical B-side. Great to have this EP in my collection now.

Label: 4AD/Rough Trade

Cat.nr.: RTD 026T

Year of release: 1986

SIDE A:

01. Love's Easy Tears

02. Those Eyes, That Mouth

SIDE B:

01. Sigh's Smell Of Farewell

Cocteau Twins - Love's Easy Tears [7"]

This LOVE'S EASY TEARS single by COCTEAU TWINS has been released a few months after the Victorialand album, in 1986. The A-side is really good, but the B-side is simply gorgeous Those Eyes, That Mouth is probably one of my favourite Cocteau Twins songs ever. Although like usually i don't understand a word of what Liz is singing here, i just love it. Heavenly.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: AD 610
Year of release: 1986

SIDE A:
01. Love's Easy Tears

SIDE B:
01. Those Eyes, That Mouth

Cocteau Twins - Sunburst And Snowblind [12"]

One of the two COCTEAU TWINS releases that i bought at the Utrecht record fair last November (Peppermint Pig being the other). The song Sugar Hiccup on this SUNBURST AND SNOWBLIND EP is a single taken off the Head Over Heels album; the other 3 songs are non-album tracks. Hard to realise that this great music is already over 30 years old.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: BAD 314
Year of release: 1983

SIDE A:
01. Sugar Hiccup
02. From The Flagstones

SIDE B:
01. Hitherto
02. Because Of The Whirl-Jack

Cocteau Twins - Peppermint Pig [12"]

Another nice find at the record fair in Utrecht recently: the PEPPERMINT PIG EP by the COCTEAU TWINS. Although it is one of my least favourite releases by them: it's pretty much uptempo with heavy use of keyboards. I like their more slow-paced dreampoppy songs much better. Like most of the ones on the other 12" (Sunburst And Snowblind) from the very same year that i bought in Utrecht as well, for example. Anyway it's nice to add this EP to my Cocteau Twins collection which is steadily growing.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: BAD 303
Year of release: 1983

SIDE A:
01. Peppermint Pig

SIDE B:
01. Laugh Lines
02. Hazel

Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck [12"]

ICEBLINK LUCK is a single taken from the Heaven Or Las Vegas album by COCTEAU TWINS. A great song, and the two non-album tracks on the B-side are gorgeous as well. Mizake The Mizan would certainly not have been misplaced if it would've been on the album, while on Watchlar the drum machine is perhaps a bit too present but still i love it a lot.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: BAD 0011
Year of release: 1990

SIDE A:
01. Iceblink Luck

SIDE B:
01. Mizake The Mizan
02. Watchlar

Cocteau Twins - Treasure [12", LP]

Last year i was in Athens, Greece for a few days. Not so many second-hand record shops there that had "my kind of music" in the crates, but in some alley in the old centre i came across a hidden shop that had this Greek pressing of TREASURE by the COCTEAU TWINS. The condition of the sleeve could've been better, but the vinyl itself is in good condition and the Greek letters on the sleeve make it extra special.
And i didn't only find this album, but also a 12" by My Bloody Valentine that was still missing in my collection at that point.

Treasure is a great album. It's not my favourite Cocteau Twins release (that has to be Heaven Or Las Vegas) but still it's one that i play pretty often these days. Lorelei is actually one of my favourite CT songs. Bought a reissue of this album on heavyweight vinyl earlier this year. Sounds better, but this Greek original copy from 1985 is more dear to me.

Label: 4AD / PolyGram Greece
Cat.nr.: 58017
Year of release: 1985

SIDE A:
01. Ivo
02. Lorelei
03. Beatrix
04. Persephone
05. Pandora

SIDE B:
01. Amelia
02. Aloysius
03. Cicely
04. Otterley
05. Donimo

Harold Budd, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde - The Moon And The Melodies [12", LP]

Because the COCTEAU TWINS collaborated with HAROLD BUDD on this album, they didn't want it to be released as one by their band, but as an album by the four individuals. So the band name is nowhere present, although the sound is unmistakingly Cocteau Twins on most of the album. I like the parts with Budd's icy piano sound a lot as well (Memory Gongs, for example). Wasn't too familiar with the man's work before i bought this. The ambient instrumental wailing guitar track Why Do You Love Me? is probably my favourite track of this album. For some reason it reminded me a lot of a track called Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann) by the otherwise completely different band Tool. If you compare them, they definitely do not sound alike, but they have the same kind of atmosphere - to my opinion at least. Anyway, this is a great album. Glad i picked it up secondhand somewhere last year.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: CAD 611
Year of release: 1986

SIDE A:
01. Sea, Swallow Me
02. Memory Gong
03. Why Do You Love?
04. Eyes Are Mosaics

SIDE B:
01. She Will Destroy You
02. The Ghost Has No Home
03. Bloody And Blunt
04. Ooze Out And Away, Onehow

Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas [12", LP]

It's been a while since my previous post, because i've been on a (well-deserved, if i may say so) holiday to the south of France. But now the batteries are loaded again and i'm going through my never shrinking pile of vinyls that i need to write something about. What about this one: HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS by the amazing COCTEAU TWINS. I love this album to death; my absolute favourite album by them and i has so happy that it got reissued not too long ago because until then i never managed to score a copy on vinyl. No need to go into many details about this classic i think, but the song Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires is of such beauty that i still can listen to it over and over and over...

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: CAD3420
Year of release: 2014 (originally 1990)

SIDE A:
01. Cherry-Coloured Funk
02. Pitch The Baby
03. Iceblink Luck
04. Fifty-Fifty Clown
05. Heaven Or Las Vegas

SIDE B:
01. I Wear Your Ring
02. Fotzepolitic
03. Wolf In The Breast
04. Road, River And Rail
05. Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires

Various Artists - Lonely Is An Eyesore [12", LP]

Yesterday i wrote something about the classic Doing It For The Kids compilation album on Creation Records. This compilation on 4AD has a similar status: LONELY IS AN EYESORE is probably the most famous 4AD compilation album. There were 3 versions on vinyl released: an extremely limited wooden boxset (only 100 copies made), a limited deluxe version with extra artwork and a regular version. This is the last one, although it is the first pressing with a 3-panel innersleeve. Later pressings had simple innersleeves. Nearly all songs were recorded for this compilation, and also nearly all of them were recorded and/or mixed at the Blackwing Studios in London.
I found this LP while i was in London two weeks ago. It was reasonably priced and in perfect condition so i didn't have to think twice before i bought it. But the real coincidence is that i had visited the building where Blackwing was located only a few hours earlier. Besides visiting some record stores, i wanted to do some "alternative sightseeing" and since i'm not too much of a Beatles fan, Abbey Road wasn't on my list. So besides Ziggy Stardust's Heddon Street i chose to visit this location on the south bank of the Thames, in Southwark on the corner of Pepper Street and Copperfield Street, to be precise. I had only learned about this studio a few months ago, when i came across a Wikipedia page about it. This is a picture i made of how the building looks right now:

It's absolutely crazy how many masterpieces were (partly) recorded or mixed here. Some of these albums i rank amongst my favourite albums ever. Most notably Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Nowhere by Ride (plus their Play and Fall EP's) but what about Trompe Le Monde by the Pixies, The Comforts Of Madness and In Ribbons by Pale Saints, It'll End In Tears and Blood by This Mortal Coil, Garlands by Cocteau Twins, the s/t album by Dead Can Dance, Peng! and Emperor Tomato Ketchup by Stereolab, Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails, the Scar EP by Lush, and an enormous amount of albums and singles by Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, Yazoo, Erasure and more.
Just check this list at Discogs.
Back to this compilation; it's a very nice overview of 4AD in the late 80's. The usual suspects are there (Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, Clan Of Xymox) but also Throwing Muses who had just signed to the label when this came out. The Cocteau Twins track is brilliant and also i like the Dif Juz track a lot; i wasn't very familiar with them. A great find!

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: CAD 703
Year of release: 1987

SIDE A:
01. COLOURBOX - Hot Doggie
02. THIS MORTAL COIL - Acid, Bitter And Sad
03. THE WOLFGANG PRESS - Cut The Tree
04. THROWING MUSES - Fish
05. DEAD CAN DANCE - Frontier

SIDE B:
01. COCTEAU TWINS - Crushed
02. DIF JUZ - No Motion
03. CLAN OF XYMOX - Muscoviet Mosquito
04. DEAD CAN DANCE - The Protagonist

Chapterhouse - Whirlpool [12", LP]

WHIRLPOOL by CHAPTERHOUSE is an album that's relatively unknown, yet a true shoegaze classic. It's got the fantastic song Pearl on it (probably their biggest hit, with Rachel Goswell of Slowdive on backing vocals) plus some other great songs such as Autosleeper and Something More (both produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins). There are more connections to Rachel Goswell in this band: guitar player Simon Rowe teamed up with her in Mojave 3, and Rachel's (now ex-) husband Christopher Andrews formed a duo called Cuba together with Chapterhouse drummer Ashley Bates.
I found this record for a good price at the recent record fair in Utrecht. Couldn't let it stand in the crate obviously!

Label: Dedicated
Cat.nr.: DEDLP 001
Year of release: 1991

SIDE A:
01. Breather
02. Pearl
03. Autosleeper
04. Treasure

SIDE B:
01. Falling Down
02. April
03. Guilt
04. If You Want Me
05. Something More

This Mortal Coil - It'll End In Tears [12", LP]

I ran into this LP at the record fair in Utrecht last weekend. It wasn't really on my wishlist or anything, but when i realised that i didn't have THIS MORTAL COIL's awesome version of Song To The Siren on either CD or vinyl, i decided to buy this album. IT'LL END IN TEARS is the first album by 4AD-supergroup This Mortal Coil. The band, or project i should say, consisted of members of mostly 4AD bands like Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Xmal Deutschland, Colourbox, Modern English and The Wolfgang Press. They all contribute to songs in various combinations. The album doesn't have a very consistent sound for that matter, but i really like the songs that are the product of mainly the Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins members. With the aforementioned Song To The Siren as an absolute highlight, sung by Elizabeth Fraser and accompanied by Robin Guthrie on guitar - both of Cocteau Twins fame. It is of course a cover of the Tim Buckley song, and there are more covers on the album, like Big Star and Roy Harper songs. I'm really happy i picked this album up i must say.


Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: 206 692-620
Year of release: 1984

SIDE A:
01. Kangaroo
02. Song To The Siren
03. Holocaust
04. Fyt
05. Fond Affections
06. The Last Ray

SIDE B:
01. Another Day
02. Waves Become Wings
03. Barramundi
04. Dreams Made Flesh
05. Not Me
06. A Simple Wish

Cocteau Twins - Echoes In A Shallow Bay [12"]

ECHOES IN A SHALLOW BAY was released two weeks after the Tiny Dynamine EP. Both 12"s have complementary artwork and were recorded during the same session, between the Treasure and Victorialand albums. A great EP from what i personally think is COCTEAU TWINS' best period.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: BAD511
Year of release: 1985

SIDE A: 
01. Great Spangled Fritillary
02. Melonella

SIDE B:
01. Pale Clouded White
02. Eggs And Their Shells

Cocteau Twins - Tiny Dynamine [12"]

The TINY DYNAMINE EP was released between the Treasure and Victorialand albums. It features four tracks that can't be found on any of COCTEAU TWINS' albums. Word goes that these tracks (together with four more that were issued on the Echoes In A Shallow Bay EP) initially were just recorded to test the production capacities of a new studio. When the band was satisfied with the result, they were released after all. Ribbed And Veined is an instrumental track; something that's quite rare for Cocteau Twins' songs. My copy's on Virgin Germany who licensed it from 4AD.

Label: Virgin
Cat.nr.: 602 061           
Year of release: 1985

SIDE A:
01. Pink Orange Red
02. Ribbed And Veined

SIDE B:
01. Plain Tiger
02. Sultitan Itan