The Cocteau Twins had essentially two careers. The first in the early to mid 80's the second in the early 90's. The split comes with the 1990 album Heaven or Las Vegas. Usually you like one of the cycles better than the other. I prefer their later cycle, but that doesn't mean I don't like their early stuff. In many ways it's similar to path of R.E.M. Their earlier stuff feels raw and stripped down, while their later stuff feels more polished and pop infused. One thing that is not different form their early work to their later work is that they are the Cocteau Twins. No one has ever even attempted to match their sound and certainly not Elizabeth Fraser's vocals. You do hear their influence all throughout music these days, especially influences from Fraser, so it seems fitting that this album sits currently in the top 50 of the Best of the 80's list currently sitting at number 45.
If you don't know the Cocteau Twins work, then I would actually recommend listening to Heaven or Las Vegas first, but if you came into the Twins with that album and you don't know their earlier work at all then you are missing out on some good music and this album is worth checking out.
The Cocteau Twins are always a top pick for walks on rainy days with headphones.
Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.
I had never thought about it until reading this review, but, of course, Amy Sheridan-Palladino (Class of '84!) was probably a huge Cocteau Twins fans and named Lorelei Gilmore after this song.
ReplyDeleteThe Cocteau Twins was a party that I knew was going on. Certainly, no one there would've been nasty enough to throw me out had I simply shown up, but I felt like it was not wholly unintentional that I was not invited.
That's why I like Heaven or Las Vegas so much. Everyone was invited to that party. A lot of the cooler people decided to leave, but a lot more people showed up.
ReplyDelete