Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of music by Liverpudlian singer-songwriter Ian McCulloch. For those of you unfamiliar with Ian, you might recognise him as the singer of Echo & The Bunnymen. He sports a big barnet, enjoys a drink or two, smokes 500 a day and is somewhat notorious for being a bit of a gobshite (a trait that earned him the appellation ‘Mac the Mouth’). Nonetheless, the man’s quite good at what he does.
I’ve been on my Ian McCulloch kick because I rediscovered some old session recordings in my vault – ‘Peel Session ’89’ and ‘Black Session ’92’. The ‘Peel Session‘ was recorded in 1989 and contains renditions of songs from Ian’s debut studio LP, 1989’s ‘Candleland’. The ‘Black Session‘ was recorded in – you guessed it – 1992 and features songs from Ian’s sophomoric effort ‘Mysterio’ (or “My Stereo”[sic]). As well as waffling on about them, I’ll be including download links to the aforementioned recordings at the bottom of my post! These two sessions showcase the best material across Ian’s first two solo ventures – as well as some obscurities and a reworking of the Bunnymen classic ‘The Killing Moon’. You’ll also be subjected to 15 minutes of possibly the oddest interview you’ll likely hear (I really hope your le français c’est bien).
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Ian McCulloch – Peel Session ’89
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1. |
Faith & Healing |
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2. |
The Flickering Wall |
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3. |
Damnation |
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4. |
Candleland |
In late 1989, legendary radio broadcaster John Peel invited Ian down to the studio for his inaugural session as a solo artist to perform material from his debut LP, ‘Candleland’. This performance resulted in one of my favourite ‘Peel Session’ recordings ever (PiL‘s 1979 ‘Metal Box’ era appearance is quite good too if you fancy checking that out afterwards).
I initially encountered ‘Candleland’ on an old WEA cassette and after being rather impressed with its content, I went out and purchased an original German-pressed UK edition on vinyl – and more recently an American pressing on the SIRE label – both sealed. I thoroughly enjoyed the album, and although I haven’t yet, I’ll definitely get around to posting a review at some point. I particularly enjoyed ‘Horses Head’, the eponymously titled ‘Candleland’ (which featured Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins) and ‘The Flickering Wall’ – the latter being my personal favourite . It’s a fervent, raw, introspective first effort from McCulloch, rich with emotion and shrouded in darkness, covering topics such as unrequited love and mortality –themes reflected in the record’s aptly achromatic cover sleeve (although when asked why it was colourless compared to the vibrant colours featured on ‘Mysterio’ Ian simply replied “because they didn’t put the colour film in the camera”. In the linear notes , we discover the album is dedicated to the memory of McCulloch’s father, who had passed away the previous year (on the same day Echo & The Bunnymen disbanded – a day Ian refers to as one of the worst of his life). It quickly becomes apparent you’re listening to a man bereaving, introspecting and reminiscing upon his most precious memories. It’s a great example of the lyrical capabilities of the guy. The only blemish on this Cure-esque record is that it was considerably behind the times – with the experimentation of the 90s auspiciously looming just around the corner, the direction of the record was a little regressive – and its dubious production choices haven’t aged well – especially when considering it was already somewhat dated at the time of release. A few years earlier and it would have slotted into the zeitgeist without question. That’s where this session comes in handy, stripping the songs of the 80s overproduction and bringing in some fresh precursory 90s vibes. The biggest offender on the album is ‘Faith & Healing’, a catchy Pop song with a simple yet effective guitar riff, questionably ruined by use of drum emulator and polysynths. That’s were this session kicks off, and right off the bat – you’ll notice there’s non of the drum machine fills or synth-bass – just raw percussion and jangle guitar, courtesy of The Prodigal Sons – a 90s guitar outfit that served as McCulloch’s house band during the late 80s and early 90s.
The next track is my personal favourite ‘The Flickering Wall’, and just as on the LP, it’s my stand-out song of the 4 session tunes. During the intro, we hear the warm cathedral-esque tones of a church organ – pushed high into the mix – a feature not present on the studio version. It probably doesn’t sound like it will – but it does work really well. The choral vocal take on a different melody to that of the double-layered harmonic vocals on the studio LP, and I’m actually more acclimated to this Peel version – but both are pretty stellar. The track is elongated slightly compared to the album version due to Ian’s vocals not overlapping at the end of the chorus/ start of second verse – a feature that could have been used if they’d wanted, since the ‘Peel Sessions’ aren’t usually recorded in one take and overdubbing/post-production were available. These recordings seem to be completely live.
Following ‘The Flickering Wall‘, we’re treated to the inexplicable debut of the obscure ‘Damnation’ – a song that would eventually surface 3 years later on 1992’s ‘Mysterio’. The track is a much rockier affair and hints at the direction Ian’s follow-up LP would take. It’s plausible that the song was already on Ian’s concert setlists around that time, otherwise it does seem an unusual place to take it out for a test drive. There’s some really great lines in this song – “Snowflakes on the oven top – Drumbeats in the wild blue yonder – Didn’t hear the penny drop – Shenendoah I’m doomed to wonder” is a personal favourite.
“It’s the burial ground of the 80s”
Ian McCulloch on ‘Candleland’
Finally, the eponymous ‘Candleland’ gets its run out. This version features a more defined bassline, and it works really well as the lone instrument at the song’s intro before the lead guitar comes in. Although it doesn’t feature Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser on this version, it does allow you to focus solely on Ian’s impassioned delivery of his emotional ode to his late father. During the bridge, the song breaks into an extended guitar-based refrain cut from the studio version (but regularly used during live performances of the song). It’s a real treat! Although I really like this extended version of ‘Candleland’, my favourite is the version recorded for the official video – which actually featured Liz Fraser (although she’s inexplicably inaudible for the most of it). I feel it’s a more emotionally evocative recording, and with its key being shifted up from C to D, Ian’s higher vocal becomes a better vehicle for delivering it. I’m not sure if this version is available on a physical format – which is a shame since the audio is quite poor – visibly converted from an old VHS tape.
The copy of the session that I’ve uploaded was converted from a cassette tape of the original radio broadcast and isn’t as pristine as other versions available. However, I find this version to have a certain charm, but perhaps that’s just me – I do like old scratchy records and warped cassette tapes.,
Regardless, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
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Ian McCulloch – Black Session ’92
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1. |
Honeydrip |
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2. |
Vibor Blue |
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3. |
Lover Lover Lover |
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4. |
Interview #1 |
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5. |
Goldmine |
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6. |
Heaven’s Gate |
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7. |
The Killing Moon |
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8. |
Candleland |
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9. |
Do It Clean |
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10. |
Interview #2 |
The second of these sessions was recorded in 1992 and broadcast on French radio station France Inter as part of Bernard Lenoir‘s ‘Black Sessions’. The session is considerably longer than the ‘Peel Session’ – a renowned feature of the French show – often giving artists generous time-slots (The Jesus and Mary Chain performed an entire 15 song concert on the show in 1994). Most of the material recorded was from Ian’s 1992 studio LP ‘Mysterio’, but he also treats us to renditions of ‘Candleland’ and Echo & The Bunnymen tracks ‘The Killing Moon ’ and ‘Do It Clean‘ – the latter being an extremely rare treat.. ‘Mysterio’, unlike ‘Candleland’, is a little harder to love. I have a few reservations, and remain mixed towards the LP – although I do appreciate Ian’s experimental approach. The high point of the record and most commercially viable song has to be ‘Lover Lover Lover’, a cover of a Leonard Cohen classic. Another song I quite like (albeit arguably a bit throw-away with its unimaginative petulant lyrics) is the song ‘Honeydrip’ – with it’s augmented country-esque verse chords juxtaposed against the rockier 3 chord progression of the chorus. Coincidentally, the outro sounds similar to JAMC’s ‘Just Like Honey‘. I woke up this morning with the song in my head – which is usually a good sign. I really like the song ‘Dug For Love’ too. However, after initially hearing ‘Damnation’ when debuted on the ‘Peel Session’, I find the ‘Mysterio’ version of the song to be a little lacklustre – although is does feature an interesting guitar coda during its bridge.
The album dates rather well in comparison to ‘Candleland’, I mean, Kasabian basically released ‘Dug For Love’ as recently as 2014 in the form of ‘Clouds’ on their LP ‘48:13’.
I really like the ‘Black Sessions’ and I admire what host Bernard Lenoir was doing -providing a platform for alternative British music in France. They’re basically extended ‘Peel Sessions‘, often including interviews – albeit quite poor ones due to the language barrier. As I previously mentioned, I seem to recall The Jesus & Mary Chain performing an entire concert’s worth of material when they appeared on the show in 1994. I believe Ian’s appearance on the show was actually one of the (if not the) first ‘Black Sessions’ recorded – which probably excuses the unprofessional nature in which the session is conducted (Bernard Lenoir can barely speak English and his translator sounds completely incompetent). Thankfully, they learnt to handle English talent better as they gained more experience (I believe Bernard Hosted the show until as recently as 2011).
“It’s not ‘Mysterio’ it was meant to be ‘My Stereo’
but they put an I in there”
Ian McCulloch on Mysterio’s title
The session sees the debut performance of ‘Lover Lover Lover’, a song coincidentally originally recorded in Paris for ‘Mysterio’ and possibly the greatest cover of a Leonard Cohen song you’ll likely hear. I’m not an Ian superfan or anything but I honestly thought it was brilliant, and it was nice to learn that Ian was a fan way back in the 90s before Cohen was picked up by hipsters. Check out Cohen’s original here – you’ll notice the instrumentation on the ‘Black Session’ performance is actually a cover of Leonard’s version, and not Ian’s version! Around this time, Ian performed a cover of another Leonard Cohen track – ‘Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye‘ which was included on the Cohen tribute album ‘I’m Your Fan’.
Following ‘Lover Lover Lover’ we’re treated to one of the poorest conducted interviews I’ve ever heard, and that’s the last thing you need when you have the notoriously unintelligible speaking voice of Ian McCulloch to work with. I’m a native Briton, and I can just about understand him – if anything it’s more the monosyllabic mumbling that gets you than the Scouse accent. My Canadian girlfriend can barely understand him – so I can’t begin to fathom how non-English speaking interviewers grasp what he’s saying. As you will quickly discover, everybody just talks over each other in conflicting languages during this chaotic interview, with Ian often deciding to simply talk over the hosts.
“I think Grace Jones is lovely – no seriously, I love her!”
During the interview, Ian inexplicably sings an ‘acapella‘ rendition of Molly Malone – the unofficial anthem of Dublin. He asks if anybody knows the song, and the audience affirm. The crowd are either lying or possibly mute as nobody sings along despite Ian’s best efforts. He then trolls the crowd, asking what their favourite version of ‘Molly Malone’ is, before proclaiming the non-existent Grace Jones version to be his favourite.
Ian asks what the local football team is. When he questions why Paris St Germain never win anything, an audience member replies “they’re a bunch of jerks”. “Oh, they’re a bunch of jerks are they?” Ian replies. I don’t know why, but I laughed maniacally at Ian McCulloch enunciating the word “jerk” in his thick Liverpudlian accent.
“Are they called ‘James’ because the lead singer in Simple Minds is called Jim?”
Bernard then mentions that Manchester guitar band James were playing a few days later in the local area. Going by his response, Ian doesn’t seem particularly fond of James -however, back when I was a student at the Leeds Arts University in 2013, the Bunnymen were performing across the street at the o2 Academy (previously the Town & Country Club) and James was billed as their support act!
Bizarrely, Ian arbitrarily mentions Judy Garland, and his uncanny resemblance to the ‘Wizard of Oz’ actress (who enjoyed a successful singing career herself). On a whim I Googled ‘Ian McCulloch Judy Garland’ and found an incredible image by legendary music photographer Kevin Cummins. It’s truly one for the ages – Ian McCulloch – dressed, complete with full make-up – as Dorothy. I’ll leave you to enjoy this treasure for a moment.
“Judy Garland – What a gal! Apparently I look like Judy Garland – dya think?”
Ian McCulloch on his likeness to Dorothy
A question is eventually passed to Ian – “why didn’t you include Goldmine on the album?” to which Ian replies – “you can only fit 11 classics on an album” and “ [goldmine is] a bit too reflective, I wanted it to be a rocking album“. I do like the song though, and we’re treated to a performance of it during the session. Ultimately, it was never released, even as a B-side.
There’s a lot to cover regarding the ‘Black Session’ – due to its length – so I’ll just leave it at this and allow you to discover it for yourself by clicking the download link below. Ultimately, the session showcases a generous set of songs – and it’s great hearing Ian troll an audience of Parisians – however, the quality of the performances isn’t as good as the ‘Peel Session’.
Thanks for reading!
Download the Peel Session HERE
Download the Black Session HERE
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