Wilder (The Teardrop Explodes)

[Bona Drag]

Hi guys,

I just got this album "Wilder" by The Teardrop Explodes (1981). I read about it many years back and I was very curious about it... Julian Cope always striked me as an interesting character, also Troy Tate was in the band at that time and the album is produced by Clive Langer (Of Moz and Costello fame)...

I must say I'm not at all disappointed with the record... it has a very strange beauty... weird sadness... hard to explain feeling through out the whole recording.

Just wondering if someone else here knows the record, what's your opinion on it and if any Julian/Teardrop fan here could suggest me some other albums from this band.

Cheers!

 

[wend1brindle]

The first Teardrops album Kilamanjaro is pretty fab! To be honest I'm a big fan of Cope. A good overview of his career would be Floored Genius Volume One: The Best of Julian Cope and The Teardrop Explodes. It contains key moments from the Teardrops career and a good overview of Julian's solo career up to Peggy Suicide in the early 90s.

Two of his best albums would be Peggy Suicide and Johovahkill. He's had an incredible career from covers of Smash Hits in the early 80s to pop stardom circa 87-88 with World Shut Your Mouth. He was always outspoken and intelligent. He's the only artist I've always followed apart from Moz and The Fall.

His books are great. The 2 volume autobiography is a must for all fans of British music in the late 70s and early 80s. A fantastic retelling of the Liverpool scene. His Krautrocksampler is amazing (goes for crazy sums of money these days) and basically kick-started the whole evaluation of groups such as Neu!, Can, Faust Amon Duul etc. Last year's Japrocksampler is also definately worth reading and is doing for obscure 70s Japrock what Krautrocksampler did for Krautrock before it.

A really interesting artist in the way that he has spent the last 10 years running his own affairs and releasing his own records through his Headheritage site and label. I think there are lessons for a lot of artists in the way he has managed to totally control his career in the last decade whilst still recording and releasing relevant records. The last 4 albums were all great.

www.headheritage.co.uk is a must to check out. Great site.

 

[Bona Drag]

Hey wend1brindle,

Thanks for this. Very, very helpful... I'll definitely try to get my hands on some of this stuff... I always thought Julian was a very interesting artist, but I never knew where to start with him... I just had the feeling that "Wilder" would be an amazing record (for some reason I can't really explain)

What are your thoughts on that album in particular?

By the way, I'm a big fan of The Fall also... So... Good taste here

Cheers.

 

[anon x]

Wilder is a great album and has one of my favourite ever covers:

(the vinyl one is beautiful).
Check out Kiliminjaro(which has one of the worst ever covers ) and singles like Reward ,Treason and Passionate Friend.

I saw them in concert and they were awesome.(seem to remember too that
Julian Cope was quite into a bit of self mutilation on stage that night)

 

[wend1brindle]

Hey wend1brindle,



What are your thoughts on that album in particular?

By the way, I'm a big fan of The Fall also... So... Good taste here

Cheers.

I love this record. Darker than the first album and really paves the way for his first solo album World Shut Your Mouth (not to be confused with the single of the same name, which came a few years later). Colours Fly Away, You Disappear From View and The Great Dominions are all brill.

As a fellow fan of The Fall I hope you're as excited as i am with the news that they've signed to Domino records. I love the thought of Franz Ferinand and The Arctic monkeys' cash being spent on MES and The Fall. Sometimes, just sometimes the music industry makes perfect sense.

 

[Bona Drag]

Wilder is a great album and has one of my favourite ever covers:

(the vinyl one is beautiful).
Check out Kiliminjaro(which has one of the worst ever covers ) and singles like Reward ,Treason and Passionate Friend.

I saw them in concert and they were awesome.(seem to remember too that
Julian Cope was quite into a bit of self mutilation on stage that night)

Fantastic cover... you are right... I think the cover was one of the reasons I was so atracted to this album in the first place...

 

[Bona Drag]

I love this record. Darker than the first album and really paves the way for his first solo album World Shut Your Mouth (not to be confused with the single of the same name, which came a few years later). Colours Fly Away, You Disappear From View and The Great Dominions are all brill.

As a fellow fan of The Fall I hope you're as excited as i am with the news that they've signed to Domino records. I love the thought of Franz Ferinand and The Arctic monkeys' cash being spent on MES and The Fall. Sometimes, just sometimes the music industry makes perfect sense.

It is a brilliant record. I played 5 times since yesterday and is growing on me so well!!... As you said: "Just sometimes"

 

[skellngtn]

The Great Dominions is worth the price of admission on Wilder.

 

[anon x]

The Great Dominions is worth the price of admission on Wilder.

FANTASTIC song:it was the first song i heard them play live too.

 

[sdsuedehead]

I LOVE Kilamanjaro. But its the only CD I have by them. Though I do have two really good bootlegs from 1981...If there is any interest I will upload them here.....But the soonest I can do that will have to be on Tues. Im off on a trip this weekend!

 

[Bona Drag]

I LOVE Kilamanjaro. But its the only CD I have by them. Though I do have two really good bootlegs from 1981...If there is any interest I will upload them here.....But the soonest I can do that will have to be on Tues. Im off on a trip this weekend!

Please do it Sdsuedehead. It would be a fest.

By the way... that avatar... Which bootleg is it? And is she Nastassja Kinski?

 

[anon x]

that avatar... Which bootleg is it? And is she Nastassja Kinski?

I could be wrong but it looks like the godess Emmanuelle Béart

 

[Shipwrecked Escapologist]

Good album and still got my vinyl copy. Passionate Friend is great. Kilimanjaro is far superior though. Was at school when i first got it and still sounds fantastic 'til this day.

I once got £25 from Q magazine when Julian Cope was the ' Cash For Questions' subject.

 

[j0wled]

Great musician, great author. Buy all his music, read all his books. I did! He's super brilliant. Promise.

 

[skellngtn]

I've tried my best to keep up with his output over the years, esp. through the odd QE/Odin/Brain Donor/LAMF/recent lo-fi sludgy rock phases. I guess I lean more towards his poppier stuff like Twenty Mothers & Interpreter.

His 2 autobiographical books are great reads as well...highly recommended. Can't recall any Moz references in them but will have to check.

If you're into his Modern Antiquarian/standing stones stuff, here's a blog that posted the BBC documentary he did a while back:
http://castlesinspace.blogspot.com/2009/01/julian-cope-modern-antiquarian.html

or get immediate satisfaction on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wSCUfp_-as

 

[Bona Drag]

I could be wrong but it looks like the godess Emmanuelle Béart

I just melt everytime I see this woman... pure beauty...

 

[anon x]

I just melt everytime I see this woman... pure beauty...

Perfection!