The Teardrop Explodes

As much as I often claim to dislike the music of the 1980's, I sure to find myself featuring enough of
it on here, maybe it's just that i disliked the "hair metal" and some of the other non-trends that gave the decadae it's bad rep. Teardrop Explodes were another good one, IMO from the early part of the decade, along with Echo & the Bunnymen and a couple others a part of a rather short-lived UK neo-psychedelic movement.

The music is significantly influenced byq960's west coast psych, notably the Doors and in particular Love (and even more sepcifically the enite "Forever Changes" album....as always a sucker for that stuff, new musics which incoprorate such elements are always worthwhile to me.
They had some successful UK singles prior ot the release of 1980's "Killimanjaro", one of the better efforts of that season. The band went through several lineup changes prior even to the debut's release, clearly it was the playground of singer/bassist Julian Cope, with help on this one from guitarist Mike Finkler, keyboardist David Balfe, and drummer Gary Dwyer (Alan Gill handles guitar on part of the album)....

The album was quite a success, just my opinion but sort of reminds me of the equation: ("Killimanjaro is to"Ten") as ("Crocodiles (Echo & the Bunnymen) is to "Nevermind")....just sort of the way I think of it, anyway the album is a good one....I'm going to include it in a couple forms, 2000's expanded edition in the original sequence (plus a few bonuses), as well as the 2010 three disc set which includes some other tracks taken from the comp "Piano", plus the highlight, Disc 3, a fine collection of BBC material. Anyway, it's like a time trip to the eightys with trippy, druggy stuff such as "Sleeping Gas", "Poppies in the Field", "Books", and the great single "Reward".....great album, and here it is sliced and diced any way you could want it.....damn fine album.

In another expanded edition, the follow up "Wilder" (1981) was also stretched out in 2000 with a bunch of bonus stuff. A much more experimental album than "Killaminjaro", Balfe's synth work steps more to the forefront, it's a very stripped down affair with some tracks featuring little/or no guitar work. Many hate it, I happen to enjoy its stark, dark, bleakness. "Passionate Friend" was the only single release, and remains the best known song today.

The band broke up during thier attempt at a third album, artistic differences seemingly the
problem.....they material was eventually scraped together and released as "Everybody Wants To Shag...The Teardrop Explodes"...the guitars have nearly disappeared by now,in favor of Cope's poppy ballads/strange lyrics and Balfe's synth-based dance music exercises. I do not care for this album, really, sounds like what it is" an aborted album on which no one was on the same page. An interesting artifact (couple decent tracks, such as "Serious Danger" and "Count To Ten and Run For Cover"), nothing much more than that really.

"Piano" was a singles/rarities/b-sides disc, which I think may or may not be rendered redundant by the three disc "Killaminjaro", I don't care enough to cross reference.....I just happen to have a copy of it laying here so why not......

Lots to explore and enjoy here......for dabblers, the three disc "Killaminjaro" may just do it, thier best work by far, and some fine BBC stuff.....but hell, there may be a hard-core fan of the band that's worked up over "Shag" or something.....let's see.....someone suggested that I need to turn the amps up to 11, that I've been mellowing it out a bit, so tomorrow something LOUD AND PROUD, not sure what yet but bring the earplugs for the kids!

KILLIMANJARO (2000 RE-ISSUE)-01 Ha Ha I'm Drowning/02 Sleeping Gas/03 Treason/04 Second Head/05 Poppies In the Field/06 Went Crazy/07 Brave Boys Keep Thier Promises/08 Bouncing Babies/09 Books/10 The Thief of Baghdad/11 When I Dream/12 Reward/13 Killimanjaro/14 Strange House in the Snow/15 use Me/16 Traison (C'est Juste Une Histoire)/17 Sleeping Gas (Live)

KILLIMANJARO (2010 RE-ISSUE, DISC 1)-01 Ha Ha I'm Drowning/02 Sleeping Gas/03 Treason/04 Second Head/05 Poppies/06 Went Crazy/07 Brave Boys Keep Thier Promises/08 Bouncing Babies/09 Books/10 Thief of Baghdad/11 When I Dream (Longer Version)

KILLIMANJARO (2010 RE-ISSUE, DISC 2, "BATES MOTEL")-01 Reward/02 Sleeping Gas (single Version)/03 Camera Camera (Goddamn Camera)/04 Kirby Workers Dream Fades/05 Bouncinf Babies (Single Version)/06 All I Am Is Loving You/07 Treason (Zoo Single version)/08 Read It In Books/09 Killimanjaro/10 Strange House In the Snow/11 Use Me/12 Traison (C'est Juste Une Histoire)/13 Sleeping Gas (Live Version)

KILLIMANJRO (2010 RE-ISSUE, DISC 3, BBC SESSIONS)-01 Brave Boys Keep Thier Promises
(Peel, 10/15/79)/02 Ha Ha I'm Drowning (Peel 10/15/79)/03 Went Crazy (Peel, 10/15/79)/04 Chance (Peel 10/15/79)/05 Thief of Baghdad  (Peel 4/24/80)/06 When I Dream (Peel 4/24/80)/07 Poppies In the Field (Peel 4/24/80)/08 REeward (Mike Read Session 10/27/80)/09 Suffocate (Mike Read Session 10/27/80/10 For Years (Mike Read Session 10/27/80/11 The Great Dominions (Mike Read Sessions 10/27/80

WILDER (2000 Re-ISSUE)-01 Bent Out of Shape/02 Colours Fly Away/03 Seven Views of Jerusalme/04 Pure Joy/05 Falling Down Around Me.06 The Culture Bunker/07 Passionate Friend/08 Tiny Children/09 Like Leila Lhaled Said/10...And the Fighting Takes Over/11 The Great Domions/12 Window Shopping For a New Crown of Thornes/13 East of the Equator/14 Rachael Built a Steamboat/15 You Disappear From View/16 Suffocate/17 Ouch Monkeys/18  Soft ENough For You/19 The In-Psychlopedia

EVERYODY WANTS TO SHAG THE TEARDROP EXPLODES-01 Ouch Monkeys/02 Serious Danger/03 Mentranil Vavin/04 Count to Ten and Run For Cover/05 In-Psycholpedia/06 Soft Enough For You/07 You Disappear From View/08 The Challenger/09 Not My Only Friend/10 Sex (Pussyface)/11 Terrorist/12 Strange House in the Snow

PIANO-01 Sleeping Gas/02 Camera Camera Goddamn Camera/03 Kirby Workers Dream Fades/04
Bouncing Babies/05 All I Am Is Loving You/06 Treason/07 Books/08 Take a Chance/09 When I Dream/10 Kwalo Klobinsky's Lullabye

Lemme know what ya think......gonna try to make the ear drums bleed tomorrow, we'll see!