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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

The Raincoats

Hadn't really thought about The Raincoats in a while, for some reason they popped into my nearly-senile
brain a few days ago.....I drug out the great self titled first album, MAN that thing was great, still sounds good today also.

The Raincoats, in their classic incarnation, were vocalist/guitarist Ana da Silva, vocalist/bassist Gina Birch, drummer (formerly of the Slits whom have been profiled here previously) Palmolive (replaced by Ingrid Weiss), and violinist Vicky Aspinall....I remember the debut coming out to rave reviews in 1979, and especially recall Johnny Rotten calling them the best band in the world......I don't know about all that, but that first LP IS a motherfucker, intelligent and unique, if you've never heard it, like it or not, it WILL NOT sound like anything you've heard before......one of the first albums I recall the term "post punk" being used upon, this is a classic that seemingly is somewhat forgottten/underappreciated in 2016 (I could be wrong, referring only to my circles)....Aspinall's violin playing is deliberately abrasive, and really works well. The CD re-issue (the one I have here) includes the fine single "Fairytale in the Supermarket", which is tremendous, but, even without it, this would be a five star classic........the cover of the Kink's "Lola" brings into play FAR more gender-complication issues than did the original!)......don't miss, this is one of the best albums of the late 70's.

The follow up "Odyshape" (1981) is quite different, and, in my estimation not as good (although the debut would be hard to match).....utilizing odd instrumentation (from Wikipedia: shruti box, balophone, shehnai, and kalimba), which, at the very least, continue the band's "tradition" of being nothing if not unique.....however, for my money, the songs are not as good as on the debut, although, actually, I WOULD consider this an essential album for fans of the genre and era......what I'm saying is the debut is so good that they could never hope to match or surpass it.

OK, used to have some other stuff (notably the good live recording "The Kitchen Tapes) but can't find it right now, I wonder if my friend (missing in action?) DaveSez is reading this and has some boots and stuff to contribute? Anyway, the band went on for a while before calling it a day, hell they may still be at it for all I know, but that first album is the one you want, and if it interests you, investigate "Odyshape" as well.......good stuff for you all here, if you are familiar already, you KNOW of the greatness of that first album, if uninitiated, I certainly want to hear the opinions of someone who hears it for the first time in 2016.

THE RAINCOATS-01 Fairytale in the Supermarket/02 No Side to Fall In/03 Adventures Close to Home/04 Off Duty Trip/05 Black and White/06 Lola/07 Void/08 Life on the Line/09 You're a Million/10 In Love/11 No Looking

ODYSHAPE-01 Shouting Out Loud/02 Family Treet/03 Only Loved at Night/04 Dancing In My Head/05 Odyshape/06 And Then It's OK/07 Baby Song/08 Red Shoes/09 Go Away


16 comments:

  1. ODYSHAPE
    http://www116.zippyshare.com/v/eR5VN1jv/file.html

    THE RAINCOATS
    http://www58.zippyshare.com/v/TIHKzK1v/file.html

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  2. Cool! New music for me. Thanks, Scott!

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  3. I'm in love with their cover of "Lola"!

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  4. Heard a lot about them but never actually heard them. Wasn't K Cobain a big fan? (Not that that's necessarily a recommendation ...I just remember that when Nirvana came to the UK he sought out some members of The Raincoats....)

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  5. Scott, I noticed you posted a great selection of JPT Scare Band some time ago. The links are dead as far as I can see. Would you maybe consider reposting the post. I was listening to the one album I have of theirs last night and it is stunning. I think anyone who hadn't heard them would be amazed.
    Also - if you have it - Truth & Janey, Primevil, Reaction (German band)....don't know if you know them. Stuff along those lines would be most welcome (to me at any rate !)

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    1. Jack, I think you are fairly new here, so here is my policy.....I get so many re-up requests if I filled them all I would never get any new posts done.....however, should you make a contribution to the blog, something of interest to the readership, FIRST, I will honor your request. Sorry it has to be that way but I put the quality and diversity of the blog first, over anything.
      Send me an email or just tell me here what you can submit that will be of interest. Btw I do have Truth and Jamey stuff too,not sure whether I've ever done a post on them or not.....I will check, if I never have, I will do one in the next week or so....I handle "requests" (truth and Jamey) differently than I handle 're-up reader's (JPT Scare band)....sorry, just how it needs to be

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  6. There was a third Raincoats album called Moving (1984) and an EP called Animal Rhapsody (83). Jack Bond is right, Kurt Cobain sought them out, and the three Raincoats albums were reissued. The band got back together and made a fourth Raincoats album in 1996. They have done concerts since then and will be performing at All Tomorrow's Parties in April 2016.

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  7. Btw, if you're looking for a good Raincoats boot, there's one at I Love Total Destruction of a rough-and-ready 1979 gig http://ilovetotaldestruction.blogspot.ca/2014/12/the-raincoats-live-at-acklam-hall.html

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  8. Thanks for the Raincoats! Perfect

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  9. OK Scott - thank you for explaining....

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  10. So Great!
    Thx a lot Scott!

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