Echo & the Bunnymen Album: “Live in Liverpool”

Description :

Echo & The Bunnymen: Ian McCulloch (vocals); Will Sergeant, Ged Malley (guitar); Ceri James (keyboards); Steve Flett (bass); Vinnie Jamieson (drums). <p>Recorded live at The Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts, Liverpool, England on August 17 & 18, 2001. <p>A document of the revived Bunnymen's 2001 reunion tour in support of their new album FLOWERS and the box set CRYSTAL DAYS, this 17-track set recorded before a hometown audience shows that the 13-year break dimmed none of the artistic rapport between singer Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant, the two remaining original members. This is particularly impressive when considering how mediocre both McCulloch's solo career and the ill-fated McCulloch-less Bunnymen were. McCulloch is in excellent voice, and Sergeant's much-copied neo-psychedelic guitar sounds terrific throughout. <p>Though the edge-of-stability clatter that often typified earlier Bunnymen live performances (as documented on the live tracks on CRYSTAL DAYS) is absent, the result actually more closely resembles the epic sweep and hazy grandeur of albums like OCEAN RAIN. And surprisingly, the four songs from the then-new album, especially the almost joyous "King of Kings," are actually quite solid additions to the Bunnymen canon. LIVE IN LIVERPOOL is proof that the revived Bunnymen are back with their artistic integrity and chops intact.

Recorded at The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in August of 2001 with the new lineup from the comeback album of the year "Flowers" this performance captures the unique sound of this

band with old classics "Rescue,"Lips Like Sugar","Seven Seas"and

"The Killing Moon"and several songs from "Flowers"this is a must own for any Bunnyfan and anyone has'nt yet heard this band live.

Produced by lead singer IanMcCulloch and lead guitarist Will Sergeant it is a mix of both old and new with a great sound and will soon be a Bunny classic.

I picked up the DVD for less than the price of the CD & am glad I did. The sound quality is great (Dolby Stereo) plus the options for Dolby 5.1 & DTS 5.1. The DVD also has 23 tracks (the full concert including encore), plus 2 videos (it's alright & make me shine). In spite of the terrible editing of the visuals on the DVD, it really is recommended over this & if you're tech savy, you can make you're own CD from the audio portion.

For 23 years, Echo And The Bunnymen have built a loyal cult following with fans and critics alike. Though much of this acclaim is because of classic releases like Ocean Rain and last year's Flowers, onstage is where they truly shine. In the middle of their 2001 world tour, The Bunnymen played two dates in their hometown, Liverpool, at LIPA's Paul McCartney Auditorium. This CD (and forthcoming DVD) is the result - a recording which catches the power of their live show. Classics like 'The Cutter' and 'The Killing Moon' play well alongside newer tracks 'Flowers' and the show-stopping 'An Eternity Turns', and the concert ends with "the greatest song ever", 'Ocean Rain'.

For longtime fans, this album, their first official live recording, is a much-anticipated treasure. For the new listener, it's a great initiation to their (our) world... Be forewarned - you'll want to buy all their albums once you've heard this...

The sound quality of this live recording is so good it almost doesn't sound live. The songs are performed perfectly, almost too perfectly. Ian and the boys are not fooling around here. No frills no drunken ad-libs. They've obviously mellowed with age which may leave some people longing for the feistier Bunnymen of old but I think they realised they owed this to their long time fans. Wonderful renditions of All That Jazz, Seven Seas, All My Colours (Zimbo) and a nice touch in ending with Ocean Rain. Thanks guys.