Echo & the Bunnymen Album: “What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?”

It's been a long, dry 15 years since the grandiose gorgeousness of "Ocean Rain": the horribly compromised 1987 "grey album", a pair of so-so Ian McCulloch solo albums, Will Sergeant's noble-but-doomed "Reverberation," the good-but-not-great Electrafixion and 1997's decent-if-uninspiring comeback "Evergreen." By rights, "What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?" should have been another by-the-numbers piece of product destined to please no one but a dwindling group of hard core fans. Somehow, though, it's anything but. McCulloch & Sergeant have finally risen to the occasion and delivered an album that stands as their first tangible sign of musical greatness since the closing seconds of "Ocean Rain." Improbable as it sounds, this is an utterly ravishing album that completely recaptures the Bunnymen magic of yore. What a pity they didn't release something like this in 1987; they'd have conquered the earth with it. For skeptical, long-suffering Bunnyfans like me, this album is nothing short of a miracle. See you at the barricades...

Once again an excellent offering. Smooth, comfortable. Read Beth Massa's (of Amazon) review, she's hit the nail right on the head. The Bunnymen are still the Bunnymen, but if you were expecting the screaming, squealing vocals of yesterdecade, may I recommend Ocean Rain, or Porcupine. This group didn't sell out, or slow down... they evolved. If you didn't like Evergreen, you probably won't like this either. On the other hand if your tastes have matured as gracefully as Echo's style has, you're going to love it.

Echo & The Bunnymen still have the vision. With frontman Ian McCulloch and Guitarist Will Sergeant having found the fire again in 1995 with side-project Electrafixion, Bass player Les Pattinson returned to the fold for the Bunnymen 1997 outing, Evergreen. This new album, minus Pattinson once again (due to a family loss), save for the final track, Fools Like Us, weighs in at under 39 minutes, but, oh what a 39 minutes it is! McCulloch has a great voice, and the songs are more bare and organic but still as grand and cinematic as earlier epics like Ocean Rain. The arrangements are more simple and focused, with guest turns from the Fun Lovin' Criminals and The London Metropolitan Orchestra. All in all, this stands up with the best Bunnymen albums, certainly among the best of the year. In summary, one fantastic album from the "greatest band ever"

This is a gorgeous piece of work, akin to both "Ocean Rain" and Ian McCulloch's 1989 masterpiece, "Candleland". It is basically a McCulloch solo album - arguably his best.

Maybe it's because Ian McCulloch and I are the same age, maybe it's because as I get older I yearn for albums rich in melody, structure, atmosphere and emotion...but damn! this is one superb album! Like other long-time fans, I miss the edginess in Ian's voice that made such breath-taking songs as "The Killing Moon" and "Kingdom" so enchanting. EVERGREEN, the band's previous effort, contained bold, brassy rockers. For fans of the band's quirky, art-altrna-rock side it seemed disjointed and somewhat disappointing. But it, and WHAT...? are the sound of punkers hitting their late thirties. And people who expect them to stick to the same type of thing they did at their beginnings haven't really seen the band's maturity and experience. The songs here are grand, moody pieces. Very British, very introspective, very rewarding. Ian's low register on the title track alone is worth the price of admission (especially when it cracks as he delivers the chorus' second line). OK, its doesn't contain the chards-of-plexiglass guitar-work of early efforts or the psychological symbolism of albums like OCEAN RAIN, but WHAT...? (and EVERGREEN) will appeal to those looking for melody above pyrotechnics, lyricism over word-play, maturity over commercial banility. It's the sound of punk hitting middle age and not liking it one bit...