Search - Lloyd Cole :: Rattlesnakes

No Mailer, Just a New Tailor!

T. Norton | key west | 01/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was hooked on this album by an ultra-hip friend back in 1985 (a little late, but then I'm like that with music....). It sounded (and still does) like nothing else around, the lyrics were intelligent, quirky, and ceaselessly engaging, and it's makers did not shy from the elegance of string arrangements. In fact, it could be argued that this album almost single-handedly wrested the orchestra back from the schmatlz meisters and made it hip again. One of my other all-time favorites, "The Lexicon of Love" by new romantic northern soul outfit ABC, had two short years before launched the singularly talented Ann Dudley into the pop arranging world. (NOTE- that also-incomparable work was given the "Deluxe" treatment by Universal at the end of 2004) . While Martyn Fry of ABC had shared a witty, quirky, and self-consciously-literate approach to lyrics with our Mr. Cole, the styles of the two groups were markedly different. In theory, that could certainly test the scope and flexibility of an arranger. Ms. Dudley's work on both albums is sublime and is in both cases a major ingredient in their respective successes.



Though the album was reported by critics at time of it's release to be country-influenced, the music herein is respectably informed and defies categorization other than that bastard moniker "alternative rock". Obvious influences on composition and playing run the gamut from Glen Campbell/Jimmy Webb, Chet Atkins, and Duane Eddy through to Jimmy Smith, Bob Dylan and Bo Diddley. One of the awesome things about the newly mastered original album is that new subtleties are apparent in the recordings and these very subtleties are distinguishing the songs stylistically to a much greater extent than I remember from my much-played, much-treasured vinyl copy. In fact, it is a credit to the producer (Paul Hardiman) that these songs hold together so effortlessly in this collection! The most obvious "odd man out" here is "Patience", a take on frustrated love and/or personal shortcomings that utitlizes a Bacharach-influenced approach in it's recording as well as string arrangement. It could easily fit with an R&B set, and Lloyd allowed himself to sound not only vulnerable but pretty as well. Somehow it fits in with the rest, don't ask me... I chalk it up to a sparing approach in the rhythm section and Lloyd's singular voice. In any case, I love the damn song and am no longer embarrased to say so.



"Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?", "Perfect Skin" , and "Forest Fire" have all received airplay in the Uk and are known to fans who've purchased "Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 1984-89" (RIP), so let me add that EVERY track on this gem is a winner! In fact, I like a couple non-hit album tracks here substantially more than those mentioned. "2CV" is simple, haunting and gorgeous, "Speedboat" is menacing and haunting and somewhat enigmatic in it's story of an on-the-edge couple and their never-mentioned demise. With "Four Flights Up" we get a witty Dylan-inspired take on what could be any couple, but the tongue-in-cheek (I think...) melodrama of the narrator makes it sound like the most doomed relationship on Earth. On that note I have to add that Lloyd the lyricist offers dense and slippery tellings that often are not what they seem (or are they?). Lyrics you can chew on for years with instant, often dark, humour and hooks as accessible as trouble...



The second disc here offers an assortment of demos, live recordings, bbc session recordings, and Mr. Cole's much-rated b-sides, almost always top-of-the-line material that makes you wonder how they ever decided in the first place. For that matter we get commentary from all of the band on just that very subject (and others) in the substantial c.d. booklet, along with rare original photos from the period. While "Rattlesnakes" (nicknamed a "student bedsit classic") will probably never get a "straight" following, it indeed gets a re-tailoring worthy of Armani while retaining all of it's original swagger.



I recommend for ANYONE who loves music!"