Reason #276: Rattlesnakes
Lloyd Cole joined the ranks of my favorite intelligent, sensitive and eccentric British singer/songwriters (others include, but are not limited to, the following: Pat Fish (Jazz Butcher), Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice/solo), Robyn Hitchcock (solo/Egyptions/Soft Boys, etc), Paddy McAloon (Prefab Sprout), Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera), ) as soon as I heard Rattlesnakes. Allmusic calls it “One of the finest debuts of the ‘80’s.”, and they are not wrong.
This disk contains 10 absolutely perfect little pop gems, chief among them opener Perfect Skin, Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken and one of my favorite songs of all time Forest Fire. Aside from those three diamonds you have seven more perfectly jangly British pop to bop to, and if you listen closely to the erudite lyrics you just may learn a thing or two about literature. There were a lot of perfect debut albums during the 1980’s, but this one is right up there with the best of the best. If you haven’t yet been exposed to Rattlesnakes I urge you to pick up a copy immediately. And, especially with this one, grab the Deluxe version, it’s 2nd disk is well worth it, and right now you can snag a copy pretty cheap on Amazon.
At his best he kept it just the right side of pretentious … just! My fave was ‘2CV’.
“just the right side of pretentious”. I love it! Should have been the title to the follow up!
Also to eventually be heard on the 1001 list, I like the sounds of it!
I think you’ll dig it, Stephen. To me it’s a perfect album, but some are a little put off by his voice, and or pretentious delivery (see 1537’s comment above).
Like Roddy, Lloyd’s best was right out of the gate. I don’t think Easy Pieces was as big of a drop off as some have suggested, however.
Hi Brian, I totally agree, although I’m awful fond of Aztec Camera’s Knife…I’ll have to get reacquainted with Easy Pieces, though before In can really comment on that.
I’m not familiar with an awfy lot of Lloyd’s stuff. I know bits and bobs here and there, but only have Easy Pieces. I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for this one though.
Hey J. My absolute favorite album by Cole is Don’t Get Weird On Me Babe, a forgotten classic from 1991 (I missed it first time around myself). It’s great, IMO, and here’s a snippet from Allmusic: “Lloyd Cole’s second solo album, 1991’s Don’t Get Weird on Me, Babe, was about a half-decade ahead of its time. If it had come out in 1996, after Richard Davies’ Cardinal project, the High Llamas’ Gideon Gaye, and the new belief in indie circles that Pet Sounds and Burt Bacharach were musical icons worthy of veneration, this would have slotted right in.”
Nice work. Totally agree on quality of LC’s songwriting, coming up with something pretty new and also the timeless quality of Forest, Heartbroken and Perfect Skin. But for me there’s too much filler on the album outside of the classic singles, not many other memorable songs. ‘Patience’ is also a killer though.
Hi Matt
You know, like many of my favorite albums I’m about as biased as can be. I am unable to logically sit down and hear an album objectively, so I appreciate the opinions of others who may have a differing opinion. I totally get the filler, but like other favorites even the filler adds to the overall charm for me. Thanks for the comment.
Absolutely. Some albums are just part of our musical DNA. I’m really fascinated by how other people ‘hear’ those albums. I have that with ‘Cupid And Psyche’ and ‘A Secret Wish’ too – it’s always such a surprise when someone says, ‘Ooh, it sounds really dated and there aren’t enough strong songs…’!