Saint Julian Cope - A National Treasure

Having spent time as a brief threat to Duran Duran with his psychedelic pop outfit The Teardrop Explodes, Julian Cope was considered a relatively outsider artist when he struck out alone in the early 80s.

His first two solo records – World Shut Your Mouth and Fried, both issued in 1984 – saw him heading into Syd Barrett territory, tortoise shell on his back, while the pop firmament was trying to feed the world.

But in late '86 came a jubilant comeback. His World Shut Your Mouth single, the first to be taken from third solo set Saint Julian, was more accessible than the somewhat surrealist style of its predecessors. Cope was up for one more crack at this pop star lark.

And why not? Around him, one-time contemporaries were moving into serious songwriting circles, U2 for example showcasing a blossoming strain of problem rock. Cope, instead, absorbed what he hated, rather than reflecting it – he sucked it in, and became stronger.

Cope constructed a “two-car garage band”, the beginning of his long association with guitarist Donald Ross Skinner, and created what’s perhaps best described as amphetamine stadium rock.

All clad in leather, Cope and his cohorts looked like the last bad-ass gang in town. And the image was completed by Saint Julian’s cover – its headline star pulling a Jesus Christ pose in the middle of a scrap yard.

An exhilarating tour-de-force of big-scale garage rock.

Channeling heroes such as Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop, Saint Julian is an exhilarating tour-de-force of big-scale garage rock.

From the dizzying opener Trampolene (“I can’t believe you’re trampling me”) and the frantic Spacehopper, the album rarely takes a breather from its cacophony of guitars, colossal pounding 80s drums and swirling keys.

When it does calm slightly, as on closer A Crack in the Clouds, the effect isn’t too far from arena goth. A nod to the “ba ba”s of The Teardrop Explodes on the poppy Eve’s Volcano (Covered in Sin) suggests that this could have been an album of chart-toppers – albeit in an alternate dimension.

He’d never repeat it, of course. Cope followed Saint Julian with the disappointing My Nation Underground, and slipped once more from mainstream tastes. But somewhere between then and now he became a national treasure – an amazing feat, given where his mind must’ve been back in 1984.

Another review shared from the BBC under a Creative Commons Licence http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/hm6m/

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Log #143 - Fried Wax To Burn

Julian Cope, him from Teardrop Explodes, and Antiquarian and Krautrock expert, is a genius. His Modern Antiquarian reference guide, 7 years in the compiling, is a fantastic gift to mankind, one of my favourite books, and one that has enlightened many a holiday to the South West. His musical taste is impeccable - an early adopter of Krautrock, his Krautrock Sampler is a long out of print classic of the genre. I've also been enjoying his double autobiography Head On/Repossessed which has led me to the current selection Fried his second studio album following the break up of The Teardrop Explodes.

With the Teardrops over, Cope retreated to his new home in Tamworth with his American girlfriend Dorian, to play on his keyboard, collect Dinky toys and take drugs. 

Tom Pinnock, Uncut 

So what of his music? I have to say I don't know anything about his music, or The Teardrop Explodes, save for the pop single World Shut Your Mouth (incidentally worth noting that Cope's first solo album also uses the title World Shut Your Mouth but confusingly does not include the track of the same name which was not released until 1986, 2 years later).

Fried is a nice surprise. It's pretty raw and heavy and doesn't sound dated in that typical '80s way. It reminds me of The Smiths. I particularly loved the brilliantly sung Mik Mak Mok which appears as a bonus on my copy (generally though I don't think Cope's vocals are that strong but he gets away with the enthusiasm of the band's playing). Other standouts are the catchy Sunspots and Reynard The Fox. 

The bizarre cover features Cope in a turtle shell with one of his toy trucks (Cope was an avid model car collector).

Is his image of eccentricity and edginess at all contrived? Having read his warts and all books I'd say definitely not.

Nightmares On Wax - Feelin' Good

Calexico with Iron and Wine - Years To Burn

Julian Cope - Fried

Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries

John Martyn - Bless the Weather

Fairport Convention - Liege and Lief

Feelin' Good is the 7th album from Leeds DJ and producer George Evelyn otherwise known as Nightmares On Wax. And it does just what it says on the can: It's a feel good record of down tempo beats taking in afro beats, Kruder and Dorfmeister like dub, reggae, funk, deep bass and even ambience.

Luna 2 for instance recalls Can's Hallelujah style circular drumming with throbbing Holger Czukay bass and Nile Rodgers disco strumming whereas Master Plan sounds like Portishead.

The Calexico/Iron/Wine collaboration sort of sounds like the whole is not as great as the sum of the parts, or not as great as it should be. Two different artists in combination. Both great in varying degrees over variable careers but together? Is there a point? Sometimes these sorts of collaborations can feel less a real fusion but a "your turn, no after you" situation. You can hear the trademark laid back Sam Beam drawl, and the occasional Calexico mariachi trumpet but I wouldn't say Years To Burn offers much of an advance on either band's individual catalogue albeit “The Bitter Suite is certainly the most compositionally ambitious song either entity has released in years"(Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork).

It's a nice cover, like the Father John Misty covers, and that's a good reference point although this ain't so good as his recent records.

It's also very short, leaving me with a "was that it?" sentiment.

Aerial Boundaries is the classic Michael Hedges album, and a staple of the Windham Hill "new age" catalogue. The late Hedges was a much revered acoustic guitarist at the forefront of the rebirth of the instrument in the 80s through guitarists like Will Ackerman, Alex de Grassi and Pierre Bensusan. A dynamic live performer, incorporating percussive effects and even vocals, some of his albums verge a little too close to easy listening for my tastes, especially with the heavy use of fretless electric bass. Also fond of his own arrangements of covers this album includes Neil Young's After The Goldrush.

Hedges was a tragically killed in a motor accident in December 1997, age 43.

I've not heard anything else in the genre that has changed my mind, and general consensus, that Liege and Lief is the greatest folk rock album of all time. Combining traditional songs with a rock beat what I love most about the sound of Fairport Convention at the time is the circular grind of Richard Thompson's guitar and Dave Swarbrick's fiddle. I'm sure you've all heard the double murder ballad Matty Groves many a time but it remains one of their greatest songs:

Lord Donald, he jumped up

And loudly he did bawl

He struck his wife right through the heart

And pinned her against the wall

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