Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon - The Singles 1980 - 1990

Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon – The Singles 1980–1990

Originally released in 2017 on Rhino, The Killing Moon – The Singles 1980–1990 brings together 13 recordings charting a crucial decade in the career of Liverpool's Echo & The Bunnymen. Rather than being an original-period album, this collection draws on singles and key tracks from the band's 1980–1990 era, capturing their distinctive combination of post-punk intensity, psychedelic guitar, dramatic arrangements and literate alternative pop.

The collection naturally centres on “The Killing Moon”, the majestic 1984 single from Ocean Rain, with its orchestral atmosphere, Will Sergeant's guitar work and Ian McCulloch's distinctive baritone making it one of the defining recordings of the British alternative scene. The same period is represented by “Silver” and “Seven Seas”, while “The Cutter” and “Never Stop” capture the sharper, more urgent side of the band's early-1980s sound.

The earlier material reaches back to the band's formative years with “Rescue,” “The Puppet,” “Over The Wall” and “A Promise,” while “The Back Of Love” demonstrates the increasingly expansive sound that developed around Porcupine. “Bring On The Dancing Horses” adds one of their most recognisable mid-1980s singles, with its atmospheric production and memorable melody.

Also included is the band's distinctive interpretation of The Doors' “People Are Strange,” recorded for the The Lost Boys soundtrack and featuring Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. At the other end of the decade comes “Enlighten Me,” from the 1990 Reverberation period with Noel Burke on vocals, giving the collection a glimpse of the band's changing line-up at the close of the decade.

For fans of 1980s post-punk, alternative rock, gothic rock, neo-psychedelia and Liverpool's influential indie scene, this is an accessible single-disc overview of Echo & The Bunnymen's early catalogue, bringing together material associated with Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, Ocean Rain and their subsequent singles.

Tracklist

1. The Killing Moon – 5:46
2. The Cutter – 3:52
3. The Puppet – 3:05
4. Bring On The Dancing Horses – 3:54
5. Silver – 3:18
6. The Back Of Love – 3:14
7. Rescue – 4:24
8. Enlighten Me – 5:00
9. People Are Strange – 3:38
10. Never Stop – 4:45
11. Over The Wall – 5:52
12. Seven Seas – 3:19
13. A Promise – 4:03