Echo and The Bunnymen: Meteorites (2014)

Suddenly, Echo and The Bunnymen have become Echo and The Bunnymen again after a few years as Echo & The Bunnymen.

I thought the Bunnymen were finished, but suddenly, Meteorites appeared and it turns out to be very good, though perhaps not as good as their 80s stuff. True, Ian McCulloch's voice is a little harsh on this record, but that doesn't seem to interfere with the music. Allmusic says this: "Teeming with giant string arrangements, widescreen vocal production, and songs that hark back to the glory days of Ocean Rain, the album is a mysterious, murky, impressively nostalgic affair." [source] I will have to agree.

Echo And The Bunnymen: The Peel Sessions (1988)

There were two pressings of this EP, one of which listed some titles incorrectly. This EP contains four tracks: Read it in Books, Stars are Stars, I Bagsy Yours, and Villiers Terrace. I believe the recordings date to 1979. 

Echo And The Bunnymen: The Pictures On My Wall (1979)

This single, originally released in 1979,  didn't get a 12" pressing until 1991, for some reason. Who knows why? It's not as though vinyl was entering a resurgent phase. The tracks are the same: The Pictures on My Wall b/w Read it in Books.

Echo & The Bunnymen: People Are Strange (1988)

This is a UK 45 RPM 12" single containing a cover of People are Strange, originally from The Doors, plus three live tracks that were recorded in Sweden in 1985. The live tracks are: Paint in Black (a cover of the Rolling Stones tune), Run, Run, Run (a cover of the Velvet Underground track, written by Lou Reed), and Friction (a cover of the Television song, written by Tom Verlaine). So, it's all cover versions.

People are Strange was used, as one can see, in the film, The Lost Boys. Oddly, I have never seen that film. I would also add that People are Strange is the best track on the film's soundtrack.

Echo And The Bunnymen: Echo And The Bunnymen (1983)

In 1983, the band released this self-titled 5 track EP or mini album of some essential Bunnymen tunes:

Never Stop
Rescue
The Cutter
Back Of Love
Do It Clean (Live)

It's almost like a mini best-of compilation up to that point.

Echo And The Bunnymen: The Back Of Love

This UK 12" single from May 21, 1982 contains the title track with two b-sides: The Subject and Fuel.

Echo And The Bunnymen: A Promise (1981)

This is a UK 12" pressing containing A Promise b/w Broke My Neck (Long Version). I love it.

Echo and The Bunnymen: Heaven Up Here (1981)

The second album from Echo and The Bunnymen is another gem. I agree wholeheartedly with this excerpt from Allmusic's review:

"Heaven Up Here's strength is the way in which the Bunnymen seamlessly work together to shape each song's dynamics (the tension underlying the crescendo of "Turquoise Days" being a prime example). Ian McCulloch, having found his trademark confidence, sings with soaring abandon and passion throughout the album. Similarly, Will Sergeant's guitar playing, notably freed from verse-chorus structure and pop riffs, is at its angular finest; his playing on "No Dark Things" is pure Andy Gill-esque skronk. The album's opening troika of "Show of Strength," "With a Hip," and "Over the Wall" (the latter with its jarring, direct invocation of Del Shannon's "Runaway") are particularly effective, establishing the theme of distrust and restlessness which continues throughout the album."[link]

It's difficult to choose favourites, but Show of Strength, Over the Wall, The Promise, Turquoise Days, No Dark Things, With a Hip are all awesome. I wish I had seen them in concert. I recently heard that they will be playing Riot Fest few days from now, but I think my days of all-day concert festivals are over.

Echo And The Bunnymen: Shine So Hard (1981)

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Between the first two Echo albums (actually about a month before the second album was released) came this live 4 track EP that was recorded at the Pavillion Gardens, Buxton on Jan. 17 1981. It serves as a soundtrack to the film of the same name. It contains:

Crocodiles
Zimbo
All That Jazz
Over The Wall

You can watch the entire Shine So Hard film on Youtube. It's about 31 minute long and it contains some music not on the EP, like parts or Pride and Going Up, for example. You might want to skip ahead to the actual music, at about 12:30, where the epic version of Over the Wall begins.

Echo and The Bunnymen: Crocodiles (1980)

Echo and The Bunnymen (later known as Echo & The Bunnymen and even later as Echo and The Bunnymen) were one of my favourite 80s bands. If I were forced to make a list of my top 5 bands from that era, this band would be on that list. Needless to say, I have all of their CDs.  

Crocodiles is a very good debut. It contains Rescue, an essential track, but unless you purchased the cassette version, it lacks Do it Clean and Read It in Books. Apparently, the record company was concerned about the lyrics. How would these guys have managed in the gangsta rap era? I have combed over the lyrics to Do it Clean and just cannot understand what they thought the record company folks thought they saw. It's a bit clearer in Read it in Books, but only if you have a dirty mind.

"You know the words
Please do say it from your knees
Show some respect
Hey baby, genuflect"

Echo & The Bunnymen: It's All Live Now (2017)

It's All Live Now is an interesting record. It consists of mostly cover versions, with only two Echo originals. The are Crocodiles and Do it Clean. I have to say that the band chose the cover tunes very well. We get Paint it Black (Stones), She Cracked (Modern Lovers), Run Run Run and Heroin (Velvet Underground), Friction (Television), and more. The recording is very good. Here are some of the notes from Discogs:

"This is a limited release of 2987 copies.

Single sleeve tip-on UV-laminated Stoughton jacket with a printed insert that includes liner notes by Will Sergeant

Tracks A1-A2 recorded live in Sweden (no venue or other details given).
Tracks A3-B2 recorded live at Karen, Gothenberg, Sweden for The Bommen Show on 25 April 1985.
Tracks B4 & B5 recorded live at The Royal Albert Hall on 19 July 1983.

All tracks previously released on the 2001 Echo & The Bunnymen - Crystal Days 1979 - 1999 box set."