Conference marvin::uk_music

    
    The Cocteau's were loking for a new label so they could release
    their stuff the the U.S.  They're not planning to move from 4AD
    as far as I know.
    
    A new Cocteau's album is due out very soon.  I think the only thing
    holding up it's release is them finding a new label.
    
    	Lee.

    The sooner a new album's out, the better. 
    
    Does anyone else think that the soundtrack to the Ford Orion tv
    advert is heavily influenced by (eg ripped off from) the Cocteaus?
    No? Oh well...
    
    Rod

***** now available, on groovy/pitted/rusty plastic *****

- The new Cocteau twins album is now out and, (shock horror) the sleeve is
  NOT by 23 envelope. They are, however, still with 4AD/Beggars Banquet...still
  no lyric sheet :-)

  The title track, Blue Bell Knoll, even made it onto Annie Nightingale's
  show last night. This was on her own initiative, rather than in response
  to a listener's request.

  Neal.

    The album has been getting pretty good reviews all round too.  Might
    even invest ....
    
    David.
    

    Re .3: I heard it, while I was stuck up in the loft doing filthy
    DIY type things. Speaking as a long-time follower of the Cocteaus,
    I can say that it's up to standard. 
    
    Actually, much of the Cocteaus best work is on 12" single rather
    than LP. There is virtually no duplication of tracks between single
    and LP (offhand I can only think of one track out of about seven
    three- and four-track singles), so if you only have Cocteaus LPs,
    you're missing out on a lot of music.
    
    The Cocteaus are the only band whose recordings I buy automatically.
    So there!
    
    Rod

I bought 'Blubell Knoll' at the weekend. I'm happy, they can still tingle my
spine...

Lee's review in 18.48 is a bit off-putting, and makes them sound inaccessible
and frightening - they're not! This is a very warm album, it wouldn't frighten
anyone. 

Their music seems to be regarded as difficult, and that's a pity. Liz rarely
sings any words you can identify, it's true, and there's not much in the way of
a verse/chorus structure. But they are very melodic. You can hum most of their
tunes, and the tunes are interesting and unexpected. 

They've become absolute masters of the studio. On a basic guitar/bass/drums
structure, they build a complete wash of sound; you can just about swim in it.
The guitar work is fantastic, I'm sure even the HM fans could appreciate it
(that's a joke, OK!). They aren't self-indulgent; tracks are rarely over four
minutes, and they aren't ambient either. To me, ambient music is something you
can switch on at any point and switch off at any point; but every Cocteau's
song is structured and climactic, coming to an end, not a fade-out.

I was a little worried about their last album, 'The Moon and the Melodies',
which was a collaboration with Harold Budd, who I'm not familiar with. Some of
that was tending towards the ambient (although 'She will destroy you' is a
classic track). I blamed Budd for this shortcoming, and since they're without
him on this album, and back on form, I think I was right.

Happily yours,
Rod

_Blue Bell Knoll_ is out on Capitol Records in the US.  Can anyone tell me
if the album was recorded digitally?  The CD sounds great.

All other CDs are available as 4 A.D. imports in the US.  Several of the CDs
include 12" tracks.  I'm still looking for a CD called _The Pink Opaque_
(I believe this is a CD-only compilation).  Can anyone post a list of the
tracks on _The Pink Opaque_?  I'm especially interested in whether it contains
the song "Pearly Dewdrops Drop".

Thanks.

John _who_thinks_he_drives_a_kissed_out_red_floatboat_but_is_not_sure_

    
    	re .7
    
    	John, I can't post a track list, but can confirm that
    	the wonderful 'Pearly Dewdrops Drop' is on this CD, which
    	is indeed a 'greatest hits' type affair.
    
    	Doug.

RE: .5, and .7

Yes, much Cocteau Twins material is on 12" EP rather than album. A couple
of the CDs contain pairs of 12" EPs:

"Tiny Dynamine" with "Echoes in a shallow bay"
"Head over heels" with "Sunburst and Snowblind"

The former CD contains 2 versions of "Sugar Hiccup".

The main diappointment for CD fans, in my opinion, is that we only get a
subsection of the album sleeve artwork...

Those of you in the Reading area may be interested to know that Reading
library has a copy of The Pink Opaque- this formed my introduction to the band.
I'll try and remember to post a track-list "soon".

re: < Note 137.7 by TLE::WARD "John Ward" >

John, the tracklist for "the PINK OPAQUE" is:

The spangle maker.
Millimillenary.
Wax and wane.
Hitherto.
Pearly dewdrops' drops.
From the flagstones.
Aikea-guinea.
Lorelei.
Pepper-tree.
Musette and drums.

Afraid my Blue Bell Knoll CD doesn't show the 'recording technology'.

Neal. 

    Does anyone have (or know where I can get) the lyrics to the song
    "Another Day" by Roy Harper?  This song is sung by Elizabeth Fraser
    (of the Cocteaus) on the album _It'll End In Tears_ by This Mortal
    Coil.  Wonderful piece of music.

    John

    John,
    
    I have those lyrics at home. I'll mail them to you.
    
    I wasn't aware of this version of this wonderful song. The only
    version, apart from Roy's, that I am aware of is a Peter Gabriel
    & Kate Bush duet, also very good. Oh, and my one 8^)
                                       
    Bob

    Heard that the Twins are due to release a new album shortly.
    Has anyone heard anything about this ?
    If it is true then it will be the first major music event of the
    decade for me..
    
    martin o'

    I was at school with Lizzy and Robin and can remember when they were
    first starting out,They got stickers made up at a local printers and
    every bus stop and lampost in the town was hailed with a sticker..
     They have come a long way since those days of small local pub gigs.
    Robin was the DJ in a local disco and thats where he met up with lizzy.
    This is just some useless information i thought i would share with you.
    
    P.S the town that they come from is called Grangemouth and is on the 
        East coast of Scotland abought 15 miles west of Edinburgh.
    
    
                                                Steve..
    

Re .13>
>    Heard that the Twins are due to release a new album shortly.
>    Has anyone heard anything about this ?

       The new single is out next Tuesday. Not sure about the album though.

       The single, whose name I still can't remember, but it's something
       to do with ice cubes, is apparantly about Liz's daughter, Lucy.
       It's already been played extensivly on Radio 1 (now *there's* a
       first!)

       Ian.

    The new Cocteau Twins album "Heaven or Las Vegas" is out 17 September.
    
    Ian.

    
    Are the Cocteau Twins playing live at all?  If so where and when?
    
    Tim
    ---

New single sounds like Chrissie Hyndes singing a Siouxsie record. I like it!

    
    I've heard it described as New Order with Kikki Dee singing, I liked it
    so much I bought the....record.
    
    Tim
    ---

    I bought the single on Saturday.
    Thought the 2 B-sides were better and more 'cocteauish' songs.
    The A-side is quite catchy.
    
    Looking forward to the 17th.
    
    martin

    Listened to 'Heaven or Las Vegas' last night.
    
    It's wonderful. I played it three times, such was the hook it got in
    me.
    Comparing to their previous material it is definitely different. The
    songs have a very complex vocal structure. There is a kind of 'wash' of
    sound on a lot of the tracks which kind of carries you along.
    
    My favourite tracks are 'Pitch the Baby', 'Frou Frou Foxes in Midsummer
    Fires', 'Road, River , and Rail', and especially 'I wear your ring'
    which is the best song i've heard in ages.
    
    For fans of the Twins, it is indispensible, for people not so familiar
    its highly recommended.
    
    Looking forward to seeing them at the Barrowlands on Oct 25.
    
    martin

    On that review it seems it can't fail, I haven't got round to buying it
    yet, seems I should though.
    
    Tim
    ---

    I'm in love with Liz Frazers face!

    Two Timer!!  I'll tell Maria!!
    
    Mikef

    Who Matty or Liz Fraser?

    definitely Matty!  I'll tell Maria when she comes round tonight. 
    That'll teach him.
    
    Mikef

Another Thumbs up for the album, even if it does sound like Blue Bell Knoll
revisited.

As for Frazers boat Matty, what's wrong with the rest of her body? (or her mind,
he added so as not to sound *too* crass...)

Lee

    I haven't seen the rest of her body!  Not yet!  Yeah 3 in a bed, Maria,
    Liz & me, with mirrors on the roof!
    
    I think I'll buy the single 'cos the bass sounds like a Peter Hook type
    of bass and I love it.  (more than Liz's face!)
    
    
    matty

    
    She's really short (here comes the second hand name drop), an
    ex-girlfriend stood next to her at a Felt gig a couple of years ago,
    she said she wass really friendly and they spoke for quite a while.
    
    Tim
    ---

    She was ugly at school..!!!!!!
    She used to wear Blue NHS spec's.....*:@)..Not a schoolboys dream..
    But that was a few years ago, I still think her voice is good...
    Robin has not changed much he is still the same.
    
    
    Steve..

    NHS specs.   Corrr!

    Bought the "Heaven or Las Vegas" CD last week and I like it very
    much! Best CD of the 90's, so far! I have a few other Cocteau
    Twin albums - Head over Heel, Treasure, Victorialand, Blue Bell Knoll
    - which I all like, but the new one is certainly one of the best.
    
    Do they really do live concerts? Outside Scotland/Britain? (I
    have never seen a concert advertised here in Switzerland...)
                                                      
    Does anybody have Cocteau Twin lyrics? or know how to get them?
    
    felix
    

    Lyrics what lyrics most songs have no words as such and are just Liz
    Fraser "using her voice as an instrument" as the music press say.
    
    Tim
    ---

    They played Switzerland, I saw them in Geneva on Oct 18th.
    The fact is, it was much less advertised than, say, their Paris
    concerts.
    
    Christophe.

    
    	They'll be in Boston sometime this month.
    
    	- Jim

    I agree, on earlier albums Liz Fraser's singing was "like an
    instrument". On "Heaven or Las Vegas" the "lyrics" seem to be much 
    closer to "real" language. I think it sounds quite English - 
    with a Scottish accent (the words "road, river and rail" 
    for example)... but I am not an expert, because English is not my 
    mothertongue...
    
    felix.
    
     

    
    On their very earliest stuff, they did tend towards having actually
    definable words and lyrics. The first LP, of which I can't remember the
    title (but it's the one with Wax and Wane on it) definitely has lyrics,
    although they are a little peculiar. Head over Heels is similar. After
    that, they developed the more abstract kind of vocals, which I didn't
    much care for. It's interesting to hear that the latest LP has reverted
    to the older style.
    
    Trevor

    Trevor (-.1)
    The first albums name is 'Garlands'.
    I think that you've probably not heard that much of 'Heaven...', 'cos i
    can't make out many of the lyrics on it. I don't think that their style
    has changed. It's just different songs.
    Even 'Road, river , and rail' was sung very peculiarly by Liz when i
    saw them in concert. She twisted the word 'road' into something very
    unusual, something like (phonetically) ...whoah-ahd (!!).
    
    martin

    Can anyone give me a complete list of Cocteau Twins albums 
    (available on CD)? I already have got "Head over Heel", "Treasure",
    "Victorialand", "Blue Bell Knoll" and "Heaven or Las Vegas". 
    
    Someone mentioned "Garlands" - are there more? And what is their
    label/order number? 
    
    thanks,
    felix.
    
    
    

    Don't forget 'The Moon and the Melodies' - although not listed as a
    Cocteaus lp- I believe the cover lists Liz, whassisname, and Harold
    Budd as the artists, this is a brilliant lp.  
    
    Also, wasn't there something like 'Tiny Dynamine', released as two
    12"s.  Very good as I recall.
    
    Mikef
    
    PS - seen the Aqua Libra ad?  What track is being used?

Tiny dynamine was originally a 4 track E.P. which got bundled onto CD along with
another 4 track E.P. called Echoes in a Shallow Bay.

Add to the current list `The Pink Opaque', a CD only compilation of various
songs some of which are on other albums, some off singles, and some from else-
where.

Also spotted; `Love's Easy Tears'.  This was a single a few years ago, but was
released in the U.K. as a three track vynil effort only.  The American release
had four tracks and is available in all formats, including CD.  Spotted it once
going for SEVENTEEN QUID which I guess will only appeal to those desperate for
a complete catalogue.

Anybody here see them on tour recently?  I saw them at the Town and Country Club
and was kind of dissapointed.  The music was O.K. but it didn't seem to work
as a live experience.  I'd rather have been sitting in a comfy armchair with a
cuppa than standing in the gloom of the T&C drinking the worst lager in the
world, but hey, that's Rock 'n' Roll!

Lee

    Saw the Aqua Libra ad on ITV last night.
    
    I was reading comething when the first sounds happened, but immediately
    recognised the sound.
    It's very hypnotic, isn't it !
    
    The track used was 'Cico Buff', the first track on side 2 of 'Blue Bell
    Knoll'.
    Incidentially, 'Cico Buff' was one of my favourites from the Glasgow
    concert that i was at.
    
    martin

	Hi,
	
	I'd never heard their albums before, but I bought the
	"Heaven or Las Vegas" CD.
	It's very good ! and maybe the BEST album of this year,I think.

	In Japan, they are not very popular because of their label 4AD.

	Does anybody know member's names and playing instruments ?

						Ichiro Bakoshi from Japan

    Hello there, Japanese Fan !
    
    The Cocteau Twins are -
    
    Elizabeth Fraser , Vocals only
    Robin Guthrie, Guitars etc
    Simon Raymonde, Bass Guitar and etc.
    
    They used to have a guy named Will Heggie in the band on bass, but that
    was for the first album ( or two ? ) only.
    
    martin, an Irish Fan.

    Wully Heggie now plays with another Grangemouth Band 
    Called The Dead Neighbours, Wully got tuffed out the band
    And new nothing about it until he got a letter from 4AD 
    Telling him that he would no longer receive royalties as
    he was no longer a member of the Cocteau Twins..........
    This is strait from the horses mouth so to speak..!!
    
    Steve...
    
    
    

	Thank you martin, Steve !!

	I can't believe they are only three members.
	How do they play at live ?? ( with support musicians? )

							Ichiro Bakoshi

    I just saw them "live."  Basically, the drums and keyboards are
    taped and all Robin has to do is push a little button.  (However,
    they had two extra guitarists playing with them on this tour.)
    
    -Vicki

    Late into this conference, but glad to see lots of Twins stuff...
    
    Has Will Heggie left Lowlife then ??
    
    Saw the Twins @ the Hummingbird in Brum and they were exquisite..let
    the music and the atmosphere wash over you..I was on a high for days
    after. Even the understated 'light show' was just right.
    The best was to describe the gig was like what I imagine walking in
    clouds would be like. What else can you say about seeing your favourite
    band live after a 4 year gap ??.
    I felt than while the Vegas album was superb ..'I wear your ring' has
    got to be the best piece of music Ive heard this decade....did I detect
    some compromises eg getting a bit 'poppy' or 'mainstream' or is me ??.
    Cheers
    Paul
     

    I'm another late arrival to this note and the cocteus have been my fave
    band by far for the last - oh - five years.
    
    The three maybe four years I had to wait to see them again,after the
    blue bell knoll tour was murder,though someone I know claims to have
    seen them in the the period of loves easy tears.
    
    I went to see them at the barrowlands and couldn't have put it better
    than the last note as I to was on a pure "high" during and after the
    concert - what would life be like without them?
    
    The guy from Japan might be interested to know they use another two
    guitarists and one comes from Japan.Seemingly he was an ardent fan for
    years had ALL the tracts ready on a sequencer.
    
    I also like heaven or las vegas,the concert was hours too short,and my
    fave tracks are heaven or las vegas and pitch the baby.
    
    Does anyone know any of the bass lines - I think he tunes his bass
    different as the chords don't sound the same on my bass with similar
    effects - I got these off of snub on which they played elle megalast
    burls forever and the "very rare" appled orange or something.Of course
    they were excellent.
    
    I better go now as I could go on for ever - cico buff they're best ever
    track?????????????????????????????//
    
    

>                    <<< Note 137.50 by SCOAYR::SROBERTSON >>>
>    
>    I better go now as I could go on for ever - cico buff they're best ever
>    track?????????????????????????????//
 
    You don't really want to talk about "best ever tracks" where the
    Cocteaus are concerned. All you can have is a current favourite. I know
    of no other band whose output is so uniformly good, which is why their
    albums are so listenable all the way through.   
    
    
    Another fan avers
    

    For the record...
    'Orange Appled' the rare track that was on Snub the other night was on
    an NME free single a few years ago. Excellent song, with a great hook
    in it.
    They played it at the Barrowlands gig, i think.
    
    martin

    I'm pretty sure Orange Appled is available somewhere else too, but
    since I've got the NME freebie it could well be that I recorded it from
    that. It is a lovely song, indeed.
    
    Piers

    I think Orange Appled also appears on some US CD release of a
    combination of 12" singles...but not The Pink Opaque. Does anyone have any
    comments regarding the Twins split from 4AD ??? any reasons as to why
    it came about ?? as I always understood the 4AD/Twins relationship was
    very strong.
    Good to see this topic spluttering back to life again
    Cheers
    Paul
    

    Paul,
    
    I read an interview in which the Twins said that although 4AD are an
    excellent label for developing talent, they weren't really too
    committed to pushing the Twins into the major league.
    In the interview ( Melody Maker, sometime around August/Sept '90 ), the
    Twins expressed a desire to make it big. 'I don't see why we can't
    sell as many records as Dire Straits' , is a quote from Robin.
    This is probably the reason for the split.
    Look for the Twins to join with a major label.
    
    I'm kind of happy about this, and sad too. The move towards
    commercialism will likely lead to less interesting records as in the
    past...remember the audacity of releasing a record with no drumbeats
    at all ! [ Victorialand ]. 
    Still , they are ambitious and supremely talented.
    One good thing is that they are likely to release their next album a
    little quicker than the last.
    
    martin

    I think it's good news too as we hopefully will get more glimpses of
    the Twins,be it on t.v. , radio or whatever as this can't be bad -just
    think of being able to make up a video collection of say a live
    performance and maybe some apearances on music programmes.
    
    I also think and hope that commercial backing won't change them in the 
    wrong direction,as they change and develop frequently,as they are TOO
    original for that and know what's s*** and what's excellent.
     And I can't understand how anyone can say Heaven Or Las Vegas is more
    commercial because it's certainly almost the opposite to commercial
    music going by my interpretation of commercial music!

Have the Cocteaus released some new material? I heard a track on the radio last
night that I didn't recognise.


Rod

It's a CD only singles box set, Rod.  All the 12"s on separate CD's in a 
pretty box.  Costs around �40.  Personally, I'm hoping Santa's going to bring
me one as it's a bit steep considering most Cocteau fans will have half the 
stuff anyway.

Lee

This must be the sort of promotion that 4AD didn't give them. Lucky old us.
Shall I drop a line to Santa for you?


Rod

    Oh God. Another �40. And I promised myself only yesterday, no more
    CDs. I'll just have to eat pasta for a month.
    
    Piers

    
    	Gee, it's *only* $50-something here in the states.
    
    	- Jim

	For those of you who are still wondering what that was.. its
	a scan (greyscale version) of the Lullabies EP artwork, taken
	from the CD box set. (Actual size).

	Dave

	

    Re .62

     Beautiful, but thanks for the warning.

    Goldy (DECwindows Notes user)

Perhaps that's one good point about cover artwork on CDs. It may be small,
but you can scan it ! You'd have trouble feeding the 12" into your MD300.


Trevor

    Looked absoloutely marvellous on my VT320. Nothing like owning a piece
    of sexy modern technology is there?
    
    Barry.

	Never mind Barry,

	If you have the patience, extract it to a file, convert
	it to postscript and pop it in to your nearest LN03 at  
	gas mark 5 for twenty minutes. Assuming you do have one of 
	those modern printer thingys :-)

	$ convert/doc lullabies.ddif/format=ddif lullabies.ps/format=ps

	Dave

    Thanks Dave. This, however, should prove more effective.
    
    $ manager gives me workstation.otherwise house=gets burned down/
    mysteriously in the night.
    
    :^)
    
    
    

Someone else doing this, eh? But I can't see anything in .62 - CDA viewer
comes in after a long delay but there's no image.


Rod

Loved it!

                            -< Re: Lullabies Image >-


	Dear reader of the future

	I deleted the image that was here... it was too large to keep in
	a notes file, people were getting stuck for 20 minutes waiting
	(which was *really* annoying for VT100 etc users)
	

	Warning: the next note contains graphics (DDIF) content. 

	Do a "next unseen" if you're not interested.

	It's nowhere near as big (in bytes) as the last one was, about one
	sixth of the size, but it'll keep you waiting for a couple of
	minutes should you choose to view. 

	Its the artwork from "Sunburst and snowblind", in monochrome.

	Dave

That seemed to work OK. That one took 30 seconds to display on
my (slow) workstation which is outside the UK.

The next few replies include more DDIF files. (You people with VT100's
are going to be disappointed, sorry!)

Dave

    Its been some time since the Twins left 4AD, and I havent seen anyhting
    about them in the music press.  DOes anyone know what they are up to,
    which label they signed with, and when we can expect to see a release
    from them ??
    Hopefully
    Paul

    Given Liz Fraser's incredibly busy schedule (I mean those backing
    vocals on the new Mac album may be mixed way down, but they are
    definitely hers) I wouldn't expect to hear anything from them for ages
    yet.
    
    Piers

I believe they've signed to Fontana, but I've no idea about any new material.

Lee

    A new album is out at the end of the summer - hope there's a tour to go
    with it!
    
    
    			stuart.

    re 137.78
    
    for mixed down read inaudiable!!
    
    Chris the git

    Chris,
    
    Sounds like yo' had yo' head in too many soundstacks, boy.
    
    Piers

    Re .80
    
    Stuart,
    
    Where does this info come from ??....ie dont build my hopes up too
    much.
    
    Paul

    
    
    	Melody Maker - no more info though.
    
    
    					stuart
    

    
    Got another of their songs on video last night.It's Iceblink Luck with
    lots of trailing lights ect.She is looking a LOT nicer these days - 
    extremley tasty.
    
    
    					stuart.

    I think she looked better in `Crushed' personally.  Still looks insane
    though.
    
    Chris

	I haven't heard anything from Swallow but other than 4AD is there
	any other connection between the two bands?

	- Jim

    I read about them the other day and they got very good reviews - they 
    were said to be very like the Twins but the writer stressed that
    although they seem to be copying he said if they are this good then 
    he was all for it.
    Wish I had the cash to buy as I think they would be a safe bet.
    
    p.s.There's another band just come out that's doing much the same thing 
    but I cant remember their name. 

    I can't help feeling sceptical... I've seen reviews in the past
    where any `ethereal' (what's that supposed to mean?!) sounding
    band with a girly singer is described like `Cocteau Twins but
    better'.  On a couple of occasions I've made the mistake of buying
    the album by the bands in question, which turns out to be a
    load of old bo***cks, so I think I'll let someone else buy this
    one first...!
    
    Chris

    maybe you're right - I read another interview last night and it painted
    a different picture - can't believe all you read .
    
    			stuart

Any news about when the new Cocteau Twins album will be out ?

FeliX.

    Yes there hasn't been a sniffle since.

    I finally bought the vid of `A Kissed Out...etc' the other day.  It
    has some pretty nice animation, but it's a shame the band don't appear
    in it!
    
    Chris
    
    PS for everyone else's benefit, .93 was replying to a comment of mine
       that several months ago the band claimed that the new album was due
       around now and hasn't appeared... but I screwed it up 'coz I haven't
       figured out how to use this thing yet.
    
       Confused of Welwyn.

    Having ordered the Swallow CD several weeks ago, I finally got round to
    picking it up at the weekend. Based on 1.5 plays here are my views..
    
    I read 2 reviews of 'Blow' which more or less said they sound like the
    Cocteau Twins.  To an extent this is true, but more like the harder
    edge Twins eg Garlands, than 'Las vegas'.  The vocals are nowhere near
    as good as Liz, but as I think Liz walks on water this is not a
    criticism of the Swallow vocalist, whose name I forget.  Swallows music
    incorporates less layers than Twins music, and there is usually a 
    predominant single instrument during the various tracks.  There are 4
    or 5 tracks (out of 11) that are straight out of the Twins mould, while
    other leave a mixture of comparisons...eg one track sounds like a track
    from 'Victorialand' (The acoustics only Twins album) with a not too
    prominant MBV 'white noise' background with a few 'cries from the
    wilderness' guitar noises slashing in and out.....cor, a bit MM album
    review type prose there, what was it I had for breakfast ??
    
    I like Swallow, they sound a bit like the Twins, AC Marias and The
    Cranes, all mixed together. Im sure several plays on I will be really
    rating this.  For all those Twins fans out there, its worth the �10.49
    to keep us going until the long awaited new Twins release.
    
    Paul                                                       

    I actually bought the thing the other day (at �13.45 - what a
    rip-off!!) and didn't really like it (offers, anyone...?)  I also
    thought it sounded like MBV; I can see why some reviewers described
    it as sounding like Cocteaus but I don't really agree.
    
    I read a comment in this month's Vox (or something) which claims that
    the release of the new album is imminent (where have I heard that one
    before!! :-[)
    
    Chris.

    Latest rumour is that the new album has been delayed again (surprise)
    'til the new year.  They've recorded a track for a freebie CD with
    some magazine or other due out next month, a cover of "Frosty the
    Snowman"... aargh

    
    A version of "Frosty the Snowman" ???/...isnt this taking parenthood
    too far, Liz ???
    
    Im torn between getting the magazine (any idea which one ??) from a
    interested/true fan point of view, or totally ignoring its existance.
    
    Roll on 93, its been too long since 'Las vegas'
    
    Paul

The magazine's something called "Volume" according to the music rags.  Never
heard of it personally, so I'm not sure how easy it is to find.

It's called Volume 5. I've seen Volume 1 and it was very well produced with
good articles and a good selection of tracks on the cd. V5 will likely be
a good buy even apart from the Cocteaus.


Rod

    well I got Volume 5..not just for the Frosty track but because its
    a good CD magazine  .  As Christmas tracks go Frosty by the Twins is a
    beaut, as Cocteaus tracks go its OK.  It was recorded for a Fontana
    Christmas album, and was scheduled to be released as a single until
    someone pointed out to Robin that the Twins' highest chart position
    would be a Christmas song, and did he want the Twins remembered for
    that ??
    
    Where is their f******* new album ????
    Paul

    > It was recorded for a Fontana Christmas album...
    
    Did this album ever come out?
    
    -Scott

re .101... in the interview, Guthrie said something about not having
           to actually release anything new for several years under
           the new contract.  Taking into account how many times the
           release of this fabled "new album" has been delayed, it's
           difficult to tell, though they have allegedly recorded some
           stuff already.

re .102... I think it only mentioned the Fontana album in passing, but
           I'll check to see if it says anything else about it.

Chris.

    FYI - Johnnie Walker gave Frosty at least two plays before Christmas -
    good stuff ..
    
    Ray

Just had this mailed to me; it may be of interest to anyone who
hasn't got a copy of volume 5 yet.

Chris
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:	WELCLU::VBORMC::"4AD-L%[email protected]" "4ad recording artists list" 17-MAR-1993 09:18:44.98
To:	Multiple recipients of list 4AD-L <4AD-L%[email protected]>
CC:	
Subj:	Cocteau Twins interview from Volume 5

I know, I yesterday I said that I wasn't going to scan anything again, ever,
as long as I live, no way, Jose, etc, etc, etc... So today I scanned the
Cocteau Twins interview from Volume 5.


OVER a year ago, when Volume started out, we asked Robin Guthrie if we
could feature the Cocteau Twins. Just like we've asked Prince, Neil
Young, The Boo Radleys, you know the kind of thing.  Always hoping,
but never really expecting anything.

"Yeah, nae problem," he said. "But we're redecorating the studio at
the moment - once that's done I'll give yea a call."

So, six weeks ago the phone rings:

"Aye, we've finished the studio. Are ye working on the Christmas
issue? I've got something you might like to hear."

This is 'Frosty The Snowman' - the first new Cocteaus track since they
parted with 4AD. Shortly after we've heard it, Robin - last spotted in
jovial mood threatening to follow up with 'The Laughing Policeman' -
goes down with flu. Simon Raymonde takes up the story.

"There's a Christmas record that comes out on Capitol Records (the
Cocteaus' US label) every few years. And they were trying to get all
their bands to do a cover version of a Christmas song. I didn't think
that's what it was at the time. I thought it would be like sitting
next to Frank Sinatra. But in fact it would've been, y'know, Skinny
Puppy, doing 'Merry Xmas Everybody'.  Anyway they'd said, Would you do
one?  And Liz suggested - it must have been for a joke - 'Frosty The
Snowman'.  Then Robin went, Yeah, good title, people will think it's a
normal Cocteau Twins song with a title like that."

"Once we'd got the music down, I wrote down the Iyrics on a piece of
paper and said to Liz, Hey, look at these, and we were laughing away.
As we were going through it I was listening to Liz's reactions and
thinking, this is never gonna get done.  She was going, 'He's a very
happy soul' - me sing that?!  No way, I could not in a mil- lion
years... 'with a broomslick in his ' - you've gotta be fucking
kidding!

"I just didn't think she'd do it."

But she did and, even more surprisingly, it's not contending for that
Christmas number one slot as their first release on Fontana.

"They've heard it," Simon continues. "The A&R guy there apparently
said, 'Christmas number one - it's gotta be released!' But, y'know,
Lincoln (Fong Moose man and engineer) came up with the most obvious
reason against it: How would you like a cover of 'Frosty The Snowman'
to go down as the biggest hit you've ever had?"


WE'RE in the Cocteaus' studio and redecorated is putting it lightly.
The previous owner, Pete Townshend, had it decked out in '70s browns
with a lot of hessian. The Cocteaus have gone for red walls, yellow
walls, simple fittings, expensive radiators and oak. Oak cupboards,
cabinets and tables - all very oak and all very tasteful. Simon's gone
off into the control room to programme some drums, or launch the next
lunar shuttle (it's hard to say). NASA would be envious of the
Cocteaus' floor-to-ceiling flashing lights.  Liz Frazer is making tea
in the recreation room: wall-to-wall windows covered in stretched
white fabric, more tailormade oak furniture, simple chrome fittings,
lighting and radiators as art installations and a TV with a Super
Nintendo games module hooked up to it.

"That's why we haven't had a record out in so long," says Liz,
pointing at Super Mario waddling across the screen.

"Robin can't leave it alone."

I'd pre-warned them that I wanted to go over their history a little -
asked if they could think of a few memorable moments from their
career. Liz is apologetic.

"Oh no, sorry - we haven't thought about it at all. I can t really
remember that much of it."


THE Cocteau Twins were, in the first place, Robin Guthrie and bassist
Will Heggie. It started in Grangemouth, a small town near Falkirk on
the east coast of Scotland. There's an oil refinery in Grangemouth and
not much else. But in the late '70s, Robin was the DJ on punk nights
in a local club.

 Liz is nervously playing with a drinks mat on the table.

 "I was going there for about a year before I started talking to him.
Then I got pissed one night around Christmas time and started
procrastinating (sic). He was nice because he was really shy, really
introvert. He was in a band that did cover versions of Stooges songs,
then he left that and ended up in a band with Will. Then they left
that band together, got a drum machine, and started up the Cocs.

"Then I came along, but I left the band, got fed up with it and didn't
feel like it was for me at all because I was a bit...l don't know, I
just thought I couldn't cope. So I left the band - I think it was more
the Iyrics I didn't have the faith in. I found it too hard.  But I
started going out with Robin - so I came back into the band six months
later.

"Can't we skip some of this?"

Liz has never liked talking about things even as they happen, let
alone ten years after the event. So I say we can. But it goes like
this. They recorded a couple of tracks and sent two demos out. One
went to John Peel who immediately responded and booked them for a
session. The other went to Ivo at 4AD Records, who did likewise.

They were booked into Palladium, the studio in Grangemouth where
they'd made the demos, and started recording a single, 'Speak No Evil'
and 'Perhaps Some Other Eon'. A little over a week later, the single
had been shelved and their debut album was finished: 'Garlands' was to
be their first release in June of '82, receiving a lukewarm response
from the music press but tremendous support from John Peel.

The album edged into the independent charts within two weeks of
release, and soon rose to a healthy berth in the top five. The
Cocteaus toured fairly extensively to promote it, mainly with 4AD
labelmates The Birthday Party and Modern English, playing a dissonant,
slow hum of bass, guitar and feedback with the backing of an 808 drum
machine. With the addition of Liz's untrained, wavering voice, they
were enchanting a rapidly growing following.

'Lullabies', a 12-inch EP featuring 'Feathers Oar Blades', 'Alas Dies
Laughing' and 'All But An Ark Lark', followed and again charged high
into the independent ratings. Press was still scarce, but what they
did receive compunded the rumours. Andrea Miller wrote in Sounds:
"Elizabeth mesmerises. Having never seen them live before, the impact
of this latterday Piaf was more than a surprise.  Stretching up to the
microphone she seems all at once both childishly fragile and
overwhelmingly powerful. The power doesn't come from her tiny voice
dipping and weaving through their stark Eastern-flavoured melodies,
but from a rare thing - presence."

By Christmas '82 they had established a strong following.  'Garlands'
was voted among the best albums of the year by readers of the NME and
John Peel's Festive Fifty included tracks from the album, his session
and all three from 'Lullabies'.


BUT with the new year arrived problems. Alan Rankine of The Associates
had been called in to produce their second single, 'Peppermint Pig',
and, though it was covered in praise and was held off the independent
number one spot only by New Order's 'Blue Monday', it was not a sound
that Robin wanted for the Cocteaus.  Rankine would be the first and
last outsider to produce the Cocteau Twins.

They also played a 52-date European tour supporting Orclhestral
Manoeuvres In The Dark. It proved so traumatic in uprooting them from
their native Grangemouth that it led to the departure of Robin's
longstanding best mate, Will Heggie.

Liz, still here, patiently playing with the drinks mat, remembers it
well:

"We had to give up the flat because we couldn't afford to travel and
pay the rent. So we did that, did the tour and then of course we had
no home. So we thought, Where the fuck are we gonna go? Foolishly Jonh
Wilde and Scott Roger, who'd come to a lot of the dates on the tour,
had said, Well, if you really need some- where to stay, just come
along at any old time and we'll put you up and all that stuff. But I
think they meant a weekend, and it turned out to be about a year."

Thus the Cocteaus shifted base to London.

"We made 'Head Over Heels' while we lived there - we went back to
Grangemouth to record it, made it up as we went along in the studio -
but we stayed there while it was going on. There was a lot going on in
that house. It was a really good atmosphere, really productive,
speeding out of our heads all summer and stuff like that."

When 'Head Over Heels' was released in August, the ripple was turning
into a wave and the press started riding it.  "A richly delicate mood
of whispered secrets, sacred beauties and tender moments," wrote one.
"Rhapsodies bled of desire, songs that posit an innocent ineffable,"
drooled another incoherently. Helen Fitzgerald, perhaps most
pertinently, decided: "Their unguarded vulnerability is their
strength.  Their magic is a fluid element that won't ever be
explained."

'Sunburst And Snowblind', released in September'83, contained 'Sugar
Hiccup', taken from 'Head Over Heels', and three new tracks, 'From The
Flagstones', 'Hitherto' and 'Because Of Whirl Jack'. It du- plicated
the album's success, going straight to number one in the independent
chart.


BY now, a separate project that Ivo had been working on had come to
fruition. It brought together various 4AD band members, along with
Buzzcock Howard Devoto and Cindytalk's Gordon Sharp, under the brand
name of This Mortal Coil. Produced by Ivo and John Fryer, it was a
project that needed very little input from any individual performer.
Each would play a specific part for a song chosen by Ivo and then he
and John Fryer would fit the pieces together.

Liz guested on two of the tracks. One was a cover of Tim Buckley's
'Song To The Siren' which was received by the public with rapture but
spelt confusion. The Cocteaus were having a bad enough time as things
stood, asked constantly about the intrica- cies of Liz's Iyrics. But
now they were This Mortal Coil, and the single version of the track
was hitting the national chart.

Liz is now playing with two drinks mats.

"We've slagged that record off a lot and I think it's because there
were a lot of bad things going on in our lives at the time - me and
Robin - and we've always thought it was because of that record. But it
wasn't, it was other things. It was just life, but we chose to, I
don't know, use that as an excuse for us being so unhappy.

"We probably did get a bee in our bonnet about it not be- ing Cocteau
Twins, because that was 'Head Over Heels' time and it felt more right
to have success because of Cocteau Twins music. Having said that,
though, I heard it played in a shop quite recently and I liked it. I
realised why I got in such a pickle wasn't because it was a bad
recording of a amazing song. It is a beautiful song.

Simon Raymonde, drinking partner and ex-bassist withI The Drowning
Craze, joined the Cocteus at the end of '83 and in April '84 they
released 'Pearly Dewdrops Drop', the 12-inch that included 'The
Spangle Maker'. Their most in instantly addictive song to date, It was
their first to reach the national top 40. When it peaked at 29 they
were asked to play Top Of The Pops, but turned it down.

Liz has put down both mats tirmly on the table and looks quite angry.

"Punk Rock. It's just that whole punk rock thing, I guess we were
just... We're still pay- ing for it, do you know what I mean? Apart
from the clothes we're still pretty much punk in attitude, which
hasn't really paid off and I sometimes wish we weren't like that. I
don't know why we're still like that, because it's just so detrimental
to everything you do.

"It's a clifferent world now and I don't know why we're still living
in that one. I don't know what it is that we're so afraid of. It takes
you a long time to find another way to learn it and you've got to dig
quite deep, which is when the shit hits the fan."

And nobody argued about this at the time?

"No, which is a shame.  Everyone was just cacking their pants at the
thought of success. I don't know, I can't understand it, I just hope
we don't keep doing that."


THE Cocteaus had reached the dizzy and opulent heights of Sadler's
Wells by the time their third album, 'Treasure', was released in
September. And this time, as well as topping the independents, they
entered the national chart, peaking at number 28. In a Melody Maker
review, Steve Sutherland escalated the myth of the Cocteaus to
unprecedented heights by announcing, apparently in all seriousness,
that "surely this band is the voice of God".

"I was very angry about that," says Liz, bouncing the mats off each
other. "But now that we know Steve a lot better, we can understand why
he said it, because he's just enthusiastic about everything and feels
things really deeply."

A little late and with the air of someone who's just successfully
launched the first goldfish into space, Simon walks into the room.

"He meant it, didn't he?" he says.

The album's song titles, a list of unusual and whimsical names
('Lorelei', 'Pandora', 'Cicely', 'Amelia'), combined with Sutherland's
statement and the seemingly deliberately obscured lyrics, led to
bizarre suggestions that the band were playing with witchcraft and
suhverting the nation's airwaves with subliminal sorcery.

"I thought it was a really good idea because I thought, Well, what are
people gonna see in these names?" explains Liz. "They're gonna realise
it's got nothing to do with mythology and all that bollocks.  Well,
it's not bollocks, but I foolishly thought people wouldn't think that
we were into that sort of thing."

"I think we were very fool- ish at the time," counters Simon.

"We still are. We still are!" Liz still has the endearing quality of
repeating a line to emphasise its point. "But you know, I think it was
a very brave thing to do - three people getting together for the first
time and making a record. It could have been much worse. But it sounds
like what it was, a total experiment - three people getting together,
trying to get to know each other better.  But... we've learnt."

At the end of '84 the album was voted best of the year and Liz best
female vocalist in most of the music press polls.


IF 1985 was a year of consolidation-'Aikea-Guinea', buying a studio,
'Echoes In A Shallow Bay', 'Tiny Dynamine', signing to Capitol in
the US and not appearing on Top Of The Pops - '86 was one of apparent
confusion.

While Robin produced The Wolfgang Press, Dif Juz and Felt's memorable
'Primitive Painters', on which Liz duetted with Felt main man
Lawrence, the band released 'Victorialand' - an acoustic album that
excluded Simon from the ranks for no apparent or explained reason,
although Robin passed it off at the time as "just something me and Liz
were messing around with in the studio". It also became their first
top ten album.

By October Simon was back for the recording of 'Love's Easy Tears' but
not long afterwards things took another faintly queer turn when they
released 'The Moon And The Melodies', "a collaborlltion between
pianist Harold Budd, Elizabeth Frazer, Robin Guthrie, Simod Simon
Raymond" which was not afforded the status of a Cocteau Twins record.

No one has a bloody clue why most of this happened the way it did but,
just as the truth seems ready to out, who should stroll in but
Lawrence, once that same Felt main man and now the voice of Denim, en
route to borrow a guitar.  Liz asks him about interviews.

"I did the first one I've done in over two years the other day," he
replies, "And it was really dumb. I mean, I've not done anything in
two years and this guy started asking me about all the lyrics on the
new album. I hate that. I mean, why not just say, you know, What have
you been doing for the past two years?"

This puts an almighty spanner in the works. Simon and Liz are now
thinking, Yeah, why don't you just ask us what we've been up to for
the past two years. I'm still back in '88 at the release of 'Blue Bell
Knoll', and wondering why they didn't promote this, the first album to
feature all three Cocteaus since 'Treasure', in the time-honoured
touring fashion.

"We just weren't in the mood," points out Simon. "I still think it
stands out as a good album, but I don't think you need to promote
everything you do. I suppose we've been lucky, in the respect that up
till now our record sales haven't fallen off when we haven't toured or
put singles out or done all that kind of thing. For some reason there
are a certain amount of people that always buy our records.  But that
may not happen every time - you just never know."

He's got a point. 'Blue Bell Knoll', though not quite reach- ing the
chart heights of its pre- decessor, still managed to hit number 14 in
its first week of release.

To breeze through '89: Liz found herself in a yet another duet
scenario, this time with lan MCculloch on the title track of his
'Candleland' LP, and the band suppressed their scepticism of 'worthy
causes' to lend a track from 'Victorialand' to an anti-animal testing
ad. Meanwhile, Liz and Robin (who have never publicly divulged much
information about their very private lives) had a baby - Lucy, who'll
be forever grateful that by the time of her birth they had curbed the
name frenzy of 'Treasure' days.


THE biggest wrench in the Cocteaus' career was a sudden one.
Virtually at the runway to leave for an their most extensive tour yet
(miles, not dates) to promote 1990's 'Heaven Or Las Vegas', the band
heard from Ivo that they were free to leave 4AD.

Simon: "Almost a day be- fore we left to go on tour, he said, You can
go. It was completely out of the blue to us, because we hadn't had any
discussion about it, we hadn't said, We want to leave. We were still
contracted for anoth- er album."

"It was two albums, in fact," recalls Ivo when quizzed on the subject
a few days later. "It was because it wasn't enjoyable anymore. I felt
particularly that Robin was extremely unhappy and I was...l felt like
a hypocrite really, because that's not what we're doing this for. It's
a shame, I wish it wasn't the case and I'm obviously sad that I lost
them. I fucked up in a big way, but I'm certainly a lot happier now
and I think they probably are too."

So ended a ten-year relationship that had seen the band develop from
teenage punks from Grangemouth into international artists with a list
of confirmed fans that, aside from a battalion of over-enthusiastic
scribes, includes Annie Lennox, Prince and Madonna.

"You do tend to be less angry about things, but you can't forget
things that are so momentous in your life," says Simon. "Decisions
that mean so much to you, things that are very important if you're a
very single-minded bunch of people. You can't help being hurt by
things that have happened.

"I don't think Ivo feels any differently. He probably misses not being
able to come down here and listen to the music.  But I'm sure he
doesn't miss us as people - we were just always arguing. You could say
it was somebody's fault and that he was to blame or we were to blame.
But we just kept getting further and further away from each other.
What we wanted was not what he wanted for us. Therefore, every time a
meeting would happen about what we might want to do, there would be
this huge conflict.

"Because of the kind of group we are, we're not, by our nature, very
visible - if you want to use a marketing word.

~We don't like to do the big tour, lots of interviews, photo sessions.
So we need an operation which can really work on our behalf to get our
records in the shops and do things for us, because we don't want to do
them.

"It's not like we're being obtuse and saying, Er, we don't want any
publicity, we want to shy away from everything. It's basically that we
feel quite uncomfortable doing certain things that some people feel
quite happy about doing, so therefore we really need a marketing
department that pushes us, without us having to be too... different.
And the thing is, Ivo doesn't like marketing, he puts up a few
posters, puts a few ads in the papers, but he doesn't really promote
his records. He's more into the sound of things, or the image - I
don't really know."

"No. He's a very complicated person," says Liz. "He doesn't know
himself very well. So consequently neither does anyone else. It's more
all the things that never got said than the things that did. All that
stuff that rots away that you never really handle."


WHICH brings us neatly round to Lawrence's allimportant question (at
last). What have they been doing for the past two years? Rumours were
rife after their departure from 4AD that the Cocteaus were to sign to
Geffen or EMI (the UK arm of their US Capitol label). But the band,
still globetrotting with 'Heaven Or Las Vegas', were unavailable for
comment.

Simon: "We had two record companies who came out to Brazil to attempt
to sign us while we were out there. We'd heard about it and thought,
Well if they want to come, let 'em come, you know. They'd be daft if
they think they're gonna sign us just because they made the effort to
go out to Brazil.~


FINALLY, after months of speculation, they achieved Robin's lifetime
ambition and signed to the same label as Wet Wet Wet.

"It's been brilliant," says Simon.  "They've not pestered us at all.
They've had total respect for us and what we agreed at the signing of
the contract and all that stuff and they've stuck to it which is
really good."

~They've not heard any of the songs, they don't know how many we've
got and they've no idea what they're gonna sound like. So they just
sit tight - good manners," says Liz, having stacked all the mats into
a neet little pile.

But what happens when they turn down Wogan?

"Well, we haven't actually got to deliver the album till May 1994,"
points out Simon. though obviously we learnt a lot from the last
contract about all that stuff and we just had to make sure that
everyone knew what to expect and what not to expect of us - and that
if we did do something out of the ordinary then they must take it as
an extra, a good thing, but not to bank on anything."

The Cocteaus are not speculating on when the LP might be finished but,
as Simon says, they are getting there.

"There's a lot of music.  Usually the way we work is to do a bit of
music, then Liz listens to it and starts doing the vocals on each
track. We didn't really intend to do it that way again - we were
trying not to build up this huge wodge of stuff, but it's worked out
that way. But I'm not going to say when it's going to be ready - we've
made that mis- take too often."


SO is it getting any easier to write, Liz?

"It's never easy. I've approached it in quite a few different ways and
it doesn't matter what way I approach it, I always find it hard.
These are the most traditional lyrics I've ever written, but the
hardest bit about that is, of course, that it's the most honest I've
ever been and personal. So that's quite hard. That's very hard. I
think that's why it's taken me so long. It's a lot more scary.

"That, and I want it to be absolutely amazing. And it's just coming to
terms with trying not to want perfection and just trying to go with
what I've got. Because that's the inside of my head. That's how it is
and how it should be, not wanting perfection all the fucking time and
not being afraid of what people are going to think about it which I've
never really bothered about before. But I suppose now it's a lot
more... I guess I'm more of a target."

"Because of what's gone before," Simon chips in.  "Because the thing
about the Cocteau Twins is, people want to know what is it that Liz is
singing. And now Liz is at a stage where she wants to say certain
things, people are going to want to dig into it."

"You know when you see reflections of yourself in other people and
other people's things and you don't like it?"  asks Liz (not
mentioning names).

"You realise that you can't keep doing that and you've got to do
something else instead.  You know you kind of brought it on yourself,
But you couldn't do anything else. You just did all you could do - and
I suppose it's still the same story, but it's a lot more. A lot more
something. Just... a lot more."


BUT we're not going to speculate on what might be. Like I'm not going
to ponder on the tremendous pleasure their music (that's every single
glorious spine crushing track they've done to date) and live shows
have given me over the past ten years. There's plenty of that gone
before and plenty to come in the future. No, instead Liz is going to
talk about Christmas.

~We're still trying to figure out if it's a good idea to tell Lucy
about Santa Claus or not.  It's so hard. I don't want to tell her
about Santa, because I don't want her to grow up hating me, but you
can't get away from it.

"Robin's really reluctant about the religious aspect as well, so we're
not allowed to talk about that yet either. So it's tricky, you've got
to tell her about both or... I don't know. I don't fancy telling her
about this bloke that comes down the chimney, leaves lots of presents
and has a reindeer parked up on the roof and all that bollocks."

~I do remember the moment when I found out that it wasn't true,"
recalls Simon. "You feel such a fucking fool, don't you?  It's your
first really big embarrassing moment."

"I was devastated," says Liz.  "It's even more embarrassing when you
tell everyone at school that they're Iying to you, like, NO- he is
real, he is real! I'm so slow though.  You know when you get those
weird sensations in your body and you don't really know what they are?
Well, someone once told me that was my blood changing direction. I be-
lieved that one for years."

(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  [email protected] * Lars Ingebrigtsen

    Thanks for entering that.
    
    Piers

    Yes thanks for putting that in - that's the most I've ever heard from
    them.Great to see that there is a new album on the way and more to
    come.
    With the long silences and spells of inactivity I start to worry they
    are about to break up at times.
    
    Anyone got the Moon And The Melodies - what's it like?
    
    I managed to set a date at when I started listening to the Cocteau
    Twins from the interview - I'd always been guessing.
    I also didn't realise they got into the charts so high - I'd always
    thought they were scrapping a living!
    
    
    				stuart.

    I have the Moon and the Melodies and I think it's wunnerful.
    
    But then I'm a fan, me.
    
    Piers

I thought the Moon and the Melodies was a bit patchy. I blame the less
good tracks on Harold Budd; obviously they can't be the fault of Liz or
Robin.

Glad to hear there's a new album on the way although I worry about the
long delay; it puts so much pressure on the album to be good. And will I
still like them, I wonder... but I think I will because I made a tape
compilation of Cocteau's tracks recently and that was pure enjoyment.


Rod

Spotted in the NME yesterday, a record is being released next month
whose proceeds will go to help the unemployed in N. Ireland... Liz
Fraser is singing on it alongside Peter Gabriel and Sin�ad O'Connor!
The recording is called `Be Still,' and I think it's being released
as `Peace Together.'  Other bands appearing on this thing are The
Orb, Pop Will Eat Itself and several others.

Chris.

    
    So where is this new album then ??  was it not due for late summer (92)
    release ??
    
    Anyone got Fontana's number and Ill give them a call ??
    
    Cheers
    Paul

    I read a long interview with them in the depths of winter (can't for
    the life of me remember where - Volume 5?) which said that the most
    accurate they could be about a release date was "some time in 1993,
    probably". So don't hold your breath.
    
    Piers

    You learn to get patient with them - they're certainly in no hurry -
    but a couple of 12" would shorten the wait.

Re my previous note...

I got this thing the other day... surprisingly enough, the NME article
was almost entirely inaccurate, Liz sings solo on a remix of the track.
It's quite interesting, it's one of the rare occasions when you can
understand what she's singing!

Chris.

Finally, some news about what the Cocteau Twins are up to!  Attached is
the message I received this morning.

Chris.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COCTEAU TWINS NEWS
This is what I just found out from their management firm:

The album is now finished. In fact, it was mastered on
Tuesday! It will be released in early October, and they
will tour in early 1994. For the first time ever, they
will have full band with a LIVE DRUMMER!! The guy I talked
to says it's the most beautiful thing they have ever recorded,
and you can make out ALL the lyrics! He says it has a very strange
title, which is the name of some book. He's going to get back to me
today with the title and track listing.

Apparently now is when things are going to start happening--
notices in Melody Maker, promo copies of the album, promotion
by Capitol, etc., so expect to start hearing about the Cocteaus
again as October approaches. It looks like the first months
of next year are going to end up being prime concert-going times
with Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance both touring.

 -------------------------------------------------
| Brant Nelson      |  1817 Corinth Ave. #10      |
| Dewdrops Fanzine  |  Los Angeles, CA 90025-5567 |
|          [email protected]           |
|more info, use the finger command on this address|
 -------------------------------------------------

    So, all I have to do now is get the CD buying embargo lifted by
    October...
    
    Piers

    Great news !  -  at last - can't wait.
    
    Bought a bootleg of them at the Barrowlands in '90 - which I was at 
    - couldn't believe it - it's the first bootleg I've seen of the -
    rushed back to the car to give it a listen - the rec. quality was
    crap,some loudmouth talked at some time on every track and whoever
    recorded it must have had it inside his pocket and was turning his back
    to the speakers every couple of minutes - I was excpecting to hear him 
    burping or farting and that would have summned it up - nevermind - yo
    canny win.
    
    				
    	Stuart 

    re .116
    
    Piers, 
    
    Have you been banned from extending your CD collection since Nov 1991
    ?!!!  (see .60)
    
    Wendy
    (Hit and run noter)
    

He's got no will-power, you know that.


Rod

    It's all true. The next CD purchase is all set for October, the moment
    that Cocteaus CD hits the shops.
    
    Piers

Received from the 4ad list, last night...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brant Nelson <[email protected]>
Subject:      New Cocteau Tracklisting!!!
Status: RO

Here it is verbatim from the fax I just got:

The new Cocteau Twins album is finished, mastered, and will
be presented to the label this week. The title is
"Four Calendar Cafe" and the track listing is as follows:

Side A
1) Know Who You Are At Every Age   3'58
2) Evangeline   4'29
3) Bluebeard   3'54
4) Theft, And Wandering Around Lost   4'30
5) Oil Of Angels   4'37

Side B
1) Squeeze-Wax   3'48
2) My Truth   4'32
3) Essence   3'01
4) Summerhead   3'37
5) Pur   5'02

The release date is set for September 20th. There will be a tour
in early 1994. We will pass on more information as it becomes
available.

(fax ends, now back to me)

In case you're wondering, the length of the album is 41:08.

Brant
 -------------------------------------------------
| Brant Nelson      |  1817 Corinth Ave. #10      |
| Dewdrops Fanzine  |  Los Angeles, CA 90025-5567 |
|          [email protected]           |
|more info, use the finger command on this address|
 -------------------------------------------------

    Chris,
    How do you get hold of this info ??   I read in the Radio_Radio
    notesfile that there was a 4AD electronic something or other that can
    be subscribed to.  Not being the a technical person, Im stuck as what
    needs to done etc.
    
    What is the 'Dewdrops' magazine referred to ???  Is it easily
    obtainable ??
    
    Will I ever stop asking questions??
    
    Cheers
    Paul

>    How do you get hold of this info ??   I read in the Radio_Radio
>    notesfile that there was a 4AD electronic something or other that can
>    be subscribed to.  Not being the a technical person, Im stuck as what
>    needs to done etc.
 
The 4ad thing is a subscribed electronic mail services.  When somebody sends
an article it gets mailed back to everyone else on the list.  To access it,
send a VMS mail message to DECWRL::"[email protected]" with no
subject and just one line, which says "subscribe 4ad-l Paul Rankine".  You'll
then receive endless mail about Velocity Girl, Belly, the 4ad festival in
London, etc.  When you get fed up with hearing about it, send a message
saying "signoff 4ad-l" (I think)  If you want to send something to the list,
post it to "4ad-l" at the same address.
   
>    What is the 'Dewdrops' magazine referred to ???  Is it easily
>    obtainable ??

This started out as a Cocteau Twins fanzine, but has now become a more
general discussion on 4ad bands and their ilk (probably 'coz there hasn't
been too much info on the 'Twins until recently...)  The magazine is in
hardcopy format, but the first two issues are stored on JHUVM and can be
retrieved using FTP (if you can put up with VM/CMS that is)  If you can't
get access to FTP, I'll mail them to you.
    
>    Will I ever stop asking questions??
    
Er, dunno.

Anyone know what this tattoo is that Liz Frazer has on her arm?  Suggestions
on internet include "skull and crossbones", "Robin or Las Vegas", etc...

Chris.

    Chris,
    
    As I mentioned earlier, Im not a techhie so Ive no idea what VM/CMS is
    and FTP is a bigoted chant at Rangers-Celtic games !!
    
    Can I take you up on your kind offer, and ask you to send me a copy ??
    
    Im at BBP or MIACT::Rankine
    
    Many thanks
    
    Paul 

>Anyone know what this tattoo is that Liz Frazer has on her arm?  Suggestions
>on internet include "skull and crossbones", "Robin or Las Vegas", etc...

Well, here's the answer... whether or not it's true is anybody's guess

>Date: 20 Jul 1993 20:23:50 GMT
>Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
>Lines: 26
>Message-ID: <[email protected]>
>References: <[email protected]>
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.4
>Originator: [email protected]
>
>From article <[email protected]>, by [email protected] (Jasper):
>
>>>	Trivia: Liz Fraser has a tattoo on her arm which she is quite
>>>sheepish about; what is it?  [I know, do you?]
>
>> Skull and crossbones?  Pirateship?  Bleeding flower?  Heart with "Robin
>> or Las Vegas" on it?
>
>	BZZZT!  On her bicep, near the shoulder, is a crudely
>self-inflicted tattoo reading:
>
>	"I [heart] Johnny Rotten!"
>
>Ahh, the indiscressions of youth!
>Rather amusing to read interviews where the interviewer keeps trying
>to see up her sleeve to read the tattoo, and Liz keeps impishly
>shrugging her shoulder to hide it...

    Chris,
    
    Thanks for the help, and the early copies of 'Dewdrops' which Ill be
    subscribing to.  As you said earlier theres alot of traffic on it at
    present..particularly with the 13yi event and the release of 'Thurtene'
    by Brant.
    
     This evening i decided to attempt to answer someone and make a few
    comments , but had my mail bounced for some protocol error or other. 
    Im using the straight reply function in All-in-1  (I told you Im no
    techie)  figuring that if they found me, a straight reply would fing
    them.  Is it possible to repond via All-in-1 to the 4AD-l, if so how
    ??.
    
    Sorry about all those questions, but your my only technical resource.
    
    beggingly yours
    
    paul

I decided to post this here rather than reply, for the benefit of anyone
else!  Sorry to get off the topic a bit...

A couple of things I've learned about LISTSERV (the thing that handles the
4ad list) - though painful experience;

- it registers subscribers by email address; since all-in-1 and VMS mail
  have different return addresses, you can only send from the mailer you
  used to subscribe (you could always subsribe from both!!)

- be careful when sending personal replies... a straight reply will post
  your message to everyone on the list!  To send mail to an originator,
  you can get their address from the 'From: ' line in the header (the bit
  at the bottom of the message where the lines start with '%') (well it
  is in VMS mail anyway, not too sure about all-in-1)

- all-in-1 can do strange things with external addresses, so replying may
  have unpredictable results...

Hope this is of some help!

Chris.

    The new album is released - anyone got it - seems to have fair-good
    reviews so far - buying it today.
    
    Also Buffalo Tom's album gets a  5 out of 5 and Nirvana gets the same.
    
    A lot of big albums out this week.

>    The new album is released - anyone got it - seems to have fair-good
>    reviews so far - buying it today.
 
A bit optimistic; it's out on the 27th, and the single, `Evangeline', should
be released next monday.
   
>    A lot of big albums out this week.

Sisters of Mercy, the Macc Lads, Robert Fripp... my beer fund's going to
suffer!

Chris.

    There was a mail on 4AD-l recently that suggested that the new LP might
    be delayed  :-(  I hope the writer was wrong.  I spoke to my favourite
    indie store the other day, and they have not had any hype/promo from
    Fontana about the CT's new one, so perhaps there is a delay, unless
    Fontana feel that hype wont be required !!...I know Im hyped up waiting
    for it.
    
    Dead Can Dance has a new one out on the 13th, so Sept. could be a good
    one.
    
    Paul

Well, I've just been to the Welwyn branch of Hi Price records, clutching
a fiver, all ready to purchase a copy of the new `Evangeline' single...
and they didn't have it!  This may be due to the slow distribution to
Hi Price branches, but as they seemed to have all the other new releases,
it looks like it's been delayed  :(

Isn't three years long enough?!  Aargh!

Chris.

    Chris,
    
    I was right about the delays, in the MM today, after a 2 page interview
    with the twins, the release dates are as follows :
    
    Evangeline - Sept 20th
    Four calendar Cafe - Oct 18th  ...aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh
    
    Im still trying to get some promo stuff, my local indie store is going
    to phone me when it arrives and my guess was that with no promo stuff
    yet, the 20th sept release date was a no-go.
    
    Paul

>    Evangeline - Sept 20th

At last; it's finally been released!  Only I can't listen to it yet as I
don't have a CD player handy  :(

Chris.

    Well I was there at Sept 20th, 9:35, in the record shop, 10 mins back
    to the house and played the damned thing continously.  Im not sure that
    its actually a progression, its almost like electronic versions of
    tracks from 'Victorialand' (IMHO the Twins least best album, a bit too
    'twee' for my tastes).  The lyrics are quite easy to make out and the
    whole sound is stripped down somewhat.  If the album follows this
    trend, this will be the time when the Twins become more commercially
    sucessful, but will also split existing fans down to liking it, or
    otherwise.
    
    I like a lot of bands, but no-one comes close to the Cocteau Twins, and
    so a bad Twins track is as good as a good track from any other band
    that I like..call me blinkered if you will....such is the depth of
    felling I have towards their music.
    
    Evangeline and the other 2 tracks are very likeable, agreeable tracks,
    not the Twins at their best (eg Pearly Dewdrops or Aikea Guinea), but
    its still good quality stuff... so the album is still eagerly awaited.
    
    Paul 

I bought the 'Evangeline' single last week. Guess what, there aren't five
different mixes of the title track... how unfashionable. Neither have the
Cocteaus gone grunge, techno or pop.

'Evangeline' and the other two tracks are very much a continuation of the
sound of 'Heaven or Las Vegas'. The major diff this time is that you can
make out, mostly, what Liz is singing. Thankfully the sentiments expressed
turn out to be worth listening to (except I can't remember any lyrics, not
being a lyric person).

Since I loved the '..Las Vegas' lp, I love these three tracks. But I remember
when the Cocteaus were pretty damn radical and now they seem a little bit
like sunday-supplement rock.


Rod

    Four Calender Cafe - The jury decides..
    
    What  sh***y cover !! come back v23 all is forgiven !!
    
    Well its taken a hell of a lot of playing recently eg continuous
    playing on a recent 5 hour car trip to Scotland (home of the Cocteaus)
    before I can say that I really like it.  FCC follows along the trend
    set in Evangeline eg pleasant, simplified CT music, lyrics that can be
    understood.  I still think  that its not a progression, more of an
    electronic Victorialand, with bits of Treasure thrown in for good
    measure, but it is a new Cocteau Twins LP, so we cant complain.  The
    voice of god (MM) have released another good one.  I like the MM review
    which starts 'everyone should own 2 CT albums', and ends 'everyone
    should own 2 CT albums, plus this one'.  I think FCC will become more
    commercially acceptable, especially now there are lyrics, and the CT's
    will gain new fans, but the old guard CT fans may have mixed views.
    Such is progress.... 
    
    As an album it will continue to get lots of airplay from me.
    
    Do we have to wait another 3 years for the next release ??
    
    Cheers
    
    Paul                

    >> I think FCC will become more
    >> commercially acceptable, especially now there are lyrics, and the CT's
        
        Well it was number 10 in the album chart last week, so I guess
        you're right.  Looking forward to playing my copy this evening.
        
        Ian.

>    What  sh***y cover !! come back v23 all is forgiven !!

Is it like the cover on the single? That one is lovely, is my opinion.


Rod

I don't really care that much for the covers of Evangeline or 4CC, they're
a bit nasty.

Fortunately, the music's still pretty good.  I don't rate 4CC as highly
as Heaven or Las Vegas, but perhaps it'll grow on me.  Various tracks
seem to echo the sound of previous albums, I was reminded of Victoria Land
and Bluebell Knoll particularly.  There seems to be certain similarities
with All About Eve's last album, `Ultraviolet', IMO at least.

One of the downers is that Liz Fraser seems to have given in to the endless
speculation about what she's actually going on about, and sings in an
intelligable manner on some of the songs.  Unfortunately, she's not
a particularly good lyricist, as the last track on the Evangeline EP (`Mud
and Dark,' I think) demonstrates.  The lyrics are particularly cringesome.

When's their next album due?

Chris.

    	
    	No.10 in the charts - is that thier highest?
    
    	I haven't heard the album yet - get it at the weekend - but I can't
    	help thinking that the vocals have GOT to suffer from being
    intelligable.I feel there's a lot of,well what's the word,"mysticism"
     sp? in her voice - partly because you don't know what she's actually
    singing.I also think it keeps it fresh - when using normal lyrics
    you've heard it once and you know it -

    
    Stuart,
    
    Not sure that youll be able to 'hear it once and know it', cos theyre
    not that easy to understand. I agree that there is a mysticism re the
    unknown value/content of their lyrics..and this may have a large part
    in their commercial acceptance, as not everyone can accept hte 'voice
    as an instrument'.  However, the ability to hum/sing in your head CT
    tracks with lyrics is a bonus for me.... I cant get the track (title
    not remembered) where she sings' Are you the right one for me ?' out of
    my head..its a particularly good track, and its nice to playback words
    rather than noises.  A particulat favourite of mine is 'Aikea-Guinea'
    but its nearly impossible to 'replay' this as the lyrics dont exist.
    I hope this doesnt read as someone who talks and sings to himself... is
    this why no-one sits next to me ???.. he said taking a quick sniff at
    the armpits...
    
    Paul

    	
    	Yeah I can see your point - about being able to sing along with the
    	lyrics - although I can do this with the old stuff - well just
    	my favourite trax - s'funny how you remember when there's no
    	lyrics.
    
    
    			Stuart.

    The Coteaus release Frosty the Snowman coupled with Winter Wonderland
    on Dec 6th as a single, then delete it a week later.  
    
    Mikef

    Didn't they do that last year too?

    Don't think so?
    
    Mikef

    Last year Frosty the Snowman was made available on one of the Volume
    CDs (5?). It wasn't available separately.
    
    Piers

    Well (isn't something supposed go in here?), I'm sure I heard their
    version of Frosty the Snowman last year, and it wasn't very good.

>    Well (isn't something supposed go in here?), I'm sure I heard their
>    version of Frosty the Snowman last year, and it wasn't very good.

It was a bit twee.  Their version if Winter Wonderland is supposed
to be worse though (but this is according to an NME reviewer, I
wouldn't trust a word they say)  Still haven't got into their new
album yet.

Chris.

    Well - got the Snow CD yesterday, two trax - Winter Wonderland and
    Frosty.  I like WInter Wonderland, nice n smooth, Frosty doesn't work
    for me somehow.  Its a bit much tho selling it for full price when it
    only has two short tracks.
    
    Also heard from my little sister that the Cocteaus are playing
    Wolverhampton Civic Hall in Feb, I guess this means they will be
    touring.  I can't remember from previous discussions how they are live?
    Or are they a recorded only type band?
    
    Mikef

>    Also heard from my little sister that the Cocteaus are playing
>    Wolverhampton Civic Hall in Feb, I guess this means they will be

Tickets please Mikef. One for me, one for your kid sister (I bet she'd 
kill you if she knew you called her that), one for Karen and one for you.

Seriously tho', did she say when they are playing?

Balders

    I saw them back in 1985 (I think!) and they were amazing then.  There
    was a backing track but Liz's voice was incredible.  I remember
    expecting to be disappointed but I wasn't.  Love to go again.  If
    anyone has tour dates please post them.
    
    Debs.
    

    I saw them in 1985 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, and they were
    simply wonderful.
    
    Piers

    
    	Seen the Cocteaus live twice - believe me they are NOT to be
    missed.
    
    I may be biased but on each occasion they was another four people with
    me and everyone thought they were excellent  - even the ones who hadn't
    heard any of thier material before the gig.
    
    They are supdossed to be using a "real" drummer this time - her singing
    isn't excactly the same - as she does her own backing on record but she
    is still excellent - will never know how she does it - the music is I 
    would say near perfectly reproduced by the band - what more do you
    want!  - an excellent light show would top it off.
    
    
    
    						Stuart.

    
    	Cocteaus are billed for Frid. Feb.11th at Glasgow Barrowlands - tickets
    are on sale now - Seefeel are the support band.
    
    Also Cypress Hill with the also excellent Funkidoobiest supporting -
    Sun Feb 20th.
    
    
    				Stuart.

    I heard an interview with Seefeel on the radio last week. I liked the
    sound of their stuff, sort of Indie trance techno, if you can imagine
    that. I *think* they said they were on 4AD - the Cocteau's old label.
    
    
    Rod

    Yeah I can imagine that - sounds okay - good warm-up.

    
    So are they touring the UK ??  Have I missed the details by not buying
    MM for a couple of weeks ??  Details please !!
    
    Ive seen the Twins quite a few times now and they are superb, but then
    Im biased.  Im trying to recall hte London venue that I saw them which
    required them rewinding the tape machine for the backing tracks for
    encores...maybe not too professional but aaaaahh but Liz's voice would 
    melt icebergs !!
    
    Anyone got any details of a phone number where info can be found eg
    Fontana ??
    
    Cheers
    
    paul 

    
    	Can't really help - you're from London area?
    
    	All I have is the Glasgow number for tix.
    
    
    						Stuart

    Stuart,
    
    Im actually in the Midlands, but London isnt too far away and if pushed
    (and can justify it with the missus) a trip back home north of the
    border to see the Twins on home soil would be a bonus.
    
    The potential venues for me would be Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester,
    wolverhampton or Coventry (hardly a list for the most picturesque
    places in Britain), so I hope that they play in this region somewhere.
    Couldnt blame them if they avoided this area though !!
    
    Cheers
    
    paul

    They play Wolverhampton Civic hall on Feb 7th.  I'll dig out the phone
    number tonight if I can find it.
    
    I'm still willocking about whether to go or not.
    
    Mikef

    Could anyone post a number for the Fontana Press Office for me?
    
    Piers

    re a couple back
    
    The number for the Wolverhampton Civic hall is 0902 312030, monday 7th
    Feb is the date.  No other Midlands gigs I'm afraid.
    
    Mikef

    
    	My tickets came through this morning - very smart they are -
    	they have the picture cover on them - though I can't say I like the 
    	picture cover it's the first time I've seen this done - they also
    	have a hologram on them like you get on your bankers card to avoid
    	counterfiet.
    	Also has a voucher for a squidly off of the next single Bluebeard
    	out on Feb7th with "two new trax " on it.
    
    			Lookin' forward to the gig.
    
    
    							Stuart.
    p.s. - think the album is excellent.

    
    
    Just back from the Wolverhampton gig and they were superb, especially
    the band with (at times) 2 Drummers !!  Liz's voice was a bit off for
    some of the tracks, hopefully the days rest tomorrow will make her OK
    for Wednesday at Nottingham.. and my ears will have recovered by then
    also.  Its apity i couldnt justify making the trip to Glasgow cos they
    are going to bring the roof down at the Barras !! .  The crowd tonight
    were noisy, and we had 3 encores, theyll have them playing all night
    back home !!.....Stuart I hope to see an over the top review from you.
    
    Ill try to get the playlist from the Nottingham and manchester gigs if
    I can.. Ive got the one from last nights at Exeter, and they moved it
    around a little bit.
    
    Cheers
    
    Paul

    
    	Two drummers - interesting - did they play mostly the new album -
    I hope they still include the old favourites - 
    
    Do they sound better with a "real" drummer and the extra guitars?
    
    
    What's the t-shirts like - surely not the same as the picture cover -
    
    
    
    						Stuart.
    
    
    	Can't wait 'till Friday

    
    Damn Ive left the playlist in the office..but I did put details on
    4ad-l if thats any help.  Off the top off my head they played :
    
    Pur,  Ella megablast, Carolyns finger, Iceblink Luck  (breathtaking
    version), Evangeline, Bluebeard,know who you are at every age, Road
    River & Rail, Essence, Aikea Guinea (look out for orgasms in your ears)
    , Orange Appled red, etc...they were on for about 1.5 hours.  They
    played 5 tracks over 3 different encores, I think the last one was an
    extra due to the noise of the crowd...this si why I think the Barras
    gig will be a stormer, the crowd wont let them leave.
    
    The band sound superb, and the drummers do add to the sound...although
    it takes a bit of getting used to, to hear a CT song live being counted
    in by drumsticks.
    Did they have 3 or 4 guitarists on the HOLV tour...Im sure it was
    4..anyway they have 4 this tour, and the Chinese guy from HOLV tour is
    back.  Robin looks very healthy and had a good natured banter with some
    of the crowd, Liz still plays the shy embarrased person and says very
    little.  She seems more relaxed now and doesnt seem to bash herself as
    much as she used to.
    
    Yep the T-shirts are similar to the FCC and Evangeline covers in either 
    Grey or cream with different prints at
    a steep �13, with long sleeves with Embroidered logo at �18.  Lots of
    vendors selling unnofficial stuff outside post gig at more realistic
    prices.  I bought the official cream Tee and the quality is good..very
    thick cotton.  Posters �4, with a limited edition Seefeel 12" also for
    sale.  Huge HOLV posters for �2 outside.
    
    I hope you enjoy it on Friday...Im sure you will.  look forward to
    reading your review of it.
    
    Orrabest
    
    Paul 
    
    Unfortunately Ive only caught the tail end of Seefeel, but general
    opinion of them was posistive..sound like a harder edged Lush.

    Agree with previous notes about the Cocteaus, the Wolverhampton gig was
    excellent!  I turned up late, and only heard a few seconds of Seefeel
    (the length of time it takes to walk from the front of the venue to the
    bar), but they sounded OK to me.
    
    Iceblink Luck was excellent, I couldn't remember the names of most
    tracks, but they are certainly seriously worth seeing if you can.
    
    The crowd was an interesting mix, an older feel - late
    20s/thirtysomethings mainly.  I even got served at the bar almost
    straight away, which is a major achievement at the Civic Hall.  I guess
    a lot of people were couples out for thier one gig a year, having left
    little Ethereal at home with the babysitter.
    
    Was RObin the chubby one with a beard?  The row of 4 guitarists
    strumming away staring at thier shoes brought back memories of
    Slowdive.
    
    
    Later
    
    Mikef

    I *think* that the Cocteaus gig in NOttingham tonight is being broadcast
    live on wunnerful 1 FM, the MArk Radcliffe show at 10pm. Possibly.
    
    Mikef

    
    I really hope they Appled Orange - love that song - HOLV posters now
    that's a must - love that picture - there's something like it used on
    one of the computers we make - it's VERY similar but the background is
    purple.
    
    	Will tape the show off the radio tonight.
    
    	Seefeel sound good - I always thought Lush were excellent when they
    put a bit of balls into their live performances -
    
    
    		I also hope they play Cico Buff and .... well I could go on
    and on.
    
    
    				Stuart.

    
    re 166/167 - Wot no "Sugar Hiccups" or "Pewly Dew Drops Drops" ?!
    
    Andy
                                                                     

    re-1
    No - they didn't even do that one that starts 'ding ding ding ding'.
    
    Mikef

    Just back from the Nottingham gig....
    
    Rock City is a smaller venue that Wolverhapton Civic Hall so much more
    personal, although the 'light show' was less effective.  The playlist
    was different and this is what was played tonight :
    
    Pur
    Road river & Rail
    Know who you Are
    Phoebe
    HOLV
    Evangeline
    Whales tails
    SUGAR HICCUP ...yes they played it..waves of nostalgia..
    Cici Buff
    Ella Megablast
    Bluebeard
    Iceblink Luck
    Bluebell knoll
    
    Carolyns fingers
    Summerhead
    Aikea Guinea
    
    The above 3 broadcast live on 1FM I believe...hope it sounded as good as
    it did live..although it was a bit of a pisser ahving to wait 5 mnutes
    longer for an encore while they waited for a cue from the
    radio...stupid git was probably reading crap poems, or telling the
    nation of some traffic jam on the M25...and I was waiting for Aikea
    Guinea.
    
    Pink Orange Red was the final encore..sorry if i confused earlier with
    orange apple...Ive got tonight playlist next to me and it was
    definitely Pink Orage red.
    
    Mike, I agree that Wolverhapton was a bit thirysomething night out, but
    not surprising given taht CT have been going for some 13 years !!.
    Pity we couldny have arranged to meet....I vote that the Civic Hall
    serves up the worst beer in any rock venue in the UK..including the
    Hummingbird !!
    
    I convinced the missus that our boys room neede a HOLV poster, and they
    are ouside for �2...bloody big they are too !!  Im sure little
    'Ethereal' (love it Mike) will appreciate it !!
    
    I caught all of Seefeel's set tonight, and am starting to like them,
    although they do drum up as muchvisual excitement as an Arsenal v Arsenal
    reserves match, where they are both playing for the draw !!
    
    Anyone going to the Manchester gig on Sunday ?? 
    Anyone need a �1 off voucher at HMV for Bluebeard ??
    
    Cheers
    
    Paul

    HI Paul - yes, the beer is awful.  Radio 1 broadcast Bluebeard plus the
    final three, I have it on tape if you would like a copy.  I did see you
    in the Civic Hall - did you get your trousers back?
    
    Great gigs, good revew in this weeks NME also.  Were those things in
    Liz's ears to help her hear what she was singing?  Was Robin the chubby
    one with a beard?
    
    Mikef

>   Was Robin the chubby one with a beard?
 
Sounds like him alright. Damn, I wish could see the Cocteau's live. 
Are they going to tour in Europe, anyone know?


Rod

    
    Dissapointed - thought I was going to hear Orange Appled -
    
    there was someone else I saw on tv th that used those earphones to help
    them sing - just remembered -Sinead -
    
    Not a bad playlist - cico buff will keep me happy.
    
    Still to listen to the radio broadcast - taped it last night.
    
    Is PUR last tack on FCC - It's one of thier best trax yet.
    
    Will need to take lots of dosh with me  - is there a programme - no?
    
    
    				Stuart.

    Didn't see a programme for the tour.  The cream T shirt is cool tho. 
    Expensive at 13 squids, but its good quality.
    
    Mikef

    	I got told that the CT's will be on the tv on saturday night - 
    don't know what programme - Later With Jools?? - which is quite a good 
    programme actually - very little "talk" and the sound is excellent.
    
    
    
    
    					Stuart
    
    					

    
    I havent been to a CT gig tonight, but thinking about it I could have
    gone to Leeds..why didnt I think of that ??..probably the expense of
    legal representation in a divorce settlement (we Scots dont like
    spending money (allegdedly))..my missus is not a CT fan !!
    
    Stuart, if possible it would be nice to hear the 1FM broadcast. 
    (Brummy::Rankine or @BBP)
    
    So you bought a cream one Mike...Im starting to build a picture of you
    in my mind...were you the one at Wolverhamton with the red anorak and
    the train spotters rucksack ?? :-)
    
    Only joking..I got a cream one too..good aren't they ?? There was a new
    T-shirt at Nottingham which was black with half of the FCC/Evangeline
    cover on it (sliced vertically) it looked naff..but I should have got
    that one to go with my parka !!  :-)
    
    Cheers
    
    paul

    The 'Late Show' on BBC2 is supposed to feature them on Saturday night,
    although they were on it last week doing 'Bluebeard'.
    

    Incidently 'Pur' is the last track on 'Four Calendar Cafe',which
    incidently is a real cafe/diner in the States,which was featured in the
    'William Least-Heat Moon' novel 'Blue Highway'.(Ed-you sure that's the
    name of the novel.)Also as mentioned in a previous note there is a
    review of the Paris gig in NME,where seemingly everybody was going
    ga-ga at every opportunity. 
    The set list seems to vary from gig to gig as on that night they played
    'Squeezewax' which is great and I hope they play that at Glasgow
    tonight.
    
    PS 

    re-178
    >So you bought a cream one Mike...Im starting to build a picture of you
    >    in my mind...were you the one at Wolverhamton with the red anorak
    > and the train spotters rucksack ?? :-)
    
    That was me!  With NHS specs and a woolly bobble hat.
    
    Mikef

    
    	Sorry - I listened to the tape of the evening session and it ran
    out before the CT's came on - bummer.
    
    
    					Stuart.
    
    Will post a review on monday -  
    
    
    					

    Fear not, I got the 4 songs they played live if you would like a copy. 
    Haven't checked my tape yet though.
    
    Just been out and got Four CAlendar Cafe in the HMV sale.  IS it any
    good?  Been looking for the Moon and the MElodies Cd (which I love),
    but can't find it anywhere.
    
    Mikef

>   Just been out and got Four CAlendar Cafe in the HMV sale.  IS it any
>   good? 

A genuine write-only noter! Check out note 1200, 'best/worst of 93', where
FCC was unofficially declared UK-Music's album of the year. 


Rod

    Well, it got mentioned a lot by all the 'usual suspects'...
    
    Does anyone know if 'The Moon and the Melodies' is available on CD?
    
    Mikef

    
    
    	I got a tape of it from a friend and it certainly sounds as if it
    came from CD - the sound quality is excellent - definatley not record.
    
    
    					Stuart.
    
    

    re-1
    I'll go hunting this weekend.  Enjoy tonight!
    
    Mikef

>>   Just been out and got Four CAlendar Cafe in the HMV sale.  IS it any
>>   good? 
>
>A genuine write-only noter! Check out note 1200, 'best/worst of 93', where
>FCC was unofficially declared UK-Music's album of the year. 

I still don't like it, though.  The main bummer is that it put me off
them quite a bit at the time when the tickets were on sale, so I
didn't bother getting any; now I'm back into them, I'm really p'd off
that I didn't see any gigs!

Chris.

    
    	Can't say I liked Seefeel - they seemed a poor MBV - they had the 
    sound but very few ideas or actual tunes - boring.
    
    The t-shirts were gross - they were on sale outside for a fiver - but I 
    wouldn't have worn them - the wooly hats were 13 quid - rip-off! And no
    HOLV posters - bummer.
    
    	I thought the band were excellent - they really sounded good -
    though I would have liked the bass to be a little louder.The soaring
    guitars were brilliant - had to close mine eyes at these points -
    especially on Cico Buff and HOLV.
    Aikea Guineau was the best track all night - it really built up towards
    the end into a climax - oooooh err.
    
    The trax off of FCC were also very good as was Sugar Hiccup and Ella...
    
    I must say I was dissapointed in Liz's voice - they were no effects at
    all on her voice - in fact the actual sound of the vocals was bad.
    Also she didn't sing the same as she does on the records - I know she
    can't possibly remember all the exact "noises" but she only stuck to
    the vocals basically - the vocals were different,a lot simpler and the
    changes were not very good.
    
    They went down very well - the biggest cheers yet and did - if I
    remember rightly about 7 encores - sorry I don't have a set list but
    I can't be bothered writing them down at gigs.
    
    
    						Stuart.

    Re -1
    
    Was that 7 encores, or 7 tracks played as encores ??
    
    How did the crowd react to them ??
    
    I noticed that they were playing with Lizs voice singular without any
    backing...except when the Nottingham gig was broadcast live, and they
    added a few backing bits and echoes etc for Bluebeard.
    
    There was a spare ticket for sale for �12 for the London gig on 4ad-l
    Chris, if your interested..I get mine on digest form, so I coudnt say
    which day it was on offer.
    
    Its funny but theres been a few comments on 4AD-l about how theyve
    changed and theyre musically different to what they were 4 years ago, but
    i was thinking at the 1st gig this tour I saw them that they seemed to
    be drawing almost exclusively from FCC and HOLV, but I was wrong as
    Bluebell Knoll was well represented, and they didnt stick out as being
    desperately different musc.  Was that the longest sentence ever in notes ??
    It was certainly bad punctuation and grammar, but English is my 2nd
    language so Ive got an excuse.
    
    Since the Notts gig, Sugar Hiccup is back on my playlist again..what a
    great track it is !!
    
    Cheers
    
    paul

    Does nobody know anything at all about European dates then?
    
    Piers

    
    7 songs - and the crowd reacted very well - they REALLY liked them.
    
    	Sorry don't know anything about european gigs.
    
    
    						Stuart.

   <<< Note 137.185 by WOTVAX::FIDDLERM "The sense of being dulls my mind" >>>

    Well, it got mentioned a lot by all the 'usual suspects'...
    
    Does anyone know if 'The Moon and the Melodies' is available on CD?
    
    Mikef

- yes, it is available on CD (and very fine it sounds, too).

One reason you might have trouble finding it, is that it doesn't
have a Cocteau Twins 'by-line'. I can't remember the name of the non-cocteau,
but he has a number of instrumental albums, and I've seen it filed under
his name.. I'll check my copy tonight.

Neal.

    
    The name your looking for is harold Budd, but usually the Lp/Cd is
    stuck in with the Cocteaus ...well it is in the shops who know more
    than just the top 20 !!
    
    If your having trouble getting it Im sure my local indie shop can get
    it for you..should cost about �11 too...cheaper than the mega store
    rip-off merchants !!
    
    Cheers
    
    paul

    
    mike,
    
    moon & melodies?....get down to yer local hmv who have it on
    sale at the tempting price of #10.99...but hurry.....
    
    giles
    
    

>    There was a spare ticket for sale for �12 for the London gig on 4ad-l
>    Chris, if your interested..I get mine on digest form, so I coudnt say
>    which day it was on offer.
    
hmm... might give that a try.  Unfortunately, I haven't read the 4ad stuff
for a bit so I'll have about a billion messages to wade through... thanks
for pointing that one out, anyway!

I got hold of the new `Bluebeard' single the other day, not bad, though the
acoustic version of Bluebeard is, er, different...

Chris.

    re -1 
    
    I agree Chris that the Acoustic version of Bluebeard is different..I
    was really looking forward to an acoustic version of a song which has
    grown on me over the last few weeks..and was dissapointed when I first
    heard it.  But after several plays, I actually like it a lot..I think
    that they are starting to relax a bit more, there was humour in that
    version, and Liz seems much more comfortable on stage than she used to.
    
    Looking forward to a new release....
    
    Paul

    Its gone quiet in here..no doubt we are all still recovering from the
    Twins gigs.
    
    Ill be off to pastures new at the end of the month, so I wish you all
    the best for the future.
    
    I will miss notes and the info and comments that can be had from them.
    
    Keep listening to quality music,
    
    Cheers
    
    Paul

    
    	All the best - keep listening.
    
    					Stuart

Good luck Paul!  (See you on 4AD-L sometime?)
Cheers,

Chris.

The Cocteau Twins are playing the Usher Hall in Edinburgh tonight.
Apparrently there were still plenty of tickets left yesterday.
I'm going (nyah, nyah, nyah) - if it's anything out of the ordinary
I post a few words.

guy

    New Cocteau Twins single out - Otherness.  I *think* its altered
    versions of old tunes, but I havent played it yet so I'm not sure.
    
    
    Mikef
      

    Mikef,
    Correct me if I am wrong, but as far as my ears can tell all the
    Cocteaus tunes sound like remixes of old tunes !!!!(smileys etc etc)
    
    			Snide_Stretch.                            

    You are probably right - I haven't actually heard any of the trax yet 
    (err...haven't even looked at the track listing....).
    
    It was only 1.99 anyways.  
    
    mikef

I got the previous release, haven't seen the new one though.  The previous
one, whose name I *still* can't remember, is okay, far better than the
bloody awful Four Calendar Cafe.

Chris.

    Heaven or Las Vegas?
    
    m

    I think HoLV preceded FCC. Certainly Ice Blink Luck was the last
    notable single (to my ears anyway) and that was off of HoLV.
    
    Balders

    This is true - tho I did like the Frosty the Snowman single...
    
    
    lah lah laaaaaaa lah lah
    
    
    mikef

sorry for the confusion, I meant previous as in `previous single to this
one'!  I recall HoLV quite well, and it's one of my favourite albums, in
stark contrast to FCC, though I can't quite pin down why I hate the latter
so much.

Chris.

Bought the `Otherness' EP the other day.  Didn't think much of the new
versions of `Feet Like Fins' or `Cherry Coloured Funk', but the other
tracks were interesting.

Chris.

    New Cocteaus single out in early March.  Heard it on the radio last
    night, sounded quite pretty...
    
    Mikef

    The new single is out on Monday, they perform live on Hotel Babylon
    this evening.  They play a live gig at some small club in London soon
    (something to do with a Rough Trade celebration?).
    
    Mikef

>    The new single is out on Monday, they perform live on Hotel Babylon
>    this evening.  They play a live gig at some small club in London soon
>    (something to do with a Rough Trade celebration?).
    
thanx for reminding me, I'd nearly forgotten.  Rumour has it that the next 
album may be an improvement over the rather bland 4CC.  Oh well, if I stay 
awake long enough I'll watch it, I'm not sure if I can handle looking at Robin 
Guthrie's ugly mug at that time, though!

Chris.

    The new Cocteaus single is out next monday - 'Tishbite' I think its
    called.
    
    HMV have a sale with a decent collection of Cocteaus stuff on CD for
    �8.49 at the moment (or three for �21).
    
    Mikef

    Off to get the new Cocteau Twins cd today.  My other half seems to be
    getting into them, and demanded that I get the 'collectors edition'
    cover (err...cardboard box), and 'limited edition art print' (cardboard
    with orangey squigles on it).
    
    
    Mikef

    Hmmm...
    
    I was a bit slow off the mark, and had to make a choice between:
    
    The store with the normal Cd but the arty print
    
    or
    
    The store with no print but the poncey card box.
    
    I chose the arty print, any betting that I made the wrong choice???
    
    Mikef$its_hard

    Mike,
    
    You're bound to have made the wrong choice...
    
    Stuart

    Thats what i thought....
    
    mikef

>    The store with no print but the poncey card box.
    
these things seem to be getting more popular.  I noticed that Stereolab's last 
two albums came in these really pants sleeves - I should have a sweepstake on 
how long it'll take me to spill beer all over them and reduce them to a soggy 
mess (if I don't do that, I'm sure one of my fishtanks which sit next to my CD 
collection will wetly oblige!)

Chris.

Bought the new LP recently, despite saying that I wouldn't buy another album 
of theirs without listening to it first.  Well, I still haven't plucked up the 
courage to listen to it yet, after the relative disappointment of Lush's new 
venture and the terrible dirge of 4CC - I don't think I can take too much 
disappointment in such a short space of time!

Chris.

Okay, decided to listen to it; only got as far as track 2 so far, but that's 
enough to convince me that the new album is a *vast* improvement over the tosh 
that was 4CC.  Pretty much a return to the sort of sound they cultivated for 
Bluebell Knoll and Heaven or Las Vegas.

Chris.

    I played this through once, but havent bothered since. Its nice -
    nothing actually wrong with it - but not inspiring.  I think my head is
    just elsewhere at the moment.
    
    mikef

    The "Milk and Kisses" CD was released yesterday in the 'states. I agree
    that it is more in the vein of Heaven or Las Vegas than FCC. From what 
    I've played of it so far, twice through, I really like it.
    
    cheers,
    
    	fred deady