Julian Cope | ||
| Allmusic Biography : English musician, writer, historian, and cosmic shaman Julian Cope came to fame in the late 70s and early 80s as the frontman for the Liverpudlian post-punk group Teardrop Explodes. An enigmatic storyteller, contrarian, mystic, and hallucinogen enthusiast, Cope embarked on a genre-defying solo career upon leaving the band in 1983. Beginning with World Shut Your Mouth in 1984, he released a string of LPs that married the Teardrops love of debauched psych-pop with folk, chamber pop, Krautrock, ambient/electronica, and space and alternative rock. He remained popular in the U.K., but didnt attain commercial success overseas until the release of the slickly produced Saint Julian in 1987, which featured the hits "Trampolene" and "World Shut Your Mouth," the latter of which was performed live on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Released in 1991, Peggy Suicide saw Cope strip away the studio polish and deliver an ambitious and environmentally themed set of brooding funk, soul, folk, and cosmic garage rock, an aesthetic he would revisit again on 1992s Jehovahkill and 1994s Autogeddon. He continued to explore themes of neolithic history, rock & roll, cultural activism, ecology, and paganism well into the 2000s via eclectic left-field outings like Citizen Caind (2005), Psychedelic Revolution (2012), and Drunken Songs (2017). In addition to his musical works, which include stints with the bands Black Sheep and Brain Donor, Cope has written and published a number of books, ranging from a novel of fiction (One Three One) and a two-volume autobiography (Head On) to a pair of ornate coffee-table books on archaeology (The Modern Antiquarian and The Megalithic European) and guides to underground music in Germany (Krautrocksampler) and Japan (Japrocksampler). Born in October 1957 in Deri, South Glamorgan, Wales. He was raised in Tamworth, England, and like many a young artist, suffered through academia as a perpetual outsider. In 1976, upon attending college in Liverpool, Cope found himself part of a community of musicians -- and kindred souls -- including Ian McCulloch, Pete Burns, and Pete Wylie. After various incarnations and not-so-amicable departures (McCulloch went on to fame with Echo & the Bunnymen), the Teardrop Explodes were formed. One of the more influential bands of the late 70s, the group delivered a volatile mix of neo-psychedelic rock and electropop. As the bands success grew, so did Copes reputation for debauchery, resulting in erratic, drug-addled stage behavior that occasionally led to bloodletting. In 1983, after numerous lineup changes and legendary feuds between Cope and Zoo Records figurehead Bill Drummond, the band ceased operations. By 1984, Copes love of hallucinogens -- as well as a toy car collection that occupied nearly an entire year of his life -- was at an all-time high. Despite his altered state, he released World Shut Your Mouth, his solo debut on Mercury Records. An elegant collection of chamber pop and Teardrop-fueled electricity, the album divided critics and fans alike, especially upon the release of director David Baileys macabre video for the first single, "Sunshine Playroom." Not to be deterred, Cope retreated to Cambridge and recorded the follow-up, Fried, a chilling chronicle of self-oblivion that included cover art of the artist in a sandbox wearing nothing but a gigantic turtle shell. It was a fitting image, as Cope -- despite getting married -- spent the following year in utter seclusion, half-heartedly laying down tracks of Syd Barrett-inspired acoustic lunacy for what would eventually become 1989s Skellington LP. In 1986 Cope signed with Island Records and released his most successful record to date, Saint Julian. The albums crisp production and modern rock sensibilities brought the artist out of his shell -- so to speak -- resulting in an exhaustive tour and numerous television appearances, including a memorable gig on The Tonight Show that found the singer becoming quite intimate with his patented jungle-gym mike stand. The disappointing My Nation Underground followed in 1988, resulting in three years of supplemental releases that included a collection of Teardrop Explodes B-sides, the aforementioned Skellington, and the highly collectible Droolian -- the latter was released in Austin, Texas, as part of a campaign to release Thirteenth Floor Elevator Roky Erickson from jail. In 1991 Cope released the ambitious double-LP Peggy Suicide. Inspired by a vision the artist had of Mother Earth throwing herself off a cliff to her death, the record came as a revelation to many. Gone were the slick arrangements of his previous Island releases, replaced here by the eccentric blend of psych-pop, punk, funk, and alternative and progressive rock that would follow him into the new millennium. His refusal to submit to more than one vocal take, the inclusion of Michael "Moon-Eye" Watts on guitar, and the raw production/organ/bass provided by longtime collaborator Donald Ross Skinner became the bedrock on which his subsequent work depended. Copes obsessions with Krautrock and pagan history -- only briefly hinted at on Peggy Suicide -- were brought to the forefront on 1992s Jehovahkill, another creative triumph that unfortunately failed to connect with the public at large, resulting in his forced "departure" from the label. He released his next two recordings, the angular and cautionary ecological rave-up Autogeddon (1994) and the fatherhood-inspired 20 Mothers (1995) on the Echo label in the U.K. and on American in the States. Cope spent a great deal of this period purging himself of his seemingly endless creative energy through side projects on his mail-order-only label Ma-Gog, a creative outlet that eventually morphed into the website/community/record label Head Heritage. He released Interpreter in 1996, a return to pop form that saw the self-described "Arch Drude" tackling both environmental and social issues with renewed vigor. He began working on Brain Donor, a four-piece, face-painted, triple double-neck guitar-playing garage rock-punk outfit that released its debut, Love, Peace & Fuck on Head Heritage in 2001, followed by Too Freud to Rock n Roll, Too Jung to Die in 2003. Citizen Caind and Dark Orgasm, both of which relied on two discs of sonic fury and pop mayhem, were released in 2005, followed by You Gotta Problem with Me (no question mark) in 2007, Black Sheep in 2008, the Che Guevara- and Leila Khaled-dedicated Psychedelic Revolution in 2012, and Revolutionary Suicide, his 29th studio album, in 2013. Cope had been compiling his memoirs into book form throughout the 90s; Head On, a chronicle of his life up to the demise of the Teardrop Explodes, was published in 1993, followed by its sequel, Repossessed, in 2000. His first fiction novel, One Three One, appeared in 2014. He also trudged all over the country in search of stone circles while researching his exhaustive coffee-table book The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain, and wrote Krautrocksampler, a critically acclaimed guide to German space rock. He has spoken at numerous festivals, museums, and universities on both topics. While Copes fondness for psychedelic drugs has been long documented, he later embraced the pleasures of alcohol, particularly beer, and in 2017 released the six-track Drunken Songs on his Head Heritage label. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 43 Title: Sunshine Playroom Released: 1983 Tracks: 4 Duration: 13:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Sunshine Playroom (02:53) 2 Wreck My Car (02:23) 3 Hey High Class Butcher (03:55) 4 Eat the Poor (04:20) |
 | Album: 2 of 43 Title: World Shut Your Mouth Released: 1984 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Bandy’s First Jump (02:50) 2 Metranil Vavin (03:00) 3 Strasbourg (02:27) 4 An Elegant Chaos (04:05) 5 Quizmaster (02:58) 6 Kolly Kibber’s Birthday (05:15) 7 Sunshine Playroom (02:55) 8 Head Hang Low (05:04) 9 Pussyface (04:11) 10 Greatness and Perfection (03:17) 11 Lunatic and Fire‐Pistol (04:29) |
| World Shut Your Mouth : Allmusic album Review : Retreating from the collapse of the Teardrop Explodes to his hometown of Tamworth, Cope produced his first solo effort with help from producer Steve Lovell on guitar and fellow Teardrop Gary Dwyer on drums. The result is a surprisingly vibrant, rich album that shows Cope easily moving on from his group days while retaining his unique powerful and natural gifts for singing and songwriting. If theres something about the sound of World that suggests its early-80s recording dates -- Dwyers drums sound like Steve Lillywhites been after them at points! -- Copes own particular, heavily psych-into-pop-inspired goals arent lost in it. Some of his songs are so inspired that one just has to wonder how in the world they didnt end up as hits somewhere. "An Elegant Chaos" is a great example, an at-once cryptic and fascinating lyric peppered with just enough knowing irony ("Here comes the part where I break down and cry") and a synth-string-touched crunch given a breezy pace. Top it off with Copes singing and the result is simply genius. Two songs from the final Teardrops sessions, "Metranil Vavin," an homage to a Russian poet, and "Pussyface" get enthusiastic run-throughs here. "Metranil Vavin" in particular is a kick, shifting from garagey crunch and energy to a show tune chorus at the drop of a hat, while sitar from Lovell and concluding oboe from Kate St. John, who plays on many other cuts, add even more pastoral trippiness. Further strong cuts include "Kolly Kibbers Birthday," with a fast rhythm machine and keyboard drones leading the way; the quirky string/brass surge of "Sunshine Playroom"; and the upbeat "Greatness and Perfection." Throughout World, Cope demonstrates why hes one of the best, most unaffected singers in rock around, his vocals carrying sweep and passion without sounding like hes trying to impress himself or others. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 43 Title: Fried Released: 1984 Tracks: 13 Duration: 52:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Reynard the Fox (06:14) 2 Bill Drummond Said (02:28) 3 Laughing Boy (05:47) 4 Me Singing (03:33) 5 Sunspots (05:14) 6 The Bloody Assizes (03:17) 7 Search Party (03:56) 8 O King of Chaos (02:36) 9 Holy Love (03:21) 10 Torpedo (04:01) 11 I Went on a Chourney (02:27) 12 Mic Mak Mok (04:47) 13 Land of Fear (05:10) |
| Fried : Allmusic album Review : In contrast to the crisp, clean sound of World, Fried often sounds rougher, a bit more shut in. Combine that with Copes generally successful attempts to project an image of barely stable sanity, helped in large part by the notorious wearing-nothing-but-a-turtle-shell cover photos, and the idea of Fried as his album of crazed musical collapse understandably is a strong one. However, World producer Steve Lovell once again handles things here, along with playing guitar, while even more importantly, key Cope collaborator Donald Ross Skinner, a young musician from Copes hometown, makes his debut. Kate St. John again contributes cor anglais throughout, adding a haunting atmosphere on many cuts. If anything, the album shows that Cope may be completely musical tripping out as he chooses but he knows exactly what hes doing throughout. Certainly the first cut, "Reynard the Fox," shows him balancing inspiration and arrangement perfectly -- one of his strongest, catchiest choruses eventually bleeds into a freaked-out spoken word bit followed by a total rave-up. Other songs range from further on-the-edge efforts -- the frenetic "O King of Chaos" and more generally weird "Sunspots" -- to gentler, wistful numbers like "Laughing Boy" and "Search Party" that effectively capture a rural psych feeling akin to XTCs own work at the same time. In all, Fried shows Cope at his dramatic best -- hes not disintegrating by inches, but he knows how to project that impression with vigor and skill, all while sounding like himself most of all. He gets in a hilarious slam along the way -- "Bill Drummond Said" trashes, by means of an energetic enough folk/rock combination, his former manager from Teardrop Explodes days. Drummond got his revenge years later -- while most well-known for his work in the KLF, his solo album The Man featured a ditty called "Julian Cope Is Dead." | ||
 | Album: 4 of 43 Title: Trampolene Released: 1987 Tracks: 3 Duration: 14:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Trampoline Warne Out! (long version) (05:53) 2 Trampoline (03:38) 3 Disaster (04:58) |
 | Album: 5 of 43 Title: Saint Julian Released: 1987 Tracks: 10 Duration: 42:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 World Shut Your Mouth (03:37) 2 Trampolene (03:38) 3 Eve’s Volcano (Covered in Sin) (04:19) 4 Shot Down (04:01) 5 Planet Ride (05:46) 6 Saint Julian (03:07) 7 Spacehopper (03:23) 8 Pulsar (02:47) 9 Screaming Secrets (03:31) 10 A Crack in the Clouds (08:02) |
| Saint Julian : Allmusic album Review : A switch to Island Records resulted in the best possible start -- not merely a generally fine album but a simply fantastic hit U.K. single, "World Shut Your Mouth." Nothing to do with the record of the same name but definitely possessing much of the same energy, its a great slice of modern rock, with a crisp arrangement and punchy performance from Cope and his band. Skinner and Fried drummer Chris Whitten reappear, while bassist James Eller and keyboardist Double DeHarrison fill out the lineup. Kate St. John once again adds cor anglais here and there, one of her best moments being the bright charge of the title track. Together they tackle a set of songs notably less insular than much of the Fried material, with full-on performances to match. One song shows that best of all -- "Shot Down," which originally appeared on Fried and here becomes a swaggering, pounding rocker with keyboards adding to the impact. More than ever before in his solo career, Cope sounds like hes performing songs meant to be heard live, as the charging "Trampoline" and "Spacehopper" show. Theres an almost finger-snapping, swinging vibe to a number of the performances that recall Teardrop Explodes days without trying to simply re-create that sound -- hes not trying to revisit the past, theres no need. A few numbers sound a bit too cold and crisp to work entirely -- "Planet Ride" is arena soul/rock that sounds like something Robert Palmer would have done around the same time, lyrics aside. A couple of other moments like that crop up, but with the balance skewed more to joys like Copes in-your-face vocal on "Pulsar" and the lengthy final track "A Crack in the Clouds," Saint Julian is another winner. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 43 Title: Eve’s Volcano ‘Covered in Sin’ Released: 1987 Tracks: 4 Duration: 15:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Eve’s Volcano (Covered in Sin) (03:50) 2 Almost Beautiful Child (I & II) (05:23) 3 Pulsar N.X. (02:54) 4 Shot Down (03:51) |
 | Album: 7 of 43 Title: My Nation Underground Released: 1988 Tracks: 9 Duration: 39:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 5 O’Clock World (03:46) 2 Vegetation (03:55) 3 Charlotte Anne (04:56) 4 My Nation Underground (07:15) 5 China Doll (04:14) 6 Someone Like Me (02:11) 7 Easter Everywhere (02:38) 8 I’m Not Losing Sleep (04:35) 9 The Great White Hoax (06:06) |
| My Nation Underground : Allmusic album Review : Recruiting another key sideman, percussionist Rooster Cosby, Cope approached an album that, by the end of recording, he was on the verge of disowning. Inspired moments aside, one can understand why: My Nation Underground has just about everything going for it (good sound, neat cover, some sharp songs) except for Copes own vision. That he rebounded from this with three far more individual efforts -- the semi-official Skellington and Droolian, and the masterful Peggy Suicide -- makes all that much more sense when giving My Nation Underground an ear. The high points that are here are actually quite fine -- though he professed to hate the results, his rushed run-through of the cheese classic "5 OClock World," spliced with a bit from "I Know a Place," is a kicky, fun way to start the album. "Charlotte Anne," meanwhile, manages the odd trick of sounding like a snaky Peter Gabriel track circa his third album plus just enough fillips and touches to make it a Cope song, especially with his mid-song spoken word bit. Most of the time, though, Cope, Skinner, DeHarrison, and company sound like theyre fulfilling a record company brief to make a saleable commercial alternative album, late-80s style. Ron Fairs production touches tended towards the anonymously clichéd, pushing forward Saint Julians one big problem and making it more consistent throughout. The title track is a good example of something which should be right going terribly wrong -- the squelchy synths and arrangement almost drown Copes idiosyncratic lyric, while the backing chorus sounds unfortunately like the type of pseudo-funky thing to be expected from contemporaneous Steve Winwood or Eric Clapton. Even the cover of the old Shadows of Knight nugget "Someone Like Me" falls a bit victim to this, despite the very Teardrops-like horn arrangement. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 43 Title: Droolian Released: 1990 Tracks: 13 Duration: 32:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Sqwubbsy (03:13) 2 Look After Your Leathers (03:35) 3 Unisex Cathedral (02:28) 4 Commin’ Down… (02:05) 5 Safe Surfer (02:03) 6 Yeah Yeah Yeah (02:40) 7 Jellypop Perky Jean (02:08) 8 When Will I Get to Hold You? (01:39) 9 Louis 14th (04:31) 10 ‘…Atonement of Wasp’ (01:39) 11 Gentleman Dude (01:47) 12 Kelly (03:36) 13 Church of England 1991 (00:59) |
| Droolian : Allmusic album Review : Even more of an odd one-off than Skellington, Droolian is another 30-minute collection of random fun from the Cope files, in this case taken from a Skinner-produced session in Liverpool. Like Skellington, it was also released via the Zippo label as an end runaround of Island, but under even more curious circumstances. The album was designed to raise funds for psych legend Roky Erickson, then facing jail time in Texas, so it was in fact only released in that state with a bold "FREE ROKY ERICKSON" logo on the back cover. One further similarity with Skellington is that Droolian clearly foreshadows Copes imminent masterpiece Peggy Suicide -- one of that albums best moments, the epic "Safesurfer," appears here in a shorter, murkier edit that still has much of the intensity of the later take. Another song, "Commin Down," actually reappears from Skellington in a rougher take here. Copes quirky liner notes, mixing the silly and serious as he so often does, talk about most of the contents of Droolian. It ranges from the hair gel and Carl Jung letter that inspired the sweet, slightly Suicide/Spacemen 3 sounding keyboard drone and twinkle of "Jellypop Perky Jean" to his intentionally rough semi-country-blues tribute to deceased Echo and the Bunnymen drummer Pete DeFreitas, "Louis 14th." The demo-level sound of much of the album -- all percussion comes from drum machines, light keyboards fill out the arrangements -- suits the casual, relaxed atmosphere, but Cope himself is again in excelsis, his strong singing and speaking parts exactly what the doctor ordered. Theres whispery, low-key moodiness on "Look After Your Leathers," a barbed, hilarious spoken word number with music rip into the myth of the Artiste, theres a recounting of a strange spiritual experience on "...Atonement of Wasp," and much goodness in between. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 43 Title: Skellington Released: 1990-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 27:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Doomed (02:40) 2 Beaver (02:28) 3 Me & Jimmy Jones (01:30) 4 Robert Mitchum (02:43) 5 Out of My Mind on Dope & Speed (03:27) 6 Don’t Crash Here (01:00) 7 Everything Playing at Once (01:31) 8 Little Donkey (02:44) 9 Great White Wonder (02:12) 10 Incredibly Ugly Girl (03:04) 11 No How, No Why, No Way, No Where, No When (01:59) 12 Commin’ Soon (02:26) |
| Skellington : Allmusic album Review : Near the end of the 80s, according to his second autobiography, Repossessed, Cope was signed up to produce another band who, due to health reasons, cancelled a pre-booked, three-day studio session. With time and technology available, Cope seized the chance, called in his band (Skinner, DeHarrison, and Cosby), and, on the sly, recorded the half-hour long Skellington, which he released via the Zippo label much to Islands consternation. Very much conceived as an initial riposte to what he considered the failure of My Nation Underground, Skellington lets Cope call the shots on a sometimes fragmentary and goofy but often fascinating example of his quick mind at work. Though he does sound like hes straining for material at points -- one number, "Robert Mitchum," is a totally archival piece written with Ian McCulloch before the Teardrop Explodes days -- clearly hes not aiming for deathless art, but a good, righteous blast of inspiration. Allegedly recorded and mixed in the order in which the songs appear, Skellington shows Copes voice in much better form than the sometimes indifferent mixing on My Nation would indicate. His voice is often lower and richer than on many previous outings, making for a great contrast to the past while foreshadowing much of the approach on Peggy Suicide, as does the organic flow of the music. The band keeps up with Cope like a charm, not minding the ragged edges -- the sheer vibe alone beats out everything back to Fried, if not earlier. Murky horn arrangements and the generally acoustic-led songs drew comparisons to similarly fractured recordings like Syd Barretts solo work and Skip Spences Oar. Even with a quick, wired song called "Out of My Mind on Dope and Speed" and the concluding high-pitched semi-wail of "Commin Soon," Skellington is less minds losing sanity than Cope and company unwinding to generally fun effect. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 43 Title: Beautiful Love EP Released: 1991 Tracks: 4 Duration: 16:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Beautiful Love (03:13) 2 Port of Saints (03:46) 3 Love L.U.V. (Beautiful Love version) (06:50) 4 Unisex Cathedral (02:28) |
 | Album: 11 of 43 Title: Dancing Heads Released: 1991 Tracks: 4 Duration: 24:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Head (remix) (03:36) 2 Head (Long Meg and Her Daughters mix) (06:09) 3 Love (L.U.V.) (Beautiful Love remix) (06:52) 4 Easty Risin’ (East Easy Rider remix) (08:18) |
 | Album: 12 of 43 Title: East Easy Rider Released: 1991 Tracks: 4 Duration: 17:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 East Easy Rider (03:37) 2 Butterfly E (06:35) 3 Almost Alive (02:56) 4 Little Donkey (04:01) |
 | Album: 13 of 43 Title: Peggy Suicide Released: 1991-04-29 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:16:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Pristeen (04:40) 2 Double Vegetation (03:51) 3 East Easy Rider (04:00) 4 Promised Land (03:39) 5 Hanging Out & Hung Up on the Line (04:44) 6 Safesurfer (08:07) 7 If You Loved Me at All (05:00) 8 Drive, She Said (04:36) 9 Soldier Blue (04:48) 10 You... (01:48) 11 Not Raving but Drowning (04:16) 12 Head (02:20) 13 Leperskin (05:12) 14 Beautiful Love (03:13) 15 Western Front 1992 CE (02:01) 16 Hung Up & Hanging Out to Dry (04:47) 17 The American Lite (04:03) 18 Las Vegas Basement (04:50) |
| Peggy Suicide : Allmusic album Review : Casting the ill-advised attempts at too-clean modern rock from his late-80s days firmly aside and fulfilling the promise of Skellington and Droolian, Cope on Peggy Suicide produced his best album to date, overtopping even his Teardrop Explodes efforts. Showing a greater musical breadth and range than ever before, from funk to noise collage -- and more importantly, not sounding like a dilettante at any step of the way -- Cope and his now seasoned backing band, with drummer J.D. Hassinger in and De Harrison out, surge from strength to strength. Ostensibly conceived as a concept album regarding potential ecological and social collapse, Cope wisely seeks to set moods rather than create a straitjacketed story line. As a result, Peggy Suicide can be enjoyed both as an overall statement and as a collection of individual songs; its sequencing is excellent to boot, moving from song to song as if it was always meant to be that way. Copes voice is a revelation -- for those not having heard the hard-to-find Skellington and Droolian, his conversational asides, bold but not full-of-itself singing, and equally tender, softer takes when the material demands it must have seemed like a complete turnaround from the restrained My Nation Underground cuts. He handles all the guitar as well, with Skinner concentrating on bass and keyboards; guest Michael "Moon-Eye" Watts does some fine fretbending as well, including an amazing performance on the awesome "Safesurfer," a lengthy meditation on AIDS and its consequences. Picking out only some highlights does the album as a whole a disservice, but besides offering up an instant catchy pop single, "Beautiful Love," Cope handles everything from the minimal moods of "Promised Land" and experimentation of "Western Front 1992 CE" to the frenetic "Hanging Out and Hung Up on the Line" and commanding "Drive, She Said." An absolute, stone-cold rock classic, full stop. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 43 Title: Rite Released: 1992 Tracks: 4 Duration: 1:08:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Indians Worship Him, but He Hurries On (10:23) 2 Amethysteria (09:03) 3 Cherhill Down (24:14) 4 In Search of Ancient Astronomies (24:47) |
 | Album: 15 of 43 Title: Floored Genius: The Best of Julian Cope and the Teardrop Explodes 1979–91 Released: 1992-10-27 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:18:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Reward (02:42) 2 Treason (02:58) 3 Sleeping Gas (03:46) 4 Bouncing Babies (02:31) 5 Passionate Friend (03:31) 6 The Great Dominions (04:31) 7 The Greatness & Perfection of Love (03:15) 8 An Elegant Chaos (04:05) 9 Sunspots (03:49) 10 Reynard the Fox (06:22) 11 World Shut Your Mouth (03:37) 12 Trampolene (03:38) 13 Spacehopper (03:23) 14 Charlotte Anne (05:10) 15 China Doll (03:34) 16 Out of My Mind on Dope & Speed (03:27) 17 Jellypop Perky Jean (02:08) 18 Beautiful Love (03:13) 19 East Easy Rider (03:37) 20 Safesurfer (08:39) |
| Floored Genius: The Best of Julian Cope and the Teardrop Explodes 1979–91 : Allmusic album Review : A convenient enough stopgap release that turned up in between Peggy Suicide and Jehovahkill, the pun-titled Floored Genius provides a fine one-stop spot for those new to Copes work, starting with Teardrop Explodes hits and going all the way up to Peggy Suicides "Safesurfer." Total die-hards wont need it, as no unreleased tracks surface, but those unable to find Skellington or Droolian will appreciate the appearance of, respectively, the nicely crazed "Out of My Mind on Dope & Speed" and the sweetly silly "Jellypop Perky Jean." Otherwise its key singles and notable album cuts over Copes higher profile career, showing how the precocious genius who came up with such instantly catchy pop hits like "Reward" and "Passionate Friend" became an even more distinct, individual artist as he went. One of the most striking things about Cope is how he at once incorporates any range of 60s and 70s influences, high profile or obscure, and is able to turn them all into his own sound, high on life (and other things, no doubt) and bursting with creative energy. Even his supposedly lost years documented on World Shut Your Mouth and Fried find him hitting new heights, as "Reynard the Fox" and "An Elegant Chaos" show. Extensive liner notes from his longtime friend and confidant Mick Houghton give a nicely off-kilter history of the man and his work, while a selection of photos, press clips and other ephemera help trace the path further. Those intrigued by the antiquarian side of Copes life will appreciate the artistic map of his hometown, Tamworth, with reference to the various album covers and promo shots taken there over time. Peggy Suicide remains Copes best standalone album, but Floored Genius is crucial at showing the heights of his work. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 43 Title: Jehovahkill Released: 1992-12-08 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:10:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Soul Desert (03:53) 2 No Hard Shoulder to Cry On (02:44) 3 Akhenaten (02:52) 4 The Mystery Trend (04:17) 5 Up‐Wards at 45° (05:46) 6 Know (Cut My Friend Down) (03:19) 7 Necropolis (04:40) 8 Slow Rider (02:18) 9 Gimme Back My Flag (05:33) 10 Poet Is Priest… (06:23) 11 Julian H. Cope (02:49) 12 The Subtle Energies Commission (07:49) 13 Fa‐Fa‐Fa‐Fine (02:25) 14 Fear Loves This Place (04:16) 15 The Tower (10:23) 16 Peggy Suicide Is Missing (00:42) |
| Jehovahkill : Allmusic album Review : Moving into what he later described as the second part of a trilogy of albums, Jehovahkill sees Julian Copes focus shift from environmental collapse to raging against the destructiveness of mainstream religion and an attendant celebration of earlier, heathen impulses. The artwork and design draw this out further, with Cope providing commentary on a number of ancient megalithic temples and sites, along with attendant poetry. As with Peggy Suicide, though, the music is what is first and foremost, and following that earlier albums success Cope was on a roll. With only Skinner and Cosby making up the core band this time out, plus a variety of guest performers and snippets (including cult musician/astronomer Dr. Fiorella Terenzi on the crazed Krautrock/funk of "Poet Is Priest..."), Cope turned in another 70-minute-long effort. If Jehovahkill isnt quite as perfectly balanced as Peggy Suicide, it comes darn close, definitely leaving the late-80s trough behind. "Soul Desert," the opening number, actually almost picks up where Peggy Suicide left off, with "Las Vegas Basement," with the same low-key late-night vibe. Copes voice is again at full strength, whether gently singing or just going all out; here hes able to do both as the song amps up further about halfway through. From there Jehovahkill move through three phases, much like Peggy Suicide was divided into four. The overall tone of the record is looser than Peggy, with Copes various celebrations and condemnations often sounding like they were captured on a first-time run-through. He definitely sounds like hes more performing intense rituals instead of songs, as on the powerful, building intensity of "Up-Wards at 45 Degrees" and the awesome "The Tower." Combined with everything from the rural blues-goes-drone rock of "The Mystery Trend" and the combined Neu!/Stooges tribute "The Subtle Energies Commission" to the amusing "Julian H. Cope," it adds up to another fine Cope album. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 43 Title: The Skellington Chronicles Released: 1993 Tracks: 25 Duration: 1:01:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Doomed (02:40) 2 Beaver (02:28) 3 Me & Jimmy Jones (01:30) 4 Robert Mitchum (02:43) 5 Out of My Mind on Dope & Speed (03:27) 6 Don’t Crash Here (01:00) 7 Everything Playing at Once (01:31) 8 Little Donkey (02:44) 9 Great White Wonder (02:12) 10 Incredibly Ugly Girl (03:04) 11 No How, No Why, No Way, No Where, No When (01:59) 12 Commin’ Soon (02:26) 13 Electrical Stormgirl (01:51) 14 Poppins (01:38) 15 Skip (01:32) 16 I’ve Got My T.V. & My Pills (01:40) 17 The Angel & the Fellatress (03:56) 18 Waco‐pops (01:38) 19 Common Land at Water’s Edge (02:30) 20 Scud‐u‐like (00:47) 21 Grimreaper Is a Krautrocker (For Gavin Wall) (08:32) 22 American Tragedy (01:20) 23 Wayland’s Smithy Has Wings (01:34) 24 Madonna Baglady Blues (04:42) 25 London Underground (01:59) |
 | Album: 18 of 43 Title: Floored Genius 2: Best of the BBC Sessions 1983–91 Released: 1993 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:01:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Greatness & Perfection of Love (03:22) 2 Head Hang Low (04:06) 3 Hey High Class Butcher (04:05) 4 Sunspots (02:55) 5 Me Singing (03:33) 6 Hobby (01:11) 7 24a, Velocity Crescent (03:47) 8 Laughing Boy (05:27) 9 O King of Chaos (02:18) 10 Reynard the Fox (03:25) 11 Pulsar (03:33) 12 Crazy Farm Animal (03:09) 13 Christmas Mourning (02:58) 14 Planet Rider: Transmitting (03:50) 15 Soul Medley: Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow / Everything Playing at Once / Are You Hung Up? / Hung Up and Hanging Out to Dry (08:11) 16 You Think It’s Love (01:58) 17 Double Vegetation (03:54) |
 | Album: 19 of 43 Title: Autogeddon Released: 1994 Tracks: 8 Duration: 46:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Autogeddon Blues (05:14) 2 Madmax (03:39) 3 Don’t Call Me Mark Chapman (05:21) 4 I Gotta Walk (02:28) 5 Ain’t No Gettin’ Round Gettin’ Round (05:01) 6 Paranormal in the West Country (medley) i) Paranormal, Part 1 ii) Archdrude’s Roadtrip iii) Kar‐ma‐kanik (08:29) 7 Ain’t but the One Way (04:29) 8 s.t.a.r.c.a.r. (11:28) |
| Autogeddon : Allmusic album Review : Reversing the trend of lengthy Cope releases, Autogeddon is only 46 minutes long but just as powerful and varied as Copes other early-90s releases. Concluding the trilogy started by Peggy Suicide and Jehovahkill, Autogeddon, as the title gives away, targets cars, specifically as a metaphor for environmental destruction. Combined with the continuing focus on heathen religious practices and ancient monuments (the first part of "Paranormal in the West Country" was, in fact, recorded in the West Kennet Longbarrow in Wiltshire), the album is almost a summation of Copes current interests as well as standing on its own. Rooster Cosby and Donald Ross Skinner return, along with Moon-eye, longtime acquaintance becoming regular collaborator Thighpaulsandra, and Mavis Grind, who eventually became Copes key musical partner in later years. Together they help Cope once again do the business, covering the varied musical ranges he favors with skill and style, even if the production isnt quite as thick and strong throughout as on previous releases. Cope notes that all tracks were first takes, and theres more than a little studio conversation and discussion cropping up here and there. Then theres the perhaps unintentional laugh/gulp/howl at the start of "Aint No Gettin Round Gettin Round," his rueful and witty complaint about needing a car to travel. What stands out most, though, is Copes continuing ability to sing and perform at the top of his game, all while specifically and fiercely targeting what he truly hates. Opening cut "Autogeddon Blues" envisions more than a few dead bodies along the way, for a start. At the same time, one of his most affecting, pretty songs turns up as well: "Dont Call Me Mark Chapman," which details a cryptic murder and/or suicide situation with both black humor and almost unnerving calm. Theres glam guitar homages on "Kar-Ma-Kanik" and epic space rock on "s*t*a*r*c*a*r," and it all shows Cope still following his own muse with total gusto. | ||
 | Album: 20 of 43 Title: 20 Mothers Released: 1995 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:11:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Wheelbarrow Man (03:01) 2 I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (02:35) 3 Try Try Try (03:27) 4 Stone Circles ’n’ You (01:48) 5 Queen/Mother (03:30) 6 I’m Your Daddy (02:13) 7 Highway to the Sun (06:14) 8 1995 (03:47) 9 By the Light of the Silbury Moon (02:13) 10 Adam & Eve Hit the Road (02:06) 11 Just Like Pooh Bear (03:41) 12 Girl‐Call (04:23) 13 Greedhead Detector (03:49) 14 Don’t Take Roots (02:13) 15 Senile Get (03:37) 16 The Lonely Guy (04:42) 17 CryingBabiesSleeplessNights (03:35) 18 Leli B. (03:14) 19 Road of Dreams (06:05) 20 When I Walk Through the Land of Fear (05:25) |
| 20 Mothers : Allmusic album Review : Returning to a full CDs worth of material, Cope on 20 Mothers creates 20 songs, covering a wide variety of topics as opposed to the general concept records from his then-recent past. Everything from reestablishing contact with his estranged brother Joss ("Wheelbarrow Man") to vegetarianism, bandmates, his mother-in-law, and even Kurt Cobain get touched on, as discussed in his entertaining liner notes. Its a bit of a fractured record as a result, but no less interesting for it, containing the range of Peggy Suicide without sounding like a revamp of it. Moon-Eye is the main guitarist in place of Skinner, who only contributes a bit of Omnichord here and there, while Thighpaulsandra is a full part of the band, contributing synths, piano, and string arrangements (which crop up throughout the album and are quite exquisite). Cosby provides his excellent drumming as always, while old bassist James Eller and producer Ed Stasium turn up for "Try, Try, Try." This lovely ballad-into-energy number was the lead single, providing Cope with one last U.K. Top 40 hit before fully turning his back on the charts and major labels. Often his singing on 20 Mothers is a bit strained in comparison to earlier albums, whether its the production, his throat, or just the way he wants to do things is unclear, but its a touch disconcerting on first blush. Musically, the same rough but right feeling on Autogeddon prevails, with plenty of detours into tribal psych, feedback madness, even quirky synth-pop; if anything, the overall sound is a bit thicker in points than the at-times hollower recordings on the earlier record. An amusing cover note is that the front picture is, indeed, 20 mothers, with Copes legendary-in-her-own-right wife Dorian second from the right in the front row, while Cope is pictured with his daughters Albany and Avalon on the back. | ||
 | Album: 21 of 43 Title: Interpreter Released: 1996 Tracks: 12 Duration: 48:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Come From Another Planet, Baby (03:29) 2 I’ve Got My TV & My Pills (02:22) 3 Planetary Sit‐In (03:31) 4 Since I Lost My Head, It’s Awl‐Right (02:37) 5 Cheap New‐Age Fix (04:34) 6 The Battle for the Trees (07:13) 7 Arthur Drugstore (03:40) 8 S.P.A.C.E.R.O.C.K. With Me (03:41) 9 Re‐Directed Male (04:16) 10 Maid of Constant Sorrow (04:01) 11 The Loveboat (02:45) 12 Dust (06:10) |
| Interpreter : Allmusic album Review : What turned out to be the last Cope solo album (at least under his own name) of the 90s, before he embarked on a series of other musical projects along with continuing his archaeological research, was another wiggy, involved collection of musical highs. If anything can be said about Copes activity in the mid-90s, its that he sounds like a man on a mission, but determined to have fun as he goes. Certainly the opening track is one of his most upbeat and fun ever, "I Come From Another Planet, Baby." His vocal similarity to David Bowie is a bit surprising, but hes obviously having delicious fun singing the lyrics in an exaggeratedly "English" style. Thighpaulsandra once again helps produce, arrange, and perform, creating a string-laden, full-bodied sound for the entire album, while Cosby turns in some of his best drumming ever. About ten other guests pop up throughout, and the result is an adventurous, fun romp, with the atmosphere often recalling such lush and beautiful Cope numbers as "An Elegant Chaos." Sometimes it gets completely nutty: "s.p.a.c.e.r.o.c.k. with me" takes its cue from the likes of Amon Düül II, with guest singer Lynn Davies contributing what Cope himself calls "outrageous Diva vocals." Copes message is far from lost; two of his sharpest slams turn up next to each other halfway through. The gloriously garage trashy "Cheap New-Age Fix," as one can guess from the title, seems to slyly slam wannabe poseurs taking away from his rather more intense focus on heathen studies and environmentalism in many forms. The glammy epic "The Battle for the Trees," meanwhile, celebrates an organized protest against development near the English town of Newbury that occurred shortly before the albums recording. The elaborate packaging and artwork contain everything from a "mythological mind map" of Copes surroundings in the Marlborough Downs to any number of righteous political and social quotes. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 43 Title: Rite 2 Released: 1997 Tracks: 4 Duration: 55:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ver (10:50) 2 Hill of Odin (15:39) 3 D – c.o.m.p.o.s.e.r. (19:18) 4 The Ringed Hills of Ver (09:34) |
 | Album: 23 of 43 Title: The Followers of Saint Julian Released: 1997-05-19 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:02:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Transporting (03:36) 2 World Shut Your Mouth (vs. Troublefunk) (04:35) 3 I’ve Got Levitation (02:58) 4 Non‐Alignment Pact (02:49) 5 Umpteenth Unatural Blues (02:57) 6 Trainsporting (with interview) (08:11) 7 Trampolene (Warne Out mix) (05:45) 8 Disaster (04:58) 9 Mock Turtle (04:22) 10 Warwick the Kingmaker (03:48) 11 Almost Beautiful Child (I & II) (05:19) 12 Eve’s Volcano (Covered in Sin) / Vulcano Lungo (06:47) 13 Pulsar Nx (live) (02:53) 14 Shot Down (03:51) |
| The Followers of Saint Julian : Allmusic album Review : The cleverly titled Followers is a boon for hardcore Cope fanatics, collecting a wide range of B-sides, rarities, and random tracks from his early Island Records days. Nearly everything has something to do with the Saint Julian album and the accompanying tours, thus its title. While more casual Cope followers wont need it, those especially interested in Copes completely gone side of his music will consider this manna. In contrast to the sometimes too clean parts of Saint Julian itself, Cope here goes all out in several different directions at once, foreshadowing the wide range of approaches that would define his work in the 90s. Opening cut "Transporting," a "World Shut Your Mouth" B-side, is as chaotic as one could hope for, with squalling noises, a completely weird mix that keeps changing, and general production goofiness abounding. "Transporting" reappears in another version later, with a variety of interview snippets scattered throughout the mix -- there are a couple of wonderfully awkward moments preserved. The calmer demo tracks "Mock Turtle" and the weirdly stentorian "Warwick the Kingmaker" show him in gently ruminative mode, creating winsome music without sounding overly precious. Another demo-level track, or so it sounds -- "Almost Beautiful Child (I & II)" -- has him flexing instrumental muscles with a piano-led number accompanied by the odd moan or two. A few remixes surface on Followers -- while some are fairly anonymous, "World Shut Your Mouth" gets a work-over courtesy of D.C. go-go legends Trouble Funk. They leave a fair chunk of the song exactly as is, but have some fun stripping things down to bass and drums here and there. Two covers -- solid run-throughs of the 13th Floor Elevators "Levitation" and Pere Ubus "Non-Alignment Pact" -- and good live versions of Saint Julians "Pulsar" and "Shot Down" help to fill out the corners. | ||
 | Album: 24 of 43 Title: Ye Skellington Chronicles Released: 1999 Tracks: 26 Duration: 1:04:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Doomed (02:40) 2 Beaver (02:28) 3 Me & Jimmy Jones (01:30) 4 Robert Mitchum (02:43) 5 Out of My Mind on Dope and Speed (03:28) 6 Don’t Crash Here (01:00) 7 Everything Playing at Once (01:31) 8 Little Donkey (02:44) 9 Great White Wonder (02:12) 10 Incredibly Ugly Girl (03:04) 11 No How, No Why, No Way, No Where, No When (01:59) 12 Commin’ Soon (02:18) 13 Electrical Stormgirl (01:51) 14 Poppins (01:38) 15 Skip (01:32) 16 I’ve Got My TV and My Pills (01:38) 17 The Angel and the Fellatress (03:57) 18 Waco‐pops (01:38) 19 Common Land at Water’s Edge (02:30) 20 Scud‐U‐Like (00:46) 21 American Tragedy (01:20) 22 Wayland’s Smithy Has Wings (01:34) 23 Madonna Baglady Blues (04:39) 24 London Underground (02:05) 25 Skellington Anti‐Polltax Live in Lambeth, England (medley) (05:01) 26 Trampoline (06:51) |
 | Album: 25 of 43 Title: Leper Skin: An Introduction to Julian Cope Released: 1999-02-22 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:09:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Shot Down (04:01) 2 World Shut Your Mouth (03:34) 3 Trampolene (03:38) 4 Planet Ride (05:46) 5 Transporting (03:36) 6 Books (02:42) 7 Charlotte Anne (04:56) 8 Crazy Farm Animal (05:33) 9 Hanging Out & Hung Up on the Line (04:44) 10 Soul Desert (03:53) 11 The Mystery Trend (04:17) 12 Pristeen (04:40) 13 Double Vegetation (03:51) 14 Upwards at 45 Degrees (05:46) 15 Safesurfer (08:39) |
| Leper Skin: An Introduction to Julian Cope : Allmusic album Review : Part of Island Records often-handy "An Introduction To" series, 1999s Leper Skin: An Introduction to Julian Cope only covers Julian Copes 1986 to 1992 output, from "World Shut Your Mouth" (the hard-rocking, stomping 1986 single, not the 1984 album of the same title) to Jehovahkill. (For anomalys sake, the Teardrop Explodes "Books" is thrown in as well.) This limits its appeal somewhat, as these are the four albums that the average Julian Cope fan is most likely to have and there are no rare or unreleased tracks to be found here. Its also a bit odd to listen to in one go, since this era includes both his most commercial music ("Trampoline," "Charlotte Anne") and some of his strangest (just about everything from Jehovahkill, a Krautrock-influenced rant against organized religion and for ancient Druidic earth worship). Its not even a particularly good collection, as its missing the transcendent "Beautiful Love," the centerpiece track from 1991s career high point, Peggy Suicide. Leper Skin might be OK for the curious newbie -- it does have "World Shut Your Mouth," arguably Copes best song ever -- but Peggy Suicide remains the most representative starting point. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 43 Title: An Audience With the Cope Released: 2000 Tracks: 6 Duration: 56:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Glam Dicenn, Parts 1 & 2 (09:34) 2 Holy Mother of God (04:09) 3 Born to Breed (05:11) 4 Ill Informer (10:10) 5 The Glam Dicenn, Parts 3 & 4 (16:36) 6 [unknown] (10:35) |
 | Album: 27 of 43 Title: Floored Genius 3 Released: 2000 Tracks: 16 Duration: 58:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ascending (02:59) 2 Conspiracist Blues (01:53) 3 Propheteering (01:57) 4 Mighty Carl Jung (08:55) 5 Highway Blues (02:57) 6 Sqwubbsy Versus King Plank (04:27) 7 You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore (03:50) 8 Oh Yeah, but Never Like This Before (04:23) 9 The One I Call My Own (04:25) 10 Jellypop Jerky Jean (03:11) 11 Tighten‐Up (02:45) 12 Zabriskie Point (04:40) 13 I Need Someone (02:36) 14 Prince Varmint (01:59) 15 Competition (02:24) 16 Satisfaction (04:43) |
 | Album: 28 of 43 Title: Rite Now Released: 2002 Tracks: 4 Duration: 1:12:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Twilight of the Motherfuckers (21:30) 2 Give the Poet Some (14:25) 3 Supernatural Agencies (16:30) 4 Ephaedra (20:09) |
 | Album: 29 of 43 Title: Rome Wasn’t Burned in a Day Released: 2003 Tracks: 7 Duration: 54:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Shrine of the Black Youth (08:18) 2 Zennor Quoit (02:43) 3 The‐Way‐Luv‐Is (10:11) 4 King Minos (04:21) 5 Dance by the Light of the Bridges You Burn (03:31) 6 Michelle of My Former Self (04:30) 7 Far Out / Eccentrifugal Force (20:40) |
| Rome Wasn’t Burned in a Day : Allmusic album Review : It was 1996 when Julian Cope last released an album -- called Interpreter -- under his own name. Over the course of the new decade, the albums that followed showed that the new millennium Julian Cope was obviously a changed man with different priorities than before. The projects he released in between gave away clues to the new man: his re-orientation obviously came in the wake of the publication of his surprising book The Modern Antiquarian in 1998, in which he presented a guide to the prehistoric megalithic sites of Britain. Since then, his fascination with all things druid and pagan has remained a background for his work, expressing itself in long meditative electronic pieces or Stooges-inspired rock primitivism (as showcased by him from 2001 on, in the guise of his alter ego Brain Donor). Nevertheless, starting with this album in 2003, a steady flow of Julian Cope albums has provided a never-ending stream of new consciousness music, with a definitely more careless attitude to song composing and production values than in previous decades. Here, the song format finally returns to Copes world, but within the new irregular bounds preferred by him. The album starts by whizzing right into the midst of some psychedelic rock wig-out, which after about two minutes turns out to be a prelude to a rather impressive song about a pre-Christian Armenian pagan god (who is still worshiped there today) called Tukh Manukh the Black Youth (hence the songs title, "Shrine of the Black Youth"). Indeed, the idea comes from various inspiring encounters Cope had recently had on an actual trip to Armenia, and in the albums liner notes he states that that trip was in fact a key factor in his having become "reborn," having consciously gone through a kind of personality change (the song "Michelle of My Former Self" specifically deals with that). Apart from a few songs with a softer touch (be they longish and insistent like "The-Way-Luv-Is" or a short ditty like "Far Out"), two intense cornerstones stand out: the pulling-no-punches primitive rock treat "King Minos" and the 20-minute-long mantra "Eccentrifugal Force," with its patience-testing wah-wah guitar workouts. But this is basically not music with virtuoso ambitions; its much more about raw sentiments (tempered a bit by the use of certain prog rock twists and turns here and there). Interestingly, Julian Cope qualifies the album with the subtitle "Original Soundtrack." This is because the album was meant as a kind of byproduct of a three-day event (although it is not a live album recording of the event) organized by him at the London Hammersmiths Lyric Theater, which included his own band performing with other bands such as Sunn 0))) guesting, and movies of bands like Van der Graaf Generator and Amon Düül II being shown. Moreover, the CD was only made available via Copes own Head Heritage website, something that he would do intermittently with other new releases that followed. The new Cope would remain uncompromising, siding very clearly with anti-globalization campaigners, all the while retaining his gift for humorous lyrical stabs, as evidenced by the albums title. | ||
 | Album: 30 of 43 Title: Citizen Cain’d Released: 2005-01 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:11:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Hell Is Wicked (04:43) 2 I Can’t Hardly Stand It (03:12) 3 I’m Living in the Room They Found Saddam In (04:28) 4 Gimme Head (03:51) 5 Dying to Meet You (04:48) 6 I Will Be Absorbed (13:47) 1 Feels Like a Crying Shame (11:33) 2 World War Pigs (04:16) 3 Stomping Dionysus (02:42) 4 Homeless Strangers (03:42) 5 The Living Dead (05:10) 6 Edge of Death (09:38) |
| Citizen Cain’d : Allmusic album Review : Well, its not pop music, for those expecting such. Interpreter was the last pop-oriented album from Liverpools psychedelic genius Julian Cope, in 1996. In the intervening nine years, it seemed like hed turned his attentions away from music almost completely, especially after the release of his book The Modern Antiquarian. After that, it was year after interminable year of hearing only that a new book was on the way, or an ambient album (Odin) or some less-than-great Krautrock/glam-freakage (An Audience With the Cope) would appear, frequently to disappoint. Which, in some perverse way, is okay, because it makes the excellent Citizen Caind even better. This is shamanic pop music of the highest, most lysergic order, existing in a universe where the Stooges conquered the Top Ten and new wave never happened. Embracing lo-fi production methods, Cope and band summon the spirit that infused the first MC5 record -- a live, first-takes-only mentality. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the second track, "I Cant Hardly Stand It," which solidifies Julians garage rock credibility, with a punky garage rocker that pays homage to Copes heroes the Monks, who incessantly recorded with all the meters firmly in the red. "Dying to Meet You" is also a great rocker, with some invigorating guitar leads and a barely controlled Julian on vocals. "Feels Like a Crying Shame" opens the second half of the album with almost 12 minutes of pure rock groove, with nimble drums keeping time as the acoustic and electric guitars move in and around each other, building and building over the length of the track. This is rock-as-trance music. All in all, an excellent return to song-based songwriting from the Drude, a good entry point for people new to the man, or to those who may have (briefly) lost the faith. [This album was released on two CDs, running under a total 72 minutes. The reason given at the time from Julian was that the album was too psychically exhausting as one piece, and split it up. And while one can appreciate the artists experience of listening to his or her own work, its kind of inconvenient to try to listen to in its entirety.] | ||
 | Album: 31 of 43 Title: Dark Orgasm Released: 2005-11-16 Tracks: 9 Duration: 48:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Zoroaster (04:05) 2 White Bitch Comes Good (03:46) 3 She’s Got a Ring on Her Finger (& Another One Through Her Nose) (04:01) 4 Mr. Invasion (03:19) 5 Nothing to Lose Except My Mind (03:47) 6 I’ve Found a New Way to Love Her (04:00) 7 I Don’t Wanna Grow Back (04:10) 1 The Death and Resurrection Show (20:58) 2 The Death and Resurrection Show (reprise) (00:34) |
| Dark Orgasm : Allmusic album Review : In a way, you should be thankful. After what seemed ages, Julian Cope finally returned to releasing song-based albums, and two in one year, at that. But whereas Citizen Caind sounded under-produced but rocked harder than anything else in his catalog, Dark Orgasm barely ups the production, and falls flat on its face in the rock & roll department. Things that are most endearing to long-time Cope fans (for example, a sense for melodic pop, or his unique and beautiful voice) are A.W.O.L. on this album. Theres nothing even close to a pop song present. Cope sings in a 70s-metal sneer (think Thin Lizzy or the Guess Who), which may be the type of singing that his voice is most unsuited for. An evocative instrument becomes here an annoying whinny. "Nothing to Lose Except My Mind" is indicative of the problems with this record. For unexplained reasons, crowd noise (massive, at that) is grafted onto the track. Guitars are turned very low in the mix, the bass is muddied, and the vocals are barely understandable. If the intent was to match the fidelity on mid-career Led Zeppelin, then it achieves its goal. Artistic intent or not, once the novelty has worn off, its just not a good song. Perhaps, with more work and an outside producer, it could have been turned into something great. Because there are seeds of a great song here. But no. These opportunities are missed at every infuriating turn. Its not all bad, though. Like any of Copes solo albums, there are usually some diamonds hidden among the tracks. Dark Orgasms great track is "Ive Found a New Way to Love Her," which manages to harness a lo-fi production urge and contain classic Cope melodies. The Mellotron samples that appear in this song at loud volume continue to bring a smile to the face after repeated listening. And then theres "The Death and Resurrection Show," which occupies the entirety of the completely unnecessary second disc in the set. For 21 minutes, Cope and band embrace their prog rock tendencies and bash through a multi-part suite that sounds as if Spinal Taps "Jazz Odyssey" had lyrics. How you process this will determine your enjoyment of the album. | ||
 | Album: 32 of 43 Title: Christ versus Warhol Released: 2007 Tracks: 14 Duration: 43:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Strasbourg (02:30) 2 Quizmaster (02:33) 3 An Elegant Chaos (04:08) 4 Kolly Kibber’s Birthday (04:53) 5 Wreck My Car (01:51) 6 Sunshine Playroom (02:41) 7 She Brings Me Flowers (02:57) 8 Jesus Christ & The Mysterons (00:38) 9 Hobby (00:50) 10 Hey, High Class Butcher (03:55) 11 Strasbourg (demo) (01:47) 12 Bill Drummond Said (02:28) 13 Holy Love (03:48) 14 Mik Mak Mok (08:01) |
 | Album: 33 of 43 Title: You Gotta Problem With Me Released: 2007-08-06 Tracks: 13 Duration: 55:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Doctor Know (09:00) 2 Beyond Rome (02:13) 3 Soon to Forget Ya (02:17) 4 You Gotta Problem With Me (04:26) 5 They Gotta Different Way of Doing Things (05:01) 6 Peggy Suicide Is a Junkie (04:54) 1 A Child Is Born in Cerrig‐Y‐Drudion (03:21) 2 Woden (04:52) 3 Sick Love (02:38) 4 Can’t Get You Out of My Country (04:59) 5 Vampire State Building (04:04) 6 Hidden Doorways (03:31) 7 Shame Shame Shame (04:00) |
| You Gotta Problem With Me : Allmusic album Review : Julian Cope is back with another unfeigned stab at anything that puts a bee under his bonnet. The Arch-Drude manages to display his baser nature with the Brain Donor records (like 2003s Too Freud to Rock N Roll, Too Jung to Die), while his solo albums seem to search for the perfect blend of modern protest songs and garage rock. Following in the footsteps of Citizen Caind, You Gotta Problem with Me covers subject matter from corporate greed to celebrity culture, homophobia, and the war in Iraq. But his main target this time out is what he terms the misogynistic "Sky-God religions" of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Its both passionate and silly, slapdash yet gorgeous, chock-full of new ideas and concerns while informed by nuggets of arcane antiquity -- like most of his work in the last two decades. "Doctor Know" opens the first CD -- perversely, he has split in two this hour-long CD to approximate the turning of the vinyl record -- with an eloquent nine-minute epic. Though it proves Copes knack for marrying a thought-provoking lyric to a fluid melody, musically its not quite up to the standards of, say, his "Safesurfer." "Beyond Rome" and "Soon to Forget Ya" are fun while they last, but in their brief burn they remain more like sketches than fully developed songs. The title song manages to showcase the attributes that make Cope tick these days. Its raw crunch and humorously delivered chorus turn into an almost saccharine, lilting melody before its over, and the natural flow between the polar opposite sections are a joy to both the mind and the ear. Its been a common complaint among Copes followers that he left the path of pop perfection to follow his muse after 1996s Interpreter and in doing so, hes managed to make commercially unviable and raw records that few are willing to release in a business too often run by accountants rather than artists. While he may be shooting himself in the foot with this release commercially speaking, it isnt the first time he has done so, and artistically he continues on his more recent path of garage psychedelia paired with politically inflammatory material that should leave nobody cold. A song title like "Vampire State Building" is in itself provocative, but its eerie, retro-electronic backing and Copes heartfelt exploration into the expanding clutches of the Bush administration are difficult to dismiss. "Cant Get You out of My Country" and "They Gotta Different Way of Doing Things" are less compelling but infectiously catchier takes on the effects of the Iraq war. Copes trickster personality promises youll be as likely to love sections of the album as you are to hate them, sometimes even just a section of a song. Lyrically he vacillates between sharp and awkward, and hes at his best when he doesnt take himself too seriously. Musically, the CD ranges from naked, acoustic ballads like "Woden" to such sharp, electric scorchers as "Peggy Suicide Is a Junkie." The latter is informed by Copes passion for ear-melting Japanese psychedelic rock, a subject so unheralded and neglected he felt compelled to write a book on it (Japrocksampler, 2007, a thematic follow-up to his groundbreaking book on Krautrock, Krautrocksampler, from 1994). Cope remains the modern antiquarian. Overall, though not up to the standards of Citizen Caind or his early-90s masterpieces, Peggy Suicide and Jehovahkill, You Gotta Problem with Me continues Copes illuminating and aggravating explorations. Regardless of ones reservations, the CD is intellectually interesting and challenging, an emotional blend of anger and compassion. From an artist who has endured some 30 years in the "business" and a string of high-profile pop hits, this level of soul-baring searching is almost unheard of. | ||
 | Album: 34 of 43 Title: Black Sheep Released: 2008-09-08 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:07:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Come the Revolution (05:02) 2 It’s Too Late to Turn Back Now (04:32) 3 These Things I Know (05:04) 4 Psychedelic Odin (07:14) 5 Blood Sacrifice (04:29) 6 The Shipwreck of St. Paul (06:49) 1 All The Blowing‐Themselves‐Up‐Motherfuckers (Will Realise The Minute They Die That They Themselves Were Suckers) (03:04) 2 Feed My Rock’n’Roll (06:36) 3 Dhimmi Is Blue (08:33) 4 The Black Sheep’s Song (04:52) 5 I Can Remember This Life (11:15) |
| Black Sheep : Allmusic album Review : Black Sheep presents further dispatches from the ongoing campaign to change the world by "the Arch Druid" Julian Cope (who, by the way, holds court continually on his Head Heritage website). Ever since the publication of The Modern Antiquarian in 1998 (his ambitious book exploring ancient pagan ritual sites), Julian Copes world has been defined by the cornerstones of anti-monotheism, a love of minimalist musical structures, and a kind of rock primitivism, in line with his emphasis on archaic virtues. All his albums since then have kept to this new approach (starting with the first album under the alias of Brain Donor in 2001). Its a much more austere world compared to what listeners were used to from him until the late 90s, but the sheer fanaticism with which he has followed his mission since the dawn of the new millennium remains compelling. The drawback is that the music isnt always quite as rewarding as one would hope, tending toward the threadbare a bit too often. The minimalist production technique tends to stymie the efforts at "rocking out" (which the rhetoric of the packaging would lead one to expect). On this album, the rocking often floats on waves of Mellotron sounds and the rest is folk contemplation, all definitely harking back to precedents from the early 70s. As usual, the packaging is striking and helps to bring home the message. In defiance of the dictates of CD technology, the album again comes on two CDs to ensure that each represents what in the old days would have been "one side of an LP." In addition, those half-LPs have their own titles, Return of the Native and Return of the Alternative, again enhancing the message. Such lyrical invention remains a hallmark of 21st century Julian Cope, but as with the music, the high points are scattered rather erratically over the course of the set. Nevertheless, Black Sheep stands out a bit in the newer Cope catalog, due to the focus it gives to his (longstanding) vision of a new (or rather, corrected) world-view. Central to that is the dismissal of the concept of a single God (as brought to Europe by St. Paul), which, according to him, tragically displaced the superior concepts of a religious outlook based on a closeness to "Mother Earth" (the Norse gods being his favored alternative). A "wild man ethic" paired with scientific argumentation is the strange brew that informs all these recent Cope "packages" (as does the preponderance of earnestness paired with smatterings of humorous implications), and the Black Sheep title of this album went on to be used as a rallying point and project name for the next album, bearing the characteristic title Kiss My Sweet Apocalypse. Thus the Arch Druids campaign continues onward. | ||
 | Album: 35 of 43 Title: The Unruly Imagination Released: 2009 Tracks: 11 Duration: 50:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Preaching Revolution (07:12) 2 Militant Feminist Dream (03:12) 3 Mother, Where Is My Father? (02:33) 4 I Wanna Know What’s in It for Me (02:20) 5 Fuck Me U.S.A. (02:11) 6 Gang of Four (At Home He Feels Like a Tourist) (04:06) 7 Alexei Sayle Driver Improvement Course (02:35) 8 Creedist Blues (03:51) 9 James Nayler Enters Bristol on a Donkey; 1656 (05:02) 10 Chairman Mao (14:04) 11 Spitfire Boys (British Refugee) (03:19) |
 | Album: 36 of 43 Title: Floored Genius 4 Released: 2009-09 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:09:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Ain’t Saying (02:45) 2 When All You Got Is a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail (02:54) 3 Pre‐Hysterical Blues (03:05) 4 Sub‐Mission (04:00) 5 A Sassenach Tune (05:59) 6 The Shrines Are Ablaze (07:06) 7 The Glam Dicenn (09:34) 8 Mad Clothes (00:57) 9 I’ve Got My TV & My Pills (02:30) 10 We Gotta Get Out of This Place (02:59) 11 Mr. Self Respect (04:55) 12 I Got My God (03:18) 13 Sleeping Gas ’90 (02:46) 14 I Gotta Walk (02:20) 15 Due to Lack of Interest, Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled (02:41) 16 Sucker Strut (03:57) 17 Somebody Spiked My L.S.D. (07:55) |
 | Album: 37 of 43 Title: Psychedelic Revolution Released: 2012-02-06 Tracks: 11 Duration: 17:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Raving on the Moor (05:42) 2 Vive le Suicide (?) 3 Cromwell in Ireland (03:11) 4 Revolutionary Man (?) 5 As the Beer Flows Over Me (03:19) 6 Hooded & Benign (?) 1 Psychedelic Revolution (05:21) 2 X‐Mass in the Woman’s Shelter (?) 3 Roswell (?) 4 Because He Was Wooden (?) 5 The Death of Rock’n’Roll (?) |
 | Album: 38 of 43 Title: Woden Released: 2012-09 Tracks: 1 Duration: 1:12:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Woden (1:12:49) |
 | Album: 39 of 43 Title: Revolutionary Suicide Released: 2013-05-20 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:10:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hymn to the Odin (07:10) 2 Why Did the Chicken Cross My Mind? (06:47) 3 The Armenian Genocide (15:58) 1 Revolutionary Suicide (03:19) 2 Paradise Mislaid (04:45) 3 Mexican Revolution Blues (03:04) 4 Russian Revolution Blues (03:08) 5 They Were on Hard Drugs (07:18) 6 In His Cups (05:45) 7 Phoney People, Phoney Lives (02:37) 8 Destroy Religion (11:04) |
| Revolutionary Suicide : Allmusic album Review : To say that Julian Copes 29th album Revolutionary Suicide is a return to form would be disingenuous. After all, the prolific artist has taken on so many roles over the years, youd be hard-pressed to choose which one: pop singer, anarchist, ecologist, pagan scholar and self-proclaimed "Archdrude" are just a few that spring to mind. Beginning with the 1991 release of his politicized and beautifully shambolic seventh album Peggy Suicide, Cope has consistently taken the road less traveled, becoming the kind of untouchable outsider whose public image has become too strange to be seen as anything but his own true character. Fans of his music and books see him as a sort of hip, lovable, modern-day folk hero, while those lacking the patience to engage in his revolutionary politics and massive catalog likely write him off as a "character" or an "oddball" at best. But, however you view Julian Cope, his intelligence, wit, and wholly self-assured world view are undeniable assets which make just about any of his releases worth considering. Referencing a familiar muse from his Peggy Suicide days, Cope offers the following inscription in Revolutionary Suicides liner notes: "This album was completed on April 17th, 2013, the day of Margaret Thatchers funeral. That she ruled so long was our living nightmare." His ongoing contempt of right-wing politics, his anti-religious stance, and his frequent references to Pagan gods could, in many cases, make for a pretty unpalatable listen, but somehow Cope pulls it off with humor and a kind of weirdo audacity that few can wield with any conviction. Part of his artistry is being able to draw you into a song like "Why Did the Chicken Cross My Mind?" where he waves his politics in your face while you continue to chuckle over the title and its ridiculously Cope-ian vocal wah-wah solo, which doesnt even begin until four-and-a-half minutes in. Like many of his recent albums, Revolutionary Suicide is split between two discs with Cope playing almost all of the instruments himself. If you werent already getting his singular vision on prior albums, youre certainly getting it now. The opener "Hymn to the Odin" wouldnt have been out of place on 1994s Autogeddon, with its breezy acoustic guitar, Mellotron, and spoken-word verses referencing Anglo-Saxon deities, Waden Hill, and other megalithic sites in the U.K. By and large, the song arrangements and production hover somewhere between the more lo-fi attempts of his later work and the mid-90s grandeur of the mono-synth orchestrations he made with former collaborator Thighpaulsandra. Disc twos "Paradise Mislaid" is a welcome return to the more pop-oriented material of 1996s Interpreter, as is the uplifting and melodic "In His Cups." Even the 15-minute album-closer "Destroy Religion," with its bongo-driven dark incantations and haunting sound collage, is a testament to the kind of freewheeling experimentalism Cope has long championed. At times funny, angry, dramatic, and spirited, Revolutionary Suicide is a charming amalgam of Copes many faces and is easily his best work in years. | ||
 | Album: 40 of 43 Title: Trip Advizer Released: 2015-01-05 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:11:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 These Things I Know (05:04) 2 Hell Is Wicked (04:21) 3 Psychedelic Odin (05:14) 4 Raving on the Moor (05:42) 5 I’m Living in the Room They Found Saddam In (04:28) 6 They Were on Hard Drugs (04:52) 7 A Child Is Born in Cerrig‐y‐Drudion (03:14) 8 Cromwell in Ireland (03:11) 9 Woden (04:48) 10 Zoroaster (04:01) 11 Julian in the Underworld (04:12) 12 Revolutionary Suicide (03:19) 13 All the Blowing‐Themselves‐Up Motherfuckers (03:03) 14 Conspiracist Blues (01:52) 15 Psychedelic Revolution (05:21) 16 Shrine of the Black Youth (08:17) |
 | Album: 41 of 43 Title: Rite at Ya: Monotonous Meditations From the Back of Beyond (1993–2016) Released: 2017 Tracks: 4 Duration: 1:04:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Rite at Ya (19:15) 2 Village of the Unshod Priesthood (10:16) 3 Boskawen‐Un (14:51) 4 Ringed Hills of Ver (20:25) |
 | Album: 42 of 43 Title: Drunken Songs Released: 2017-01 Tracks: 6 Duration: 38:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Drink Me Under the Table (03:20) 2 Liver Big as Hartlepool (04:50) 3 As the Beer Flows Over Me (03:19) 4 Clonakilty as Charged (05:29) 5 Don’t Drink & Drive (You Might Spill Some) (02:55) 6 On the Road to Tralee (18:48) |
| Drunken Songs : Allmusic album Review : U.K. eccentric Julian Cope reclaims his whimsy and melodicism on Drunken Songs, a pleasing six-track LP of shambling pop narratives devoted to his latter-day embrace of booze. While the Arch Drude has long been associated with the mind-expanding nature of psychedelic drugs, age has apparently softened his disdain for one of Britains favorite pastimes, and his newfound love of alcohol -- particularly beer -- manifests itself in odes like "Liver Big as Hartlepool," "As the Beer Flows Over Me," and "Dont Drink and Drive (You Might Spill Some)." Opener "Drink Me Under the Table" is one of Copes finest pop constructions in well over a decade, replete with his signature Mellotron orchestrations and recalling some of the grandeur or mid-90s classics like 20 Mothers and Interpreter. A typically bizarre outing, Drunken Songs offers Liverpudlian nostalgia on the acoustic "Liver Big as Hartlepool," loony accordion-led pub balladry on "Clonakilty as Charged," and even a dirge-like tribute ("As the Beer Flows Over Me") written for his own funeral. Anchoring the album is the mighty closer "On the Road to Tralee" which, at nearly 19-minutes long, effectively acts as Drunken Songs entire "Side Two." A conversationally sung, acoustic recounting of a drunken bus ride through southwest Ireland, "Tralee" is equal parts narrative, field recording, and miniature prog epic, offering some of the best of what Cope has to offer. About three-quarters of the way through, a clamorous whistle-and-drum funeral march interrupts the journey before the song (and album) finally concludes with an inebriated Drude exhaling a jolly a cappella tune as he totters down the lane. With whiffs of Skellington, Autogeddon, and even early World Shut Your Mouth-era Cope, Drunken Songs is still its own unique animal and reveals our hero to be in fine creative fettle, still challenging himself and listeners even after 30 albums. | ||
 | Album: 43 of 43 Title: Skellington 3 (The All‐New 21st Century Adventures of Skellington) Released: 2018-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 37:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Times Change (03:20) 2 At the Start of a Season (02:12) 3 Stop Harping On About the Way Life Used to Be (03:04) 4 Magic Fortune‐Telling Machine (02:51) 5 It’s Not Your Life (So Do What We Want) (02:35) 6 Parallel University (04:16) 7 That Don’t Make a Revolution (03:33) 8 Very Krishna (03:02) 9 Seel Street Waltz (03:08) 10 Slave to Rock’n’Roll (02:22) 11 Catch Your Dreams Before They Slip Away (02:58) 12 A Flick of the ‘V’s (04:33) |