It's So Hard To Love When Love Was Your Great Disappointment

I found this review of Rattlesnakes (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions that I wrote in February 2006, which I wanted to share.

The review's opening comment about my youth being firmly in the past is felt evenly more keenly by the sobering realisation that Rattlesnakes celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

Anyhoo... over to my younger self.

A twentieth anniversary reissue for the band’s debut album, more evidence that my teenage years are rapidly retreating into the past. It’s difficult to place these songs in the glossy mid-1980s, thanks to a combination of sharp lyrics, an unusual (for a mainstream UK ‘pop’ band) predilection for country music and deft production from Paul Hardiman. 

During my “headphone years”, when songs were played in a dimly lit bedroom and the narrative meant as much as the melody, Rattlesnakes ranked up there with The The’s Soul Mining and The Smiths’ Hatful Of Hollow and, on reflection, has stood the test of time.

There’s no sense of filler, with ten songs clocking in at just over half an hour and a near flawless running order. The statement of intent is there from the outset, with Perfect Skin's declaration that 

I choose my friends only far too well 

I’m up on the pavement

They’re all down in the cellar 

with their government grants and my IQ

It was perhaps inevitable that, like The Smiths, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions would be pigeonholed as ‘student bedsit soundtrack music’, given the lyrical references to Norman Mailer, Love’s Arthur Lee and Eve Marie Saint, and love songs about girls with “cheekbones like geometry” who “know how to spell ‘audaciously’”. 

Yet Cole’s admittedly maudlin delivery is balanced with humour and strong melodies, arguably equalling The Smiths in this respect. 

Speedboat is a great example, with it’s swampy sound underscored by the narrator’s admission that 

It was just not my style to find surf in my eye

It was much more my style to get sand kicked in my eye

Another is closing track Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?, where the central character, “pumped up full of vitamins”, is advised “If you really want to get straight / read Norman Mailer / or get a new tailor.” 

Writer Julie Burchill dismissed them at the time as a “country and western Velvet Underground”, though this is a fair – if simplistic – description. 

The second CD is a curiosity, containing demos, live tracks, radio sessions and B-sides from the era. The live tracks demonstrate that, as a performer, Cole sounded every bit as uncomfortable as his characters, but it’s interesting to hear an alternative take on Charlotte Street, with awkward, excess verses that were thankfully excised from the superior studio recording. 

The BBC Radio 1 sessions are enjoyable, particularly Forest Fire and Speedboat, but again do not surpass the originals. The B-sides themselves are mostly forgettable, with a few exceptions, notably Andy’s Babies and Jesus Said, though there’s no sense that the Rattlesnakes album would have been stronger for their inclusion. 

In that sense, the Deluxe Edition works well, by keeping the original album intact and separate from the generous quantity of bonus tracks. Another plus is the lavishly illustrated booklet, which features song by song commentary from the band members. 

There are some great quotes throughout, my favourite by keyboardist Blair Cowan, describing an encounter with goth gods The Sisters Of Mercy whilst recording Charlotte Street: 

“The [Sisters Of Mercy] were in the same studio 

and on a scorching summer afternoon 

we played them at tennis. 

We were in shorts, t-shirts and trainers 

and they wore Cuban heels, black drain pipes, 

black polo necks, black everything. 

They beat us.” 

In Pieces, Set Two

After a short break, Lloyd Cole returned to the stage at Komedia in Bath for his second acoustic set.

 

It began as the previous set had ended, with a song from the Rattlesnakes album. Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? was then followed by Brand New Friend, from Easy Pieces, which set the bar high for the rest of the performance.

 

Lloyd then introduced "a new(ish) song", explaining that

"it has two melodies in the chorus, I can only sing one of them, 

so what I’m going to do know is show you the other one 

so you know how it goes and, 

if you’re in the mood to sing it, 

that would be great, 

it’s kind of a fun line.” 

 

The song was The Idiot and the chorus goes like this

 

We’ll move to Berlin
Stop being drug addicts
We’ll cycle and swim
Stop being drug addicts

 

so you can guess which lines Lloyd wanted the audience to sing. And we did, with gusto.

 

Lloyd thanked us all at the end, noting "there’s a lot of Welsh people here, aren’t there?" and impishly suggesting that he had a policy of not playing gigs there so that the Welsh would be forced to travel elsewhere and lend their wonderful voices to the songs.

Lloyd's self-titled debut album gets another couple of songs in this set, with No Blue Skies and Undressed. The second Commotions album, Easy Pieces, was absent from the first half but gets four showings here, including the sublime Why I Love Country Music, which dovetails into a couple of 1990s songs, Butterfly and Traffic. 

Leading out of the latter, Lloyd admits that 

 

“There’s only so many chords and 

there’s only so many chord progressions out there."

 

Lloyd points out that Traffic has the same chord progressions as songs by George Harrison and Lou Reed, playing a few lines from the latter's Sad Song. “And if you can believe it, just one year before” before going into Satellite Of Love, "so I don’t feel so bad about repeating myself when I figured that out”

Needless to say, Lloyd's performance is anything but repetitious. Songs from The Commotions' final album Mainstream, 21st Century offerings Antidepressant and Standards, before a return to Easy Pieces and Rattlesnakes. 

Cut Me Down was an unexpected inclusion as I always felt that it was an underappreciated song (and single), though it really shines here. And what else to close the set but Perfect Skin? It's been a wonderful set and a great way to end the evening.

But there's more. I wouldn't reasonably have expected an encore yet, after a brief pause, Lloyd is back on stage, strapping on a guitar.

“So, I’ve got a couple of obscure album tracks from the mid-2000s for you here” he teases, before launching into Lost Weekend. 

“I hate that fucking piano solo," 

Lloyd opines as the song approaches the bridge. 

"I was in the studio every single day, 

except one, making that record, 

and that’s what they did.”

Of course, this version is wonderful but the best has been saved to last. The final song of the evening is Forest Fire which, even stripped down to the bare essentials, remains one the finest songs ever written, in my opinion. Lloyd does it justice here, and it's one of those performances that sends a shiver down the spine.

Coming back on stage for the encore, Lloyd admitted 

 

“That was…not easy. 

But we made it, 

and mainly thanks to your goodwill 

because, if it was a rotten audience I

 would not have made it through that night.

My hands hurt so much!”

The audience response was rapturous but it was a sobering moment that the two hours that Lloyd gave to us came at such great personal cost. There will be a time - and sadly, that may be soon - when Lloyd is no longer able to play the guitar. He does so so beautifully and whilst I would happily pay to see perform accapella or 'simply' as frontperson for a band, I'm guessing that he may decide to call time on performing live, full stop.

All the more reason then, to see him live in concert whilst you can. It was an incredible experience.

But don't just take my word for it. Whilst I was sitting in the stalls, guest contributor and roving gig reporter Mike was also in the audience, upstairs. Here are three takeaways from the gig:

 

"I'm hoping that off the back of these gigs punters go back and re-evaluate his post Commotions work - I thought songs such as Butterfly were particularly strong"

 

"[A] genius at work here. I feel for those of us who had our teenage years in the 80's he is our Lenny Cohen or Bobby Dylan.. I'm sure he wouldn't even compare himself to those two but he's our British cut price version of those two."

 

"[I] don't know how many more times he can tour like this or that we will see him in that type of setting so people should go out and see him whilst [they] still can..."

 

I couldn't agree more! Well, maybe not the British cut price Cohen/Dylan bit, though I know what Mike’s getting at. But you can judge for yourself.  

If you have been wondering about my perfect recall of Lloyd's anecdotes and between song banter, it's because fellow audience member Adstarra (seemingly standing by the wall right of the stage) filmed both sets and posted them on YouTube. If the comments above and yesterday aren't encouragement to go and check them out, then I don't know what is!

Again, I've recreated Lloyd's second set - and encores - into a seamless Dubhed selection for your further listening pleasure. As Mike said, go back and check out Lloyd's back catalogue too but don't overlook last year's On Pain, it's really, really good.

 

1) Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? (Demo) (1983)

2) Brand New Friend (Long Version) (1985)

3) The Idiot (2023)

4) No Blue Skies (Album Version) (1990)

5) Why I Love Country Music (Album Version) (1985)

6) Butterfly (Album Version) (1991)

7) Traffic (1995)

8) Jennifer She Said (Album Version) (1988)

9) Woman In A Bar (Album Version) (2006)

10) Myrtle And Rose (2013)

11) Undressed (Album Version) (1990)

12) Cut Me Down (Album Version) (1985)

13) Perfect Skin (Album Version) (1984)

14) Lost Weekend (Album Version) (1985)

15) Forest Fire (Extended Version) (1984)

In Pieces (Set 2) (55:44) (KF) (Mega)

 

 

 

Photo credits (both used to accompany gig reviews in Brighton):

1) Sara-Louise Bowrey for Brighton & Hove News

2) Siobhan (16 Beasley St Photography) for Breaking Glass.

In Pieces, Set One

Last Tuesday (10th), I dashed from work across three counties to see Lloyd Cole perform in Bath. Another musical hero from my misspent youth that I was seeing live in concert for the first time.

It's the second time this year that I've been to a gig at Komedia, after Ladyhawke in February. 

It's a lovely venue: a former theatre, repurposed as a cinema, then restored as a live venue, retaining some of the trappings of it's storied past, not least the lovely ceiling.

This couldn't have been a more different set up for a music event. Whereas Ladyhawke was designed for people to rock, with rows of synths, drums and mikes on stage, by contrast this was a fully seated show, with just two acoustic guitars, microphone, music stand and table.

Despite the image suggested by my hastily grabbed photo fronting this post, Lloyd didn't descend, dressed in white and aglow like some form of divine coming. Much more modest, he walked onto stage, deposited a bottle on the table, strapped on a guitar and played.

Starting off with Don't Look Back from 1990's debut solo album, Lloyd then made the first of several dives into The Commotions' back catalogue with Mr Malcontent. Beautiful playing, and a voice that seems richer with the passing of time, inevitably lived in but all the better for it. 

 

After playing Trigger Happy (from 1995), Lloyd shared, 

"That was my new prog folk version of that song, 

where I’m shifting from waltz to 4/4 

and I’m old and I don’t give a damn"

 

Yep, the between song anecdotes were every bit as entertaining as the music itself. Following with the title track of last year's On Pain, Lloyd introduced it as, 

"a recent song with almost exactly the same chords, 

which means exactly the same shapes, 

which means exactly the same pain"

 

Lloyd held up his left hand, as the audience's laughter faltered somewhat. I'd been unaware at first of the literal meaning in his current album title, that Lloyd experiences such pain in his fingers that getting through a gig is an excruciating experience and reaching the end is touch and go. 

As he played each song beautifully, there was a strange mixture of joy at what I was hearing and immense guilt that it seemed to be coming at such great cost to Lloyd. I'll come back to that.

I've been a fairweather friend to Lloyd, to be honest. I was obsessed with the first two Lloyd Cole & The Commotions albums, but didn't stick around for their swansong or the subsequent solo ventures, although I would pick up a single if I saw it in the bargain bins (an all-too frequent occurrence, sadly).

In 2003, a friend bought me Music In A Foreign Language as a birthday gift, the first time I'd heard new music from Lloyd Cole in years. I loved it, though I've still only managed the sporadic dip into his catalogue since, having a similar positive reaction to those few and far between purchases.

So, this 13-track set was an ideal primer, each one covering a different album and period of Lloyd's life. 

"In the mid 1980s, we were on TOTP a few times and…it was fantastic. 

It was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me, 

and…then we weren’t on. 

We went into the studio in 1987 because we were on tour and 

we weren’t around to film live, 

so we pre-recorded Jennifer She Said 

because it was going to enter the charts at a very high number. 

And it didn’t. 

It entered at a kind of medium high number, 

which was not enough and they didn’t show it.  

And that was the end of that period 

and I thought, well, it was lovely while it lasted. 

And any musician or any band who ever has any kind of success is incredibly lucky. 

And I thought, well, that was that part of my life. 

And then, a kind of annoying DJ started playing this song in the morning in 1995

and I was on again."

 

And we're treated to a lovely version of surprise hit, Like Lovers Do. 

"I had a bad hair year" Lloyd continues. 

"But I had the same haircut my whole life 

and I wanted to see what it would look like if it was different. 

And for a little while it was exciting because it was different. 

Unfortunately I got married with that haircut. 

I looked very stupid. 

My wife looks fantastic. 

Ten years or so later, I wrote this song."

 

And Lloyd leans into Tried To Rock, from his 2000 album with The Negatives.

 

Only one song is a cover, but what a pick: a lovely version of Can You Hear Me from David Bowie's Young Americans album. In an all-acoustic set, and despite Lloyd's self-deprecating comments that there is a lot of repetition due to the finite number of chords in the universe, each song has a nuance and a life of it's own, that transcends the studio versions. 

Another great example of this is Rattlesnakes, shorn of it's strings and uptempo rhythm section, it remains a stunningly brilliant song. Even more stunning that this was written when Lloyd was barely in his twenties. 

After the next song, Pay For It, Lloyd notes a change in the audience.

"Two down…

I think if you were my nemesis, 

a great strategy would be to buy seats in the front row 

and then walk out after Rattlesnakes. 

[cue audience laughter] 

That’s pretty good, pretty well played…

if that was the plan, that was well played. 

If, on the other hand, 

it’s because the bar is still open...

[Lloyd tilts head from side to side]

…I’m less impressed."

After about 45 minutes of playing, Lloyd wryly comments,

 

"You will have gathered by now that I am tonight’s opening act. 

I’ll play a few more songs 

and then I’ll retreat, 

and I’ll return 

and I will headline."

In fact, we get two more songs: My Other Life, from the aforementioned Music In A Foreign Language; finally, an achingly wonderful version of 2cv.

 

And then Lloyd takes off his guitar, places it carefully on the stage and exits the stage.

 

If the night had ended there and then, I would have felt that I had a wonderful night. But, there was another set to come. Could it possibly match this?

 

If I get my act together, you may well have the answer to this question tomorrow. 

 

If not, then Friday! 

 

1) Don't Look Back (Album Version) (1990)

2) Mr Malcontent (1987)

3) Trigger Happy (Album Version) (1995) 

4) On Pain (2023)

5) Why In The World? (2010)

6) Can You Hear Me (Live @ Bremen Teater, Copenhagen) (Cover of David Bowie) (2024)

7) Rattlesnakes (Album Version) (1984)

8) Pay For It (Album Version) (1991)

9) The Afterlife (2019)

10) Like Lovers Do (Stephen Street Mix) (1996)

11) Tried To Rock (2000)

12) My Other Life (Album Version) (2003)

13) 2cv (Live @ KEXP, Seattle) (2015)

 

1984: Rattlesnakes: 7

1987: Mainstream: 2

1990: Lloyd Cole: 1 

1991: Don't Get Weird On Me, Babe: 8

1995: Love Story: 3

1996: Baby EP: 10 

2000: The Negatives: 11

2003: Music In A Foreign Language: 12

2010: Broken Record: 5 

2015: Live @ KEXP, Seattle, 3rd February 2015  (bootleg): 13

2019: Guesswork: 9

2023: On Pain: 4

2024: Live @ Bremen Teater, Copenhagen, Denmark, 22nd January 2024 (bootleg): 6

In Pieces (Set 1) (49:12) (KF) (Mega)

Note: I've recreated Lloyd's opening set mostly from album versions, one single remix and a lovely version of 2cv from a KEXP he did nearly a decade ago. To the best of my knowledge, Lloyd has never recorded his David Bowie cover version in a studio so I've grabbed a good quality bootleg recording of a live performance in Denmark earlier this year.

Return To The Valley Of Kissing The Mix

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 21st April 2000. It's back to the 80s indie-not-indie disco time with another eight twelve inch hits and misses. 

Starting off with Prefab Sprout and Paddy McAloon's love song to the Big Apple. A wonderful song, Hey Manhattan! had the thankless task of being the follow up single to The King Of Rock 'n' Roll, their first (and only) Top 10 hit in the UK, reaching #7. Hey Manhattan! also had a '7' in it's highest chart placing. Unfortunately, that '7' was #72. It deserved better.

 

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions fared better, reaching #17 with Lost Weekend, two places higher than previous single Brand New Friend and, it turns out, Lloyd's biggest UK single success, with or without The Commotions.

Howard Devoto followed up Magazine and a solo album with Luxuria, a partnership with Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko. After two albums and a handful of singles, the pair worked again, Devoto writing lyrics for songs on Apollo 440's debut album and Noko later joining the reformed Magazine in 2009. The 12" of Redneck was a beautiful thing, the vinyl single housed in an embossed brown cardboard sleeve. 

I really liked China Crisis' first album but didn't get any of the follow ups until well into the 21st century. I did go back and buy the 12" singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hanna Hanna wasn't a particular favourite as a single, but the extended mix won me over. It's only when I looked up the lyrics and listened more closely to the song that Gary Daly snuck in the F-bomb with the verse,

 

"We're living on a catwalk, catwalk
And swimming with the sharks
Biting into poison, poison
In a city all full of fucking sharks"

 

Naughty Gary, wash your mouth out with soap. If you're quick, you can catch up with the rather wonderful Imaginary Compilation Album of ten China Crisis gems over at The Vinyl Villain. So good that Martin, who collated the collection, didn't even need to include this song. 

 

By 1984, Wang Chung (formerly Huang Chung) were a core duo of Jack Hues and Nick Feldman and were enjoying greater success on the other side of the pond. Wait was taken from the soundtrack to the film To Live And Die In L.A., starring William Peterson and Willem Dafoe. Depending on which 12" single you bought, the 12" version featured here was variously known as Wait (Special U.K. Remix), Wait (Extended Dance Remix) or just plain Wait (Remix).  

 

If, like me, you knew Kissing The Pink for their 1983 UK Top 20 pop noir single The Last Film, their return as SAW-affiliated pure popsters was a bit of a surprise. Thankfully, no sign of Stock, Aitken or Waterman on the mix here and Phil Harding did have form remixing the likes of Nitzer Ebb and Depeche Mode. Personally, I enjoyed the run of singles from this period, but neither this musical volte face or a rebranding as KTP changed their chart fortunes in the UK. We're an unforgiving lot who dislike change, I guess...!

 

I'll put it straight out there: if you want to hear the definitive version of Bedbugs And Ballyhoo by Echo & The Bunnymen, then head straight to the B-side of Bring On The Dancing Horses. They re-recorded the song with The Doors' Ray Manzarek at the controls and keyboard. It's good but it's a bit like gilding the lily in my opinion. Being a sucker for an extended remix however, when I was on a family holiday in Florida in 1988 and snuck off to find a record shop, my haul included this 5-track 12" single. Ivan Ivan's a fairly safe pair of hands and he does a fairly decent job on this.

In the week that Depeche Mode announce their return with a new single, Ghosts Again, See You is a nice reminder of their melancholic pop days. The video, directed by Julien Temple, is a pretty cute narrative and a reminder of how much of a social focal point the humble photo booth was. My own photo booth collection, though with several losses and gaps over the years, tracks an intriguing narrative of friends, girlfriends and a variety of frankly ill-advised hairstyles. The video is also interesting in that Alan Wilder had clearly come on board slightly too late to be included in the full video. So, it's mostly Gahan, Gore and Fletcher, with a few blink-and-you'll-miss-them cuts to Wilder in a completely different room!

Happy Friday, everyone. 

1) Hey Manhattan! (JFK Version By Tony Phillips): Prefab Sprout (1988)

2) Lost Weekend (Extended Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley): Lloyd Cole & The Commotions (1985)

3) Redneck (Album Version By Gavin MacKillop, Howard Devoto & Noko): Luxuria (1988)

4) Hanna Hanna (Extended Mix By Mike Howlett): China Crisis (1984)

5) Wait (Special U.K. Remix By Stephen Lipson): Wang Chung (1984)

6) Never Too Late To Love You (Kissing The Mix By Mixmaster Phil Harding): Kissing The Pink (1986)

7) Bedbugs And Ballyhoo (Club Remix By Ivan Ivan): Echo & The Bunnymen ft. Ray Manzarek (1988)

8) See You (Extended Version By Daniel Miller & Depeche Mode): Depeche Mode (1982)

 

Side One (46:19) (GD) (M) 

Side Two here