Best 4 Song Introduction to EATB

[YoYoMan]

I'm going to a Bunnymen concert with someone who only knows The Killing Moon. As great as the Bunmymen are, a song at the level of The Killing Moon is not going to be "representative" of any band. Furthermore, the Bunnymen's older catalog is particularly diverse. You love The Killing Moon, you might be surprised when you pop in Heaven Up Here or Porcupine.

Anyway, I was hoping for some recommendations on a 4 song intro to the Bunnymen for my friend. Here's where I am right now:

1) I Want to be There (When You Come) - I picked this song, cuz it was actually the first song that got me into the Bunnymen. I'm probably one of the few people on here who got into the Bunnymen from Evergreen. I loved that album! In fact, I was disappointed when I first heard the early stuff, b/c it sounded so different from Evergreen. Love it now of course.

2) A Promise - this is right up there as a strong candidate for my favorite song of all time - as is #3. I always say The Killing Moon is possibly the BEST song of all time, but A Promise and Clay are each possibly my FAVORITE song of all time.

3) Clay - like I said, it's right up there with A Promise, but they aren't necessarily cut from the same cloth. They each are unique. When I heard Clay in a record store in 1998, it, along with the rest of Porcupine, blew me away. Sounded totally original in 1998. Sounds totally original in 2016.

4) My Kingdom - I wanted to grab a song off Ocean Rain other than The Killing Moon, but there's not really an obvious choice. IMO, The Killing Moon is clearly the best song on the album, but there isn't an obvious one out of the rest. They're all good, but maybe not in a one-off listen like a single - more like a quality listen as an album. I am really open to suggestions here.

I didn't put a song from Crocodiles on here. I like Crocodiles of course, but I don't know if it has the bells and whistles to catch the attention of people as an intro to the Bunnymen. To me HUH, Porcupine, and Ocean Rain still sound super fresh. Crocodiles has great songs, but not as attention getting stylistically. If I was going to pick a Crocodiles song, it would be Going Up probably.

Anyway, what are your thoughts?!!!!

[In The Margins]

Do It Clean
Over The Wall
The Cutter
Ocean Rain

or

All That Jazz
With A Hip
The Back of Love
The Killing Moon

or
All of Crocodiles
All of Heaven Up Here
All of Porcupine
All of Ocean Rain

[YoYoMan]

Do It Clean
Over The Wall
The Cutter
Ocean Rain

or

All That Jazz
With A Hip
The Back of Love
The Killing Moon

or
All of Crocodiles
All of Heaven Up Here
All of Porcupine
All of Ocean Rain

Can't argue with any of those - esp. the last one! Haha!!!

I esp. like The Cutter and Back of Love suggestions. If I wasn't limiting it to 4 songs, I'd consider throwing most of Porcupine on a playlist with the other 3 songs. For me personally, that was definitely the most immediate. Absolutely blew me away on first listen - and I had not purchased any of their old stuff at that point. Nothing subtle about it. Still sounds completely original, unique, and fresh today. Maybe my music tastes have not been broad enough, but it almost sounds experimental yet catchy at the same time. Yet, I never hear a lot of praise for it, so I don't know if I exaggerate it or what.

I have missed out on Do It Clean from the jump. It appears to be an iconic staple of the band, but it just has never been interesting to me - as sacrilegious as that is. Wish I knew what I was missing. Haha

[YoYoMan]

Do It Clean
Over The Wall
The Cutter
Ocean Rain

or

All That Jazz
With A Hip
The Back of Love
The Killing Moon

or
All of Crocodiles
All of Heaven Up Here
All of Porcupine
All of Ocean Rain

Sorry I missed With A Hip when I first replied to your recommendations. That was actually neck and neck with A Promise. As varied as the Bunnymen's music is, it's hard to pinpoint one song as "representative" of the band. But for some reason, I often think of that song first when I think of the band. I think they have better songs - A Promise being one of them - but With A Hip really seems like a good introduction to me. Now, you have me rethinking picking A Promise over With A Hip............haha

So silly I put so much thought into picking songs to introduce people to bands when all the feedback I ever get is "Sound OK."

[howmanytimes]

If you are trying to prepare your friend for an EATB concert, I think it would be wise to choose from songs that are likely to be played there.

My suggestion will be:
Over The Wall
Rescue
Seven Seas
Nothing Lasts Forever

I mean that as a representative selection of what to expect at a concert nowadays, and not too radical to frighten away an uninitiated person. It’s not meant to be viewed as the best from the band, or my personal favourites.

Though, 4 songs is certainly not enough, and if the first few tracks don’t turn your friend away, by all means, encourage him/her to listen to complete first 4 albums, and then to proceed to later stuff if he/she wishes.

I’m a new fan myself, I’ve only started to take interest in EATB about a year ago. The first song that made me go wow was Rust, but it’s more of a stand-alone rather than a representative song.
I’ve been to my first and, so far, only EATB concert last December. At this stage I was familiar with most the band’s hits from some The Best Of… compilation, so there were more than 50% songs I recognized. Over The Wall came as a wonderful discovery and was one of the concert’s main highlights for me. After the concert I dived into the band’s music catalogue, starting with original albums and proceeding to later stuff in a haphazard way. Crocodiles were easy for me to take in and enjoy immediately. HUH, Porcupine and even Ocean Rain took dozens of listenings to sink in, but maybe it’s just my perception. I enjoy after-the-reunion albums as well, but don’t want to antagonize proper long-time fans with my praise of Flowers and even the Fountain...

[YoYoMan]

If you are trying to prepare your friend for an EATB concert, I think it would be wise to choose from songs that are likely to be played there.

My suggestion will be:
Over The Wall
Rescue
Seven Seas
Nothing Lasts Forever

I mean that as a representative selection of what to expect at a concert nowadays, and not too radical to frighten away an uninitiated person. It’s not meant to be viewed as the best from the band, or my personal favourites.

Though, 4 songs is certainly not enough, and if the first few tracks don’t turn your friend away, by all means, encourage him/her to listen to complete first 4 albums, and then to proceed to later stuff if he/she wishes.

I’m a new fan myself, I’ve only started to take interest in EATB about a year ago. The first song that made me go wow was Rust, but it’s more of a stand-alone rather than a representative song.
I’ve been to my first and, so far, only EATB concert last December. At this stage I was familiar with most the band’s hits from some The Best Of… compilation, so there were more than 50% songs I recognized. Over The Wall came as a wonderful discovery and was one of the concert’s main highlights for me. After the concert I dived into the band’s music catalogue, starting with original albums and proceeding to later stuff in a haphazard way. Crocodiles were easy for me to take in and enjoy immediately. HUH, Porcupine and even Ocean Rain took dozens of listenings to sink in, but maybe it’s just my perception. I enjoy after-the-reunion albums as well, but don’t want to antagonize proper long-time fans with my praise of Flowers and even the Fountain...

That's a good angle - picking songs that are likely to be in the concert..........but I'm too self-centered to not pick songs that are sp. meaningful to me. Haha Those are still good picks though.

Since you also got into their stuff after their reunion, question for you - did you not also notice the band sounded totally different in the 80's? I found it crazy how different their 80's stuff sounded from Evergreen - and their stuff after. If one was to get into the Stone Roses through this last single of theirs, I don't think they'd be shocked by what they sounded like in 89. Consider they had 21 years between albums, and EATB only had 10. What did you think?

[YoYoMan]

If you are trying to prepare your friend for an EATB concert, I think it would be wise to choose from songs that are likely to be played there.

My suggestion will be:
Over The Wall
Rescue
Seven Seas
Nothing Lasts Forever

I mean that as a representative selection of what to expect at a concert nowadays, and not too radical to frighten away an uninitiated person. It’s not meant to be viewed as the best from the band, or my personal favourites.

Though, 4 songs is certainly not enough, and if the first few tracks don’t turn your friend away, by all means, encourage him/her to listen to complete first 4 albums, and then to proceed to later stuff if he/she wishes.

I’m a new fan myself, I’ve only started to take interest in EATB about a year ago. The first song that made me go wow was Rust, but it’s more of a stand-alone rather than a representative song.
I’ve been to my first and, so far, only EATB concert last December. At this stage I was familiar with most the band’s hits from some The Best Of… compilation, so there were more than 50% songs I recognized. Over The Wall came as a wonderful discovery and was one of the concert’s main highlights for me. After the concert I dived into the band’s music catalogue, starting with original albums and proceeding to later stuff in a haphazard way. Crocodiles were easy for me to take in and enjoy immediately. HUH, Porcupine and even Ocean Rain took dozens of listenings to sink in, but maybe it’s just my perception. I enjoy after-the-reunion albums as well, but don’t want to antagonize proper long-time fans with my praise of Flowers and even the Fountain...

That's a good angle - picking songs that are likely to be in the concert..........but I'm too self-centered to not pick songs that are esp. meaningful to me. Haha Those are still good picks though.

Since you also got into their stuff after their reunion, question for you - did you not also notice the band sounded totally different in the 80's? I found it crazy how different their 80's stuff sounded from Evergreen - and their stuff after. If one was to get into the Stone Roses through this last single of theirs, I don't think they'd be shocked by what they sounded like in 89. Consider they had 21 years between albums, and EATB only had 10. What did you think?

[fat cherry]

That's a good angle - picking songs that are likely to be in the concert..........but I'm too self-centered to not pick songs that are esp. meaningful to me. Haha Those are still good picks though.

I've kind of tried this when doing the odd party playlist and failed every time. I always thought bring on the dancing horses was both a great song and accessible and slipped it inbetween a coupl eof 80s classic, but its always managed to clear the floor or sent some scallywag straigh to the fast forward button. Good luck!!

[King Of Kings]

Here are the Bunnymen set List Statistics

http://www.setlist.fm/stats/echo-and-th ... 6b231.html

This What they will play

Or just play Songs to sing and learn parts one an two, to your friend

[In The Margins]

I have missed out on Do It Clean from the jump. It appears to be an iconic staple of the band, but it just has never been interesting to me - as sacrilegious as that is. Wish I knew what I was missing. Haha

Track down the version from this release:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_of_Echo

In my opinion, it's the definite live (recorded) version of Do It Clean. If you still don't like the song after hearing it, then....

Also, the intro is a tribute to The Stooges' Loose. So that's cool.

If you want a general intro to the band, you could stick with STLAS, the 1985 release.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_to_Learn_%26_Sing

[YoYoMan]

Here are the Bunnymen set List Statistics

http://www.setlist.fm/stats/echo-and-th ... 6b231.html

This What they will play

Or just play Songs to sing and learn parts one an two, to your friend

The 2015-2016 set lists look pretty dang good - and representative. Should be an awesome show. I read on here where a poster wished they played more of their new stuff. I get that if you've already seen them a million times. As someone who hasn't (I feel guilty), I'm really glad they still play that old stuff. Just so many classics. Absolute classics.

That said, even though I agree with the validity of the approach where you pick from what is likely to be played..............I feel like if I'm presenting this band to a friend as one of my all time faves, I need to show them why they are MY all time fave. So, here are my determining factors - unless someone here can talk me out of it in the next 24 hours - 1) I'm going non-single. It says something when an album track impresses you on first listen. 2) I'm not picking their absolute best or my absolute favorite. Killing Moon (which they have already heard) is a top classic to anybody - Bunnyman fan or not. Problem is they are going to be disappointed if they pop in an album and don't hear 10 of those. 3) I think looking for a "representative" track is almost a lost cause, b/c their albums are just too diverse. BUT - I think I can try to capture their spirit.

Since ppl - esp. this person - doesn't have the attention span for 4 songs, I'm shortening it to 2:

1) I Want to Be There (When You Come) - it might not be on par with early classics, but it is how they sound today. Mac does not sound like 80's Mac. Plus, it is the song where I first took note.

2) With a Hip - In a stunner - that other poster reminded of this one in their listing, and I think it really sums up what I think of the spirit of the Bunnymen. I feel every band member is at their best on this one. When I think Bunnymen, for some reason, that's the first song that pops in my head, so I'm using that as my guide.

My only disappointment is that I'm not fitting any Porcupine on there, b/c that one really blew me away on the very first listen when the other classic albums did not. So, I'm going to tell him to check out that album next if he wants.

You all were already a big help - With a Hip came from your suggestion. So, I'm still open to any opinions before I send it over in about a day.

Thanks!

[YoYoMan]

Here are the Bunnymen set List Statistics

http://www.setlist.fm/stats/echo-and-th ... 6b231.html

This What they will play

Or just play Songs to sing and learn parts one an two, to your friend

The 2015-2016 set lists look pretty dang good - and representative. Should be an awesome show. I read on here where a poster wished they played more of their new stuff. I get that if you've already seen them a million times. As someone who hasn't (I feel guilty), I'm really glad they still play that old stuff. Just so many classics. Absolute classics.

That said, even though I agree with the validity of the approach where you pick from what is likely to be played..............I feel like if I'm presenting this band to a friend as one of my all time faves, I need to show them why they are MY all time fave. So, here are my determining factors - unless someone here can talk me out of it in the next 24 hours - 1) I'm going non-single. It says something when an album track impresses you on first listen. 2) I'm not picking their absolute best or my absolute favorite. Killing Moon (which they have already heard) is a top classic to anybody - Bunnyman fan or not. Problem is they are going to be disappointed if they pop in an album and don't hear 10 of those. 3) I think looking for a "representative" track is almost a lost cause, b/c their albums are just too diverse. BUT - I think I can try to capture their spirit.

Since ppl - esp. this person - doesn't have the attention span for 4 songs, I'm shortening it to 2:

1) I Want to Be There (When You Come) - it might not be on par with early classics, but it is how they sound today. Mac does not sound like 80's Mac. Plus, it is the song where I first took note.

2) With a Hip - In a stunner - that other poster reminded of this one in their listing, and I think it really sums up what I think of the spirit of the Bunnymen. I feel every band member is at their best on this one. When I think Bunnymen, for some reason, that's the first song that pops in my head, so I'm using that as my guide.

My only disappointment is that I'm not fitting any Porcupine on there, b/c that one really blew me away on the very first listen when the other classic albums did not. So, I'm going to tell him to check out that album next if he wants.

You all were already a big help - With a Hip came from your suggestion. So, I'm still open to any opinions before I send it over in about a day.

Thanks!

[Mr. Brian]

Mac pretty much changed his style of singing after they broke up. He got away from the snarl and operatic bellowing (which I loved) to a more standard singer.
For the most part.
Also without Pete and Les the whole songwriting process changed from band oriented to Mac solo songs and Will riding shotgun and adding his parts.
For the most part.

If you want your friend to be ready for a live show, then as others have said, get one of the various greatest hits albums. As for 4 songs, you are most certainly going to hear these live:

Rescue
The Cutter
The Killing Moon
Lips Like Sugar

[YoYoMan]

Mac pretty much changed his style of singing after they broke up. He got away from the snarl and operatic bellowing (which I loved) to a more standard singer.
For the most part.
Also without Pete and Les the whole songwriting process changed from band oriented to Mac solo songs and Will riding shotgun and adding his parts.
For the most part.

If you want your friend to be ready for a live show, then as others have said, get one of the various greatest hits albums. As for 4 songs, you are most certainly going to hear these live:

Rescue
The Cutter
The Killing Moon
Lips Like Sugar

Yeah, it's weird. 80's Mac was pretty damn unique. I naturally like the deep, resonant, less animated male voices (Jim Reid is my favorite singer), so I really loved Mac's voice on Evergreen. Actually, I hadn't even discovered JAMC yet, so Evergreen Mac was my favorite singer at the time. But the whole package of the 80's Bunnymen was top notch, so I wouldn't change a thing back then.

You are dead right that the songwriting is different now. I think Mac's a good songwriter, but it's totally different than before. I find it funny that every album review Evergreen & later finds similarities to their classic albums. I don't. But I guess if Belle & Sebastian started doing rap metal, ppl would still see similarities to their early stuff. haha!

There's no freaking reasoning to how I finally picked the songs, even if I try to rationalize it. But here's what I gave them. They were enthusiastic getting the recommendations, but I haven't heard back yet

1) I Want To Be There (When You Come)

2) With A Hip

3) The Cutter

I will say No Dark Things made a late push, but With A Hip held out.

They already know Killing Moon, but that's it.

[YoYoMan]

Oh yeah, I also think smoking affected Mac's voice quite a bit. You can really hear it actually. Even when he wasn't going all opera, his 80's voice sounds a lot different from Evergreen and later. Like I said, I like it though. Even now, I think Mac has one of the best voices period. I think Sinatra and all them smoked too after all.