Julian Cope at his peak
Lisa | Pennsylvania | 03/31/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I think that Julian made a CD that is accessible to the people, has great messages and is not one of his works that are for the strict Julian Cope following. A lot of his work is pretty far out and you really have to get him and his thing and his political rants, but this is just music that speaks and is also great to listen to."
Great musical depth
Pieter | Johannesburg | 12/24/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Peggy Suicide is an album of incredible variety and scope, especially the rhythmic textures & the impressive array of guitars. The arrangements are innovative and the music melodious. The opener Pristeen is a tuneful ballad with extraordinary guitar sounds, followed by Double Vegetation, a brooding number with nervous rhythms. The tender Promised Land starts out as a folkie rumination, turning into a rock ballad as the guitars enter for a powerful build-up.
The uptempo rock song Hanging Out & Hung up on the Line is reprised later in the atmospheric Hung up & Hanging out to Dry with its long instrumental introduction. There are two anti-road songs, the funky East Easy Rider and Drive, She Said, a mid-tempo rock ballad with lovely vocal arrangements. Julian sure didn't like the road. Safesurfer opens with tormented guitars and in its tempo shifts display lovely mini-moog & piano.
The percussive If You Loved Me At All is a catchy track with symphonic keyboards, massed acoustic guitars later joined by electric ones, and considerably less gravitas than the others. There are two songs that explore overt psychological themes, the jittery track You with its unusual baritone sax and the appealingly melodic Head, whilst the buoyant Beautiful Love is spiritual & uplifting with its joyful trumpet. The American Lite, a stirring love song, and Las Vegas Basement are tender ballads with beautiful melodies.
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