Search - Kid Creole & the Coconuts :: I Too Have Seen the Woods

A welcome re-issue...

Paul Edwards | Brighton, UK | 09/13/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was still at school back in 1982 when I first heard of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. The singles "I'm a wonderful thing, baby", "Stool Pigeon" & "Annie, i'm not your daddy" blew me away so much I was immediately a fan. I thought they were original, different and absolutely brilliant.

Why only 3 stars? well, it has to be said that this album, originally from 1987, is not the best August Darnell has created and after repeated listens, time has not really improved it much. The 3 great tracks (only in my opinion of course), "Dancin' at the Bains Douches", "Part of my design" & "Call it a day", have already been made available on a best of CD "Redux", released in the early 90's. Unfortunately the rest (including two tracks that only run for 2 about minutes) isn't that special.



The kid has been very prolific over the years (similar to Prince), releasing many albums which do vary in quality (again, like Prince). 1995's "Kiss me before the light changes" & 1997's "The conquest of you" being the the most strongest of recent years, indeed "The conquest of you" is one of his very best, yet ironically, this was an album Darnell had the least involvement in with regards to writing and producing.



Back to "I, too, have seen the woods". The sound quality is still good in a mid-80's sort of way. Thankfully there has been no re-mastering so the original master tapes have not been messed around with. This album is very much a collectable for Darnell enthusiasts and, although not all the songs are particularly strong, is still a welcome addition to any Kid Creole collection.



It's 2005 now, i'm 37 years old and still a fan.





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