Chuchu Reviews #16: Alabama 3, Julian Cope, Shed Seven & The Undertones

Chuchu reviews, rates and ranks Cold War Classics Vol.2 by Alabama 3, World Shut Your Mouth by Julian Cope, A Matter of Time by Shed Seven & The Undertones by The Undertones.

[@ste.6026]

04… Alabama 3 - Before The Ship Came In, California Got You Stoned, Thank You, The Road Goes On Forever… Would never have guessed they were from the UK… Plenty of elements that I like, some Tom Waits and latter Dylan vibes too... A really good album, shame it had to be last... 4*
03… Shed 7 - A Matter Of Time (2023)… Let’s Go, Talk of the Town, Tripping With You, Real Love, F:K:H, Starlings, Ring The Changes… 30 years on and still producing the goods… 4*
02… The Undertones - The Undertones (1979)… Girls Don't Like It, I Gotta Getta, Jimmy Jimmy, Here Comes The Summer, Family Entertainment, Billy’s Third… The Undertones were one of my favourite bands as young teen in the late 70’s and I pretty much like most of what I have heard by them… The debut album would get an update a few years later by adding two singles ‘Get Over You’ & ‘Teenage Kicks’… I do not understand why they were not included originally, both songs are amongst my all timers… 4.25* …
01… Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth (1984)… Bandy's First Jump, Kolly Kibber's Birthday, Strasbourg, An Elegant Chaos, Quizmaster, Head Hang Low, The Greatness And Perfection Of Love, Lunatic and Fire Pistol… Mr. Cope has been on hiatus in relation to my playlists for about fifteen years now… Julian is well known for being eccentric and this shows with his output both with and without the Teardrop Explodes (79-83)… The Teardrop Explodes have some of my favourite songs of the early 80’s: ‘Reward’, Treason’, ‘When I Dream’, ‘Ha Ha I'm Drowning’, ‘You Disappear From View’, ‘Bouncing Babies’, ‘Passionate Friend & Tiny Children just to name a few … I’m mostly only of aware Julian’s earlier solo work up until his ‘96 ‘Interpreter’ album, Julian’s highs are up there with any of my favourite bands and artists… The few bits that I’ve caught after ‘Interpreter’ have been decent but I never delved further… ‘World Shut Your Mouth’ is possibly his most pop orientated effort and I like everything on it… Cope was part of the short lived band the Crucial Three; the members being:- Cope (The Teardrop Explodes) - bass, Ian McCulloch (Bunnymen) - vocals & Pete Wylie (Wah!) - guitar, they lasted for several weeks during 1977, I don’t believe they got past the rehearsal stage … ‘World Shut Your Mouth’ is probably my favourite album by Julian but it is not considered his best, ‘Fried’ 1984, ‘Saint Julian’ 1987 & ‘Peggy Suicide 1991 are always the albums that seem to get the nod… If you like this album by Julian Cope then at least check out the Teardrop Explodes - Kilimanjaro album; his solo back catalogue is pretty Stellar and I don’t believe you will be disappointed at all… As much as I like the Teardrop Explodes, I’m glad that Cope didn’t go with any brass instrumentation, opting for instruments such as organ, oboe and Cor Anglais to embellish his sound… "Pussyface'’ is a skipper for me too but not bad enough to reduce my score… 5*... He's been on a long break but Copey is very much back on my agenda...
Considerations… Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour Of Bewilderbeast (2000)… or Close Lobsters - Foxheads Stalk This Land … (1987)

[@TaylTube]

Nice! Solid ranking from a genre that's not usually your cup of tea! 👍 (Funny that the 3 songs you mentioned that didn't make as much of an impression get stuck in my head just as much as the others, but it's that kind of album for me... 🎶 "Maybe I could meet you / In North Korea / We could have a beer or two..." 🎶 Haha... :)
Been a very distracting couple weeks & I need to spend more time with the other records - but from what I've heard, I liked all three - I'll try to report back here with "results" soon!
As far as considerations for "next" time, I'd like to offer a choice: either Stone Temple Pilots' No. 4 or their self-titled 2010 album (with the ornate peace sign ✌ on the cover)
Peace out!

[@Gibbon56z]

Perhaps I need to spend more time with Alabama 3 but I did like it. Shed Seven was good also. The Undertones was my choice but the Julian Cope album is the one that wins, what a breath of fresh air The Teardrop Explodes were at the end of the seventies. Not aware of much by Julian since and was amazed that the single “World Shut Your Mouth” was not on this lp but on his “Saint Julian” lp a couple of years later, it was the only song that I remember of his. Liked this album a lot. For next time my choice is Costello Music - The Fratellis from 2006

[@garygillam8226]

Good reviews as usual. None of these really grabbed my attention though. Still worth checking out at least.
I’d love to recommend WEEN’s excellent album Chocolate and Cheese .. these genre benders are at their absolute best with this album . You might enjoy it’s quirkyness. They are brilliant song writers. I can’t help smiling at their sad love song ‘ Baby Bitch ‘

[@tokyochuchu]

I would love to get that WEEN record on the show, but sadly it's not available on either Spotify or Apple music, which is kind of a requisite for inclusion. Sorry about that. 😓

[@garygillam8226]

@@tokyochuchu Are you sure. I just checked Spotify and Chocolate and Cheese is definitely available here on Spotify in Australia

[@tokyochuchu]

@@garygillam8226 Yeah... I'm sure. For whatever reason it's not available on streaming here in Japan. There are lots of other WEEN records available; God Ween Satan, The Pod, Pure Guava, The Mollusk, White Pepper... Etc. But not Chocolate and Cheese. Couldn't tell you why not. 🥵