ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN – Crocodiles

"Some babies are born with a full head of hair, and some bands emerge fully formed on their first album. It’s rare, but it does happen sometimes. Case in point, Crocodiles. This album is a complete realization of the Echo & The Bunnymen sound: the driving rhythms, punkadelic guitars and Ian’s harrowing voice atop it all. The Cure and The Psychedelic Furs both sacrificed at least one album to the dying gods of punk. The Bunnymen appear to have contained their sacrifice to a single song, “Simple Stuff,” which appeared as the B side to “Rescue” and sounds uncannily like Iggy Pop. Over time, McCulloch’s charismatic and commanding presence would draw frequent comparisons to Jim Morrison, but other American bands such as The Stooges, Television and Talking Heads seem to have been as much of an influence in the early going. Anyway, those influences were quickly assimilated and sublimated into the gloomy, post-psychedelic world of Crocodiles. And this really is its own world, arriving as i