Sorry to be boring but it's got to be 'Treasure' - particularly for the beauty that is 'Lorelei'.
This was my introduction to CT.
They were so damned moving - it must have been the lyrics, eh?
Thinking about it, their albums were so varied - it's a very tricky one. Bimble is quite correct about BBK - i played it to death back then but probably haven't span it for 15 years. It's in with all that stupid vinyl that ruins all house moves and has therefore been sentenced to a life sentence in the loft. A real injustice.
― Fer Ark, Sunday, 30 March 2008 10:39 (sixteen years ago) link
Heaven or Las Veygaauuuuuusss
― sonderangerbot, Sunday, 30 March 2008 10:52 (sixteen years ago) link
x- post the title track is a CT top five moment in my book
― Fer Ark, Sunday, 30 March 2008 11:02 (sixteen years ago) link
Treasure certified their signature aesthetic and is a fine album on its own merits, but HOLV is a flat out masterpiece from start to finish. I should also rep a bit for Four Calendar Cafe, which is way too underrated. Evangeline, at least, stands up to anything else they've done.
― Pillbox, Sunday, 30 March 2008 11:06 (sixteen years ago) link
Ultimately, though, I think a rating of the Cocteaus' discog would be better served by a singles poll.
― Pillbox, Sunday, 30 March 2008 11:08 (sixteen years ago) link
HOLV!
― cutty, Sunday, 30 March 2008 11:38 (sixteen years ago) link
love this band
ATTENTION ILM, THE CORRECT ANSWER IS VICTORIALAND
PLEASE, NO UNSEEMLY ARGUING OR DISAGREEING. THE CORRECT ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS VICTORIALAND. PLEASE VOTE ACCORDINGLY, KTHX, YOUR FRIEND, J0HN D.
― J0hn D., Sunday, 30 March 2008 14:21 (sixteen years ago) link
this is either treasure or heaven or las vegas. I know heaven or las vegas was their "pop" sellout album and there's even a song on there that rhytmically sounds like a phil collins solo ballad, but fuck me if I can't listen to that album any hour any day of my life and love it completely.
― akm, Sunday, 30 March 2008 14:23 (sixteen years ago) link
The Lullabies To Violaine discs don't count? I'd vote for them.
― Daniel, Esq., Sunday, 30 March 2008 14:26 (sixteen years ago) link
Maybe I should have gone with Treasure after all... the closer ohmygod wow
― sonderangerbot, Sunday, 30 March 2008 14:30 (sixteen years ago) link
I would normally go with Victorialand, but Head Over Heels comes really close and I might just vote for it cause I'm afraid noone else will.
― LeRooLeRoo, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:08 (sixteen years ago) link
Moon and Melodies > Victorialand at 45rpm > Victorialand at 33rpm > Heaven or Lost Wages > Adventures in Gothland > The Coffee Table Years
― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 30 March 2008 16:14 (sixteen years ago) link
Victorialand.
― pisces, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:56 (sixteen years ago) link
Uh, I think we did this before.
I'm not sure how to choose between Treasure and Victorialand, so I'll go for Head Over Heels, which is more of a time machine for me anyway.
― Brad C., Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:21 (sixteen years ago) link
i listen to head over heels way more than any of the other albums (excepting maybe the pink opaque)
― impudent harlot, Sunday, 30 March 2008 18:36 (sixteen years ago) link
Glad to see I'm not the only one who played Victorialand at 33 by mistake (at first).
Feel a little guilty about voting for that over Treasure or Heaven, since it's not their usual sound, but "Lazy Calm" defines beauty.
― Hideous Lump, Monday, 31 March 2008 01:46 (sixteen years ago) link
Ha! I thought the same thing when Noodle posted that - "hey wasn't Victorialand on vinyl at 45???" and then I was like "no my memory must be playing tricks on me!" So it was, wasn't it?
Also -
The Coffee Table Years
LOL!
― Bimble, Monday, 31 March 2008 01:52 (sixteen years ago) link
hed ovur healz
― Creeztophair, Monday, 31 March 2008 02:04 (sixteen years ago) link
Blue Bell Knoll is still my fave.
I remember first hearing it on an advance cassette while driving, initially thinking that the opening/title track was too shiny, smooth, keyboardy, relaxed (= too ordinary). needn't have worried though, because I soon realised it's their most consistent album, with many personal faves - would have to single out "Cico Buff", "Itchy Glowbo Blow" and "A Kissed Out Red Floatboat". and unlike most of their other LPs there's not any song that I find particularly weak/lacking.
true, Blue Bell Knoll is not their most expressive album. nor the darkest (it's quite happy in tone). much of the charm comes from the unfettered giddy freedom - Liz's vocals are perfect, clear, soaring. Robin's guitars, production and riffs are at their most spectacularly kick-ass, confident. the drum programming is easily their best - the exhilarating momentum of the tunes makes most other Cocteau Twins albums seem dirgy by comparison. even slower, floaty tunes like "Cico" & "Kissed Out" are buoyed by the perfect rhythms/space.
the melodies and harmonies are among the most dazzling and memorable in their catalogue and the arrangements are at times positively vertiginous. it's their BIGGEST sounding album. the best recommendation I could make for it is LUXURIATE IN SOUND! possibly because it's somewhat impersonal it is highly functional - this is music to make you RUSH YOUR FUCKING BOLLOCKS OFF! (in a sweetly sexy way - actually, parts of it do seem post-orgasmic: endorphins, bliss)
I think the title is a combination of cues from the film version of Les Enfants Terrible. Blue = from the dream in blue (colour isn't mentioned in the book, but if I remember is blue in the film). Bell = the warning bell (death knell). Knoll = mound.
Treasure has 3 of my alltime fave Cocteau Twin songs: "Otterly", "Aloysius" and "Pandora". but after loving the first 2 albums I never got over that disappointing stretch of tunes - tracks 2 thru 4, though I know many people love "Lorelei" and "Persephone", both of which I find ordinary by Cocteau standards. closer "Donimo" is NO match for "Musette & Drums".
side 2 of Victorialand is one of their best sides, if not the very best.
Four-Calendar Cafe is their most underrated album, but also where they start to become just another band with their weakest twee atmospheric track "Essence" and 'corking celtic rocker' "Summerhead" (I blame Liz on these cos Robin's mostly on form). "Evangeline", "Oil Of Angels" and especially "My Truth" are fantastic though (despite Liz trying to turn the latter into a simultaneous cover of the overrated "Thorn Of Crowns").
I'll spare you the Head Over Heels vs Kiss In The Dreamhouse parallels this time (alright then no I won't: "In Our Angelhood" vs "She's A Carnival" / "Multifoiled" vs "Cocoon").
Garlands might even be the next most consistent after Blue Bell. (chew on that bag o opinions)
― Paul, Monday, 31 March 2008 03:31 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― ILX System, Friday, 4 April 2008 23:01 (sixteen years ago) link
Tough. I've gone for Head Over Heels, as I love the basslines.
― Peteski, Friday, 4 April 2008 23:37 (sixteen years ago) link
Head Over Heels comes really close and I might just vote for it cause I'm afraid noone else will.
no worries, i voted for HOH as well. my personal fave (though HOLV is the masterpiece, as mentioned upthread already, and all of these albums are damn good).
no love for Milk & Kisses?? "Violaine" is top 5 Cocteau songs for sure...
― stephen, Saturday, 5 April 2008 00:02 (sixteen years ago) link
not enough of you ppl are saying Victorialand when I told you already that that is the correct answer
so get fucking on it youse
― J0hn D., Saturday, 5 April 2008 00:09 (sixteen years ago) link
Went with Treasure just because it is so lush and melodically gorgeous pretty much throughout. But I feel guilty toward Head Over Heels and (yes, J0hn) Victorialand.
― Lostandfound, Saturday, 5 April 2008 03:03 (sixteen years ago) link
It used to be Treasure, but because I used Victorialand as calming music for my son between the ages of 3 months and 12 months it's now lodged firmly in my brain as my favourite Twins album. I'd never really noticed it before, but I love it now.
― Rob M v2, Saturday, 5 April 2008 11:03 (sixteen years ago) link
moon & the melodies doesn't count imho. and, ya, i would have voted for pink opaque had it been on here too.
― cryfok, Saturday, 5 April 2008 12:41 (sixteen years ago) link
yes re: Pink Opaque, one of the best comps ever ever
― stephen, Saturday, 5 April 2008 13:51 (sixteen years ago) link
It used to be Treasure, but because I used Victorialand as calming music for my son between the ages of 3 months and 12 months it's now lodged firmly in my brain as my favourite Twins album. I'd never really noticed it before, but I love it now.-- Rob M v2, Saturday, April 5, 2008 7:03 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Link
-- Rob M v2, Saturday, April 5, 2008 7:03 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Link
amazing--when i was studying for the bar exam and on the verge of nervous breakdowns toward the end there, i would put this album on... and suddenly everything was ok with the world.
― cutty, Saturday, 5 April 2008 14:26 (sixteen years ago) link
HOLV
― the next grozart, Saturday, 5 April 2008 16:22 (sixteen years ago) link
I just remembered I got Treasure on the day of my 14th birthday, or at least whatever day I had the birthday party at some pizza place. I really need to hear Victorialand again. I liked it well enough when it came out, but later I worked at a restaurant where it was overplayed and I lost any real interest in it. I've had "The Thinner The Air" on a very special mix tape for years, though.
― Bimble, Saturday, 5 April 2008 17:07 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― ILX System, Saturday, 5 April 2008 23:01 (sixteen years ago) link
The lack of love for Garlands makes me wish I'd voted in this poll
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Saturday, 5 April 2008 23:22 (sixteen years ago) link
It's funny, for years all I had was the singles box and Garlands and never felt the need for more. The last few years I've picked up albums 2-4 and the BBC sessions but never heard the rest. Perhaps I'll grab Treasure & HOLV.
― Mr. Odd, Saturday, 5 April 2008 23:54 (sixteen years ago) link
I mean Blue Bell Knoll and HOLV. Though I recall hearing mixed reviews of the remasters.
― Mr. Odd, Saturday, 5 April 2008 23:57 (sixteen years ago) link
I love Blue Bell Knoll, but Heaven of Las Vegas is like fucking KEY, man. If you're going to hear Cocteaus...christ. Where are my CD's just now?
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Sunday, 6 April 2008 07:31 (sixteen years ago) link
But Garlands got one vote! That's beautiful.
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Sunday, 6 April 2008 07:36 (sixteen years ago) link
pitchfork savaged the remasters so badly I never bothered with them. but the original cds sounded fine to me. the remastered stuff on "violane" sounds alright to me too though so they might not be as bad as claimed.
― akm, Sunday, 6 April 2008 16:23 (sixteen years ago) link
listening to Treasure now...yep, you people who voted for Heaven or Las Vegas over this are mentalists
― J0hn D., Sunday, 6 April 2008 21:06 (sixteen years ago) link
listened to treasure like three times doing dishes and cooking yesterday, beats were harder than i remembered. what are the obvious seeds for cocteau twins i'm overlooking? i hear kate bush and siouxsie and the banshees in there - what else?
― balls, Sunday, 6 April 2008 21:09 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh come on, there should have been ONE vote for "Milk and Kisses"!
― HI DERE, Sunday, 6 April 2008 21:12 (sixteen years ago) link
blount this is the thing, my wife and I are here listening to Treasure and what's most stunning about it is how original it is/was. I actually don't know how much Kate Bush is in there - at this point, Bush had released, what: Kick Inside, Lionheart, the Dreaming & Never Forever only I think. I guess yeah some of the more esoteric Siouxsie shit. But just as an old dude, the thing I remember me & all my friends thinking was how from-outta-nowhere this shit was. I guess maybe it sound like they'd been doing lines & listening to Japan and wishing they could dance to it more though. Bowie instrumental shit too maybe.
― J0hn D., Sunday, 6 April 2008 21:15 (sixteen years ago) link
o yeah i'm just pulling at straws, most of which are just vague 'psych-goth-lit early-mid 80s english' (almost mentioned the cure above).
― balls, Sunday, 6 April 2008 21:25 (sixteen years ago) link
It's interesting to hear folks mention Kate Bush. I just pulled out her first album today, The Kick Inside. I felt like I'd been wanting to pull that album out forever. Now is the first time I have it on CD rather than vinyl which is thrilling, too. "Kite" started and I didn't even have to turn the record over!
"James & The Cold Gun" rules, though. She be rockin' and rollin' on that track. Live version isn't bad either.
Anyway I still think Blue Bell Knoll should surpass Victorialand in this poll.
― Bimble, Monday, 7 April 2008 04:41 (sixteen years ago) link
Let's hear it for the "Itchy Glowbo Blow"! That song is the reason why Blue Bell Knoll totally rocks. I'll challenge anyone to a duel who says otherwise.
I mean...*cough*...not that BBK touches Treasure, but you know what I mean. Treasure takes all, I know, but still...if you don't have the Itchy Glowbo Blow in your life, then you need to get it.
― Bimble, Monday, 7 April 2008 04:54 (sixteen years ago) link
"Suckling the Mender" is another really good one off BBK. The only other one I think might compare to those is "Ella Megalast Burls Forever".
But please, let's turn this into a Blue Bell Knoll thread if we can!
― Bimble, Monday, 7 April 2008 05:00 (sixteen years ago) link
You know what's better than Blue Bell Knoll, though is the Tiny Dynamine/Echoes In A Shallow Bay EP's. Oh my god. But then now we're pushing it back to 1985.
― Bimble, Monday, 7 April 2008 05:13 (sixteen years ago) link
http://www.ericr.nl/cocteaus/dynamineshallowbay.jpg
^^^^this.
― Bimble, Monday, 7 April 2008 05:18 (sixteen years ago) link
Bimble, I heartily agree with that last two statement.
― zaxxon25, Monday, 7 April 2008 16:55 (sixteen years ago) link
I played Victorialand last night as I went to sleep. It was quite enjoyable but I'll never see it as their best.
― Bimble, Monday, 7 April 2008 17:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Here are the poll results from the other thread almost a year ago, for comparison's sake:
Treasure 25 Heaven or Las Vegas 18 Victorialand 10 Blue Bell Knoll 9 Garlands 4 Head Over Heels 4 Milk and Kisses 4 The Moon and the Melodies 2 Four Calendar Cafe 0
― Bimble, Monday, 7 April 2008 17:38 (sixteen years ago) link
I want to know which track on HoLV "rhytmically sounds like a phil collins solo ballad"
― JTS, Sunday, 27 April 2008 23:18 (sixteen years ago) link
none of the above
― stephen, Monday, 28 April 2008 01:59 (sixteen years ago) link
Wow it really is like I'm invisible lol.
― Trayce, Monday, 28 April 2008 03:20 (sixteen years ago) link
(being the one who ALREADY DID THIS POLL SIX MONTHS AGO WTF)
that was before pitchfork.tv
― poortheatre, Monday, 28 April 2008 03:38 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeah I've been listening to HoLV on repeat tonight and I'm trying to figure out what the Phil Collins ballad is. Is it "Frou Frou..."?!
― baaderonixx, Monday, 5 May 2008 21:21 (fifteen years ago) link
"i wear your ring" maybe?
― impudent harlot, Monday, 5 May 2008 21:54 (fifteen years ago) link