Vintage Vinyl #15

This piece briefly appeared for an hour or so last month on the day David Bowie died. I replaced it and held it over so it wasn't in danger of being overlooked.

Echo & the Bunnymen - Seven Seas  limited 7" double-pack
Bought from: Retro-Vibe, Cardiff
Price paid: £5

Ouch! A fiver? Well, it is a limited edition and it is a double. This is the only thing I've bought to date from Retro-Vibe which is located in Cardiff High Street just a stone's throw from the castle. It's not a bad little shop, but for some reason it doesn't excite me like some of the other places I've visited (The Record Shop, D'Vinyl, etc).

You probably know the main track on this single. If not, who are you? Sort yourself out! Seven Seas is unfairly placed in the middle of the Bunnymen's third album 'Ocean Rain' immediately following The Killing Moon. It's a really good track but can't compete with its predecessor. On its own though it hold up pretty well.

The main interest in this set lies in the b-sides. Both this 7" pack and the 12" carried four acoustic tracks recorded for Channel 4's 'Play At Home' series. Subtitled "Life At Brian's - Lean And Hungry", it featured the band playing in Brian's Diner in their Liverpool hometown along with a few locals. There are some interesting takes on Bunnymen originals - the aforementioned Killing Moon, Stars Are Stars and Villiers Terrace (in which famous Liverpool FC managers get namedropped alongside Haile Selassie!) - plus a fun run through All You Need Is Love, which also references Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women, another Beatles track She Loves You and the Bunnymen's own Read It In Books.

These tracks appeared on the reissue of 'Ocean Rain' along with a version of Silver from the same sessions.


Soundtrack:

• Seven Seas - Echo & The Bunnymen (from 'Ocean Rain')
• All You Need Is Love (Life At Brian's) - Echo & The Bunnymen (b-side of Seven Seas)
• The Killing Moon (Life At Brian's) - Echo & The Bunnymen (b-side of Seven Seas)
• Stars Are Stars (Life At Brian's) - Echo & The Bunnymen (b-side of Seven Seas)
• Villiers Terrace (Life At Brian's) - Echo & The Bunnymen (b-side of Seven Seas)

Out of interest, the 'Play At Home' series also included New Order, Siouxsie &The Banshees and XTC among others. A few of them are scattered across You Tube if you can be bothered to look for them. Here's the first half of the Echo & The Bunnymen one featuring some of these songs. Look out for Gladys - she's awesome!