Lloyd Cole and The Commotions - 1984-1989 (1989)

I came to Lloyd Cole's music late in the game with my first exposure being his 2000 album, The Negatives, which turned out to be a fantastic CD full of anachronistic '80s music. Cole released 3 albums between 1984-1987 (which makes the title of this compilation a little confusing): all 3 charted in the UK, none charted in the US. All albums are represented here: 5 tracks including a b-side from Rattlesnakes (1984), 5 tracks including a b-side from Easy Pieces (1985) and 4 tracks from Mainstream (1987).

It's great guitar-based pop. Cole's gravelly voice isn't my thing and doesn't do his songwriting justice, but what a stellar collection of songs we've got here. The only reason I can figure that he didn't become well-known in North America is the fact that he didn't have enough synths in his band. Either that or his pretentious "literary" lyrics were too much for US teenagers (you know lyrics have to be over-the-top pretentious for me to even notice them) - I never even heard Cole on college radio. The allmusic review of this album compares the music favorably to groups like The Blue Nile, Orange Juice, and The Beautiful South.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart but the group's 1984 Rattlesnakes album was included in the 2005 edition of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Tracks:

	Song	Year	UK
1	Perfect Skin	1984	26
2	Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?	1984
3	Forest Fire	1984	41
4	You Will Never Be No Good (b-side of Perfect Skin 12")	1984
5	Rattlesnakes	1984	65
6	Perfect Blue	1985
7	Brand New Friend	1985	19
8	Cut Me Down	1986	38
9	Lost Weekend	1985	17
10	Her Last Fling (b-side of Brand New Friend)	1985
11	Mr. Malcontent	1987
12	My Bag	1987	46
13	Jennifer She Said	1988	31
14	From The Hip	1988	59

My favorites are Perfect Skin, Rattlesnakes, Perfect Blue, Cut Me Down, Mr. Malcontent, and Jennifer She Said. I usually skip Forest Fire.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:None. These songs should have been part of the soundtrack to my college years, but woulda coulda shoulda. Better late than never.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Negatives (2000)

Lloyd Cole - The Negatives (2000)

This album, recommended to me not long after its release by my friend Jim, was my introduction to Lloyd Cole. I've since gone back and revisited his early releases with his band The Commotions which I should have discovered in the '80s. The whole ordeal makes me rather upset I had never heard of Cole until 2000. We're treated here to a lot of mid-tempo songs with bouncy bass lines and arpeggiated guitar chords that give the album a mid-'80s indie feel which, to be honest, is probably why I like it so much. Cole doesn't get much attention in the US, which is a real shame. This is a hook-laden, very comfortable set of pop songs from an undervalued singer/songwriter; it's easily the best thing Cole has released since The Commotions split.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "he still has a flair for crafting clever (and often more than that) love songs."
• No Depression: "The Negatives is Coles strongest work in a decade, and shows an artist who may at last be comfortable with himself creatively."
• Metacritic: 75

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: My picks are Past Imperfect, What's Wrong With This Picture, and Too Much E. The weakest cuts are Vin Ordinaire and Tried to Rock, but, at just 41 minutes total, I usually listen to the whole album start-to-finish.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This got a lot of playing time in my car in 2000 and 2001 which is probably why I don't listen to it now as much as I probably should. This CD kept me company on many trips to Portland to see the aforementioned Jim and to Victoria for grad school classes.