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Porcupine (album)
Encyclopedia
Porcupine is the third studio album by the British post-punk
band Echo & the Bunnymen
. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart
despite initially receiving poor reviews. It also reached number 137 on the American Billboard 200
, number 85 on the Canadian RPM
100 Albums and number 24 on the Swedish chart. In 1984 the album was certified gold
by the British Phonographic Industry
. Porcupine included the singles
"The Back of Love
" and "The Cutter
".
The album was recorded at Trident Studios
in London, Rockfield Studios
in South Wales
and Amazon Studios in Liverpool
. It was produced by Ian Broudie
, who was credited as "Kingbird" and who had co-produced the band's first album, 1980's Crocodiles
, and their second single, "Rescue
". After being rejected by the band's label, the album was re-recorded with Shankar
providing strings. It was originally released as an LP
in 1983 before being reissue
d on CD in 1988. The album was again reissued on CD in 2003, along with the other four of the band's first five studio albums, having been remaster
ed and expanded. A VHS video called Porcupine – An Atlas Adventure was also released containing six promotional videos
of tracks from the album.
in 1981, Echo & the Bunnymen had difficulty writing new material for their next album despite rehearsing five days each week at The Ministry, their rehearsal room in Liverpool. While lead singer Ian McCulloch
still wanted them to be the best band in the world, bass player Les Pattinson
was expressing his weariness with the music industry, drummer Pete de Freitas
produced and played drums on Liverpool band The Wild Swans
' debut single "Revolutionary Spirit", and lead guitarist Will Sergeant
recorded a solo album of instrumental music called Themes for'Grind' (1982).
On 27 January 1982 Echo & the Bunnymen recorded their fourth session for British disc jockey John Peel
's radio show on BBC Radio 1
. Of the tracks recorded, "Smack in the Middle" was renamed and became "Higher Hell" on the album, while "Taking Advantage" was renamed "The Back of Love" and became the band's third single which was also included on the album. Ian Broudie
, who had co-produced 1980's Crocodiles and who was Sergeant's flat-mate, was chosen to produce "The Back of Love" and the band's third album, whose working title was The Happy Loss. The single, which became the band's first UK Top 20 hit single
, was recorded in early 1982 at Trident Studios
in Soho
, London. This was unusual as the band's manager
, Bill Drummond
, had previously been keen to keep the band away from the temptations of London. The recording session for "The Back of Love" went well, but the relationship between the band members was strained, with them either not speaking to each other or, when they did, arguing. Drummond was aware of the tensions within the band and so arranged a tour in Scotland for April 1982. This was done in an effort to make the band work harder, write some songs, and to communicate with each other. Drummond's plan failed to work as following the tour there was still tension between the band members. Two other album tracks – "Clay" and "My White Devil" – were first played during the tour of Scotland.
Following the release of "The Back of Love" on 21 May 1982, the band spent the summer, first playing at the inaugural WOMAD
festival, and then playing at various European music festivals. After the summer the band resumed recording the album at Rockfield Studios
in South Wales
– which had been used for the band's first two albums – and also at Amazon Studios in Liverpool. Recording the album was a slow process, de Freitas said, "Porcupine was very hard to actually write and record [...] Heaven Up Here was pure confidence, we did it really quickly; we had a great time doing it – but this one was like we had to drag it out of ourselves." McCulloch later said that when recording the album, the mood between the band members was "horrible".
When presented with the finished album, WEA
rejected it as "too uncommercial". The band agreed to re-record the album, despite Sergeant's complaints. Using the original version of the album as a blueprint, the follow-up recording sessions went more smoothly. Drummond brought Shankar back to add strings to the other tracks on the album. It was these sessions that produced the band's next single, "The Cutter
", which was released in January 1983 and went on to become the band's first Top 10 hit.
After Echo & the Bunnymen had finished recording Porcupine they played a free show in early November 1982 for people at Sefton Park
in Liverpool. Following this, WEA asked for three music videos and album art for the new album. The band's lighting engineer Bill Butt was chosen to direct the videos and Brian Griffin was chosen to take the photographs for the album's cover – as he had done for the band's two previous albums. With a budget of £
Butt decided that it would be possible to get the photographs for the album cover and also to produce a half-hour film. Deciding that he wanted the videos to reflect the frigid feel of the music on the album, Butt chose to shoot the videos in Scotland. However, it was not certain that there would be enough snow in Scotland during November so Iceland was chosen as the location to shoot the videos.
Filming took place on and near the frozen Gullfoss
waterfall near Reykjavik
. Feeling it was a dangerous process, McCulloch said in 1993, "If we had slipped there wasn't anything for hundreds of feet below us." In 2001 Griffin said, "[...] the sun barely appeared the whole time we were there. To walk, stand up, or just think seemed a massive effort." Despite the danger the filming proved its worth when the British music magazine Q
said in 2001, "The Porcupine cover is the epitome of rock band as heroic archetype – young men on some ill-defined but glorious mission, one easily as timeless as the stars and the sea." The filming was finished in December 1982 with the band performing songs from the album at their rehearsal room at The Ministry. Butt interspersed this with clips from the 1929 Russian documentary The Man With the Movie Camera
and he also projected psychedelic watercolour effects onto the band. A VHS video was subsequently released by Castle Hendring in 1983 called Porcupine – An Atlas Adventure which contained the six music videos – "In Bluer Skies", "The Cutter", "My White Devil", "Porcupine", "Heads Will Roll" and "The Back of Love".
Describing the album cover, journalist Dave Rimmer wrote in British music magazine Smash Hits
, "Iceland does seem an appropriate location for this group. It's isolated, cold, bleak and fits perfectly with the moody image they've attracted to themselves."
from Cat Stevens
' 1967 hit "Matthew and Son
".
In 1984 McCulloch said, "I think Porcupine was a classic autobiographical album, the most honest thing that I'd ever written or sung." Talking about how the album made him feel, he went on to say, "I found the material from it really heavy to play – like, really oppressive. That's the only reason why I didn't like the album. The songs were great but it didn't make me happy." He also said, "A lot of songs are about coming to terms with the opposites in me."
by Korova
in the United Kingdom on 4 February 1983. It was subsequently released in the United States by Sire Records
on 23 February 1983. The original album had ten tracks with five tracks on each side. Like Echo & the Bunnymen's previous album, the album cover
was designed by Martyn Atkins and the photography was by Brian Griffin. The album was released on CD on 7 April 1988.
Along with the other four of the band's first five albums, Porcupine was remaster
ed and reissue
d on CD in 2003 – these releases were marketed as 25th anniversary editions. Seven bonus tracks were added to the album: "Fuel" was the second B-side
track on the 12-inch
version of "The Back of Love
"; alternate versions of "The Cutter
", "My White Devil", "Porcupine", "Ripeness" and "Gods Will Be Gods" which were all early versions recorded during the album's sessions; and "Never Stop (Discotheque)" the 12-inch version of the non-album single which was released after Porcupine. The alternate versions of "My White Devil", "Porcupine" and "Ripeness" had all previously been unissued. The reissued album was produced by Andy Zax
and Bill Inglot.
There were two tracks from the original Porcupine album which had been released as singles
. The first of these was "The Back of Love
" which had been released on 21 May 1982. The second single was "The Cutter
" which was released on 14 January 1983. "Never Stop (Discotheque)", which was originally a non-album single when it was released on 8 July 1983, was subsequently included on the 2003 remaster
ed version of the album as a bonus track
.
reviewer Barney Hoskyns
gave the album a negative review. Hoskyns wrote, "Porcupine is the distressing occasion of an important and exciting rock group becoming ensnared by its own strongest points, a dynamic force striving fruitlessly to escape the brilliant track that trails behind it." Hoskyns likened the sound of the album to the band "turning on their own greatest 'hits' and savaging them". Hoskyns also criticised McCulloch's lyrics and the general mood of the album, noting, "Only on 'Porcupine' itself do the various strains of despair coalesce", and dismissed the entire second side of the album, saying it "horrifies the more for its uniform lack of inspiration, for the fact that every number cops direct from earlier songs without preserving anything of their energy or invention".
In a review of the original release on Allmusic, Porcupine was described as a "solid outing", a "noticeably better listen than its predecessor, Heaven Up Here" and "well worth hearing". When reviewing the remaster
ed 2003 version the review was expanded to add that new release was "a very well done expansion of an already fine album". Blender
magazine described the album in a review on their website as "impossibly exciting pop-rock" and Pitchfork
called the album "the band's definitive statement" and described the track "The Back of Love
" as "the astonishing highlight of the group's career". The album appeared in the 1983 end of year critics' lists for both Melody Maker
, where it was listed at number nine, and NME, where it was listed at number 32. The album is also listed in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
.
The album reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, number 137 on the American Billboard 200, number 85 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums, and number 24 on the Swedish albums chart. Having sold over copies of the album in the UK, Echo & they Bunnymen were awarded with a gold disc by the British Phonographic Industry. Of the singles from the album, "The Back of Love" reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and "The Cutter" reached number 8. "The Back of Love" also became the band's first single to make the Irish Singles Chart when it reached number 24, while "The Cutter" reached number 10. The single "Never Stop (Discotheque)" reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 8 on the Irish Singles Chart.
, Ian McCulloch
, Les Pattinson
and Pete de Freitas
.
Side one
Side two
2003 bonus tracks
Porcupine – An Atlas Adventure
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
despite initially receiving poor reviews. It also reached number 137 on the American Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, number 85 on the Canadian RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
100 Albums and number 24 on the Swedish chart. In 1984 the album was certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
. Porcupine included the singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"The Back of Love
The Back of Love
"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
" and "The Cutter
The Cutter (song)
"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
".
The album was recorded at Trident Studios
Trident Studios
Trident Studios was a British recording facility, originally located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield a drummer of former 1960's group The Hunters and his Brother Barry....
in London, Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
and Amazon Studios in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. It was produced by Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
, who was credited as "Kingbird" and who had co-produced the band's first album, 1980's Crocodiles
Crocodiles (album)
Crocodiles is the debut album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart...
, and their second single, "Rescue
Rescue (song)
"Rescue" is the second single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 5 May 1980 and subsequently included on the Crocodiles album, which was released on 18 July 1980. It was the band's first single to chart, reaching number 62 on the UK Singles Chart...
". After being rejected by the band's label, the album was re-recorded with Shankar
L. Shankar
Lakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer.-Early life:...
providing strings. It was originally released as an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 1983 before being reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
d on CD in 1988. The album was again reissued on CD in 2003, along with the other four of the band's first five studio albums, having been remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed and expanded. A VHS video called Porcupine – An Atlas Adventure was also released containing six promotional videos
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of tracks from the album.
Background and recording
Following the release of Heaven Up HereHeaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released in 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States...
in 1981, Echo & the Bunnymen had difficulty writing new material for their next album despite rehearsing five days each week at The Ministry, their rehearsal room in Liverpool. While lead singer Ian McCulloch
Ian McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
still wanted them to be the best band in the world, bass player Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool based band, Echo & the Bunnymen....
was expressing his weariness with the music industry, drummer Pete de Freitas
Pete de Freitas
Pete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
produced and played drums on Liverpool band The Wild Swans
The Wild Swans (band)
The Wild Swans are a post-punk band from Liverpool, England, which originally formed in 1980 shortly after Paul Simpson left The Teardrop Explodes and teamed up with Jeremy Kelly , Ged Quinn , James Weston and Justin Stavely...
' debut single "Revolutionary Spirit", and lead guitarist Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
recorded a solo album of instrumental music called Themes for
On 27 January 1982 Echo & the Bunnymen recorded their fourth session for British disc jockey John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's radio show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. Of the tracks recorded, "Smack in the Middle" was renamed and became "Higher Hell" on the album, while "Taking Advantage" was renamed "The Back of Love" and became the band's third single which was also included on the album. Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
, who had co-produced 1980's Crocodiles and who was Sergeant's flat-mate, was chosen to produce "The Back of Love" and the band's third album, whose working title was The Happy Loss. The single, which became the band's first UK Top 20 hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, was recorded in early 1982 at Trident Studios
Trident Studios
Trident Studios was a British recording facility, originally located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield a drummer of former 1960's group The Hunters and his Brother Barry....
in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, London. This was unusual as the band's manager
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
, Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
, had previously been keen to keep the band away from the temptations of London. The recording session for "The Back of Love" went well, but the relationship between the band members was strained, with them either not speaking to each other or, when they did, arguing. Drummond was aware of the tensions within the band and so arranged a tour in Scotland for April 1982. This was done in an effort to make the band work harder, write some songs, and to communicate with each other. Drummond's plan failed to work as following the tour there was still tension between the band members. Two other album tracks – "Clay" and "My White Devil" – were first played during the tour of Scotland.
Following the release of "The Back of Love" on 21 May 1982, the band spent the summer, first playing at the inaugural WOMAD
World of Music, Arts and Dance
WOMAD is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.-History:...
festival, and then playing at various European music festivals. After the summer the band resumed recording the album at Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
– which had been used for the band's first two albums – and also at Amazon Studios in Liverpool. Recording the album was a slow process, de Freitas said, "Porcupine was very hard to actually write and record [...] Heaven Up Here was pure confidence, we did it really quickly; we had a great time doing it – but this one was like we had to drag it out of ourselves." McCulloch later said that when recording the album, the mood between the band members was "horrible".
When presented with the finished album, WEA
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
rejected it as "too uncommercial". The band agreed to re-record the album, despite Sergeant's complaints. Using the original version of the album as a blueprint, the follow-up recording sessions went more smoothly. Drummond brought Shankar back to add strings to the other tracks on the album. It was these sessions that produced the band's next single, "The Cutter
The Cutter (song)
"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
", which was released in January 1983 and went on to become the band's first Top 10 hit.
Porcupine – An Atlas Adventure
Sefton Park
Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park...
in Liverpool. Following this, WEA asked for three music videos and album art for the new album. The band's lighting engineer Bill Butt was chosen to direct the videos and Brian Griffin was chosen to take the photographs for the album's cover – as he had done for the band's two previous albums. With a budget of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
Butt decided that it would be possible to get the photographs for the album cover and also to produce a half-hour film. Deciding that he wanted the videos to reflect the frigid feel of the music on the album, Butt chose to shoot the videos in Scotland. However, it was not certain that there would be enough snow in Scotland during November so Iceland was chosen as the location to shoot the videos.
Filming took place on and near the frozen Gullfoss
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.Gullfoss is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. The wide Hvítá rushes southward...
waterfall near Reykjavik
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
. Feeling it was a dangerous process, McCulloch said in 1993, "If we had slipped there wasn't anything for hundreds of feet below us." In 2001 Griffin said, "[...] the sun barely appeared the whole time we were there. To walk, stand up, or just think seemed a massive effort." Despite the danger the filming proved its worth when the British music magazine Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
said in 2001, "The Porcupine cover is the epitome of rock band as heroic archetype – young men on some ill-defined but glorious mission, one easily as timeless as the stars and the sea." The filming was finished in December 1982 with the band performing songs from the album at their rehearsal room at The Ministry. Butt interspersed this with clips from the 1929 Russian documentary The Man With the Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera , sometimes called The Man with the Movie Camera, The Man with a Camera, The Man With the Kinocamera, or Living Russia is an experimental 1929 silent documentary film, with no story and no actors, by Russian director Dziga Vertov, edited by his wife Elizaveta...
and he also projected psychedelic watercolour effects onto the band. A VHS video was subsequently released by Castle Hendring in 1983 called Porcupine – An Atlas Adventure which contained the six music videos – "In Bluer Skies", "The Cutter", "My White Devil", "Porcupine", "Heads Will Roll" and "The Back of Love".
Describing the album cover, journalist Dave Rimmer wrote in British music magazine Smash Hits
Smash Hits
Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...
, "Iceland does seem an appropriate location for this group. It's isolated, cold, bleak and fits perfectly with the moody image they've attracted to themselves."
Musical content
After WEA rejected the first version of the album, Shankar – who had played strings on "The Back of Love" – was brought back by Drummond to add strings to the remainder of the album in an effort to give it a brighter production and to build on the success of the strings used on the single. When recording "The Cutter", Sergeant had asked Shankar if he could suggest the melodyMelody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
from Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
' 1967 hit "Matthew and Son
Matthew and Son
- American LP release :- Personnel :* Cat Stevens: guitars, Piano, Hammond organ, vocals.* John Paul Jones, Bass guitar * All instruments arranged by Alan Tew.* Mike Hurst: Producer, engineer, liner notes....
".
In 1984 McCulloch said, "I think Porcupine was a classic autobiographical album, the most honest thing that I'd ever written or sung." Talking about how the album made him feel, he went on to say, "I found the material from it really heavy to play – like, really oppressive. That's the only reason why I didn't like the album. The songs were great but it didn't make me happy." He also said, "A lot of songs are about coming to terms with the opposites in me."
Releases
Porcupine was first released as an LPLP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
by Korova
Korova (record label)
Korova is a record label, distributed by the Warner Elektra Asylum group of record companies.The imprint was founded in 1979 as an outlet for Echo & the Bunnymen, with its first album release being their debut Crocodiles...
in the United Kingdom on 4 February 1983. It was subsequently released in the United States by Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
on 23 February 1983. The original album had ten tracks with five tracks on each side. Like Echo & the Bunnymen's previous album, the album cover
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
was designed by Martyn Atkins and the photography was by Brian Griffin. The album was released on CD on 7 April 1988.
Along with the other four of the band's first five albums, Porcupine was remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed and reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
d on CD in 2003 – these releases were marketed as 25th anniversary editions. Seven bonus tracks were added to the album: "Fuel" was the second B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
track on the 12-inch
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
version of "The Back of Love
The Back of Love
"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
"; alternate versions of "The Cutter
The Cutter (song)
"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
", "My White Devil", "Porcupine", "Ripeness" and "Gods Will Be Gods" which were all early versions recorded during the album's sessions; and "Never Stop (Discotheque)" the 12-inch version of the non-album single which was released after Porcupine. The alternate versions of "My White Devil", "Porcupine" and "Ripeness" had all previously been unissued. The reissued album was produced by Andy Zax
Andy Zax
Andy Zax is a music historian and producer of CD boxed sets and reissues by Talking Heads, Rod Stewart, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Judee Sill, John Cale, Nico, The Neon Philharmonic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, The Sisters of Mercy,...
and Bill Inglot.
There were two tracks from the original Porcupine album which had been released as singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. The first of these was "The Back of Love
The Back of Love
"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
" which had been released on 21 May 1982. The second single was "The Cutter
The Cutter (song)
"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
" which was released on 14 January 1983. "Never Stop (Discotheque)", which was originally a non-album single when it was released on 8 July 1983, was subsequently included on the 2003 remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed version of the album as a bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
.
Reception
Following the release of Porcupine in 1983, NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reviewer Barney Hoskyns
Barney Hoskyns
Barney Hoskyns is a British music critic and editor of the online music journalism archive Rock's Backpages.Hoskyns graduated from Oxford with a First Class degree in English. He began writing about music for Melody Maker and New Musical Express, quitting his job as staff writer at NME to research...
gave the album a negative review. Hoskyns wrote, "Porcupine is the distressing occasion of an important and exciting rock group becoming ensnared by its own strongest points, a dynamic force striving fruitlessly to escape the brilliant track that trails behind it." Hoskyns likened the sound of the album to the band "turning on their own greatest 'hits' and savaging them". Hoskyns also criticised McCulloch's lyrics and the general mood of the album, noting, "Only on 'Porcupine' itself do the various strains of despair coalesce", and dismissed the entire second side of the album, saying it "horrifies the more for its uniform lack of inspiration, for the fact that every number cops direct from earlier songs without preserving anything of their energy or invention".
In a review of the original release on Allmusic, Porcupine was described as a "solid outing", a "noticeably better listen than its predecessor, Heaven Up Here" and "well worth hearing". When reviewing the remaster
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ed 2003 version the review was expanded to add that new release was "a very well done expansion of an already fine album". Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
magazine described the album in a review on their website as "impossibly exciting pop-rock" and Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
called the album "the band's definitive statement" and described the track "The Back of Love
The Back of Love
"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
" as "the astonishing highlight of the group's career". The album appeared in the 1983 end of year critics' lists for both Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, where it was listed at number nine, and NME, where it was listed at number 32. The album is also listed in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...
.
The album reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, number 137 on the American Billboard 200, number 85 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums, and number 24 on the Swedish albums chart. Having sold over copies of the album in the UK, Echo & they Bunnymen were awarded with a gold disc by the British Phonographic Industry. Of the singles from the album, "The Back of Love" reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and "The Cutter" reached number 8. "The Back of Love" also became the band's first single to make the Irish Singles Chart when it reached number 24, while "The Cutter" reached number 10. The single "Never Stop (Discotheque)" reached number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 8 on the Irish Singles Chart.
Track listing
All tracks written by Will SergeantWill Sergeant
Will Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
, Ian McCulloch
Ian McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
, Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool based band, Echo & the Bunnymen....
and Pete de Freitas
Pete de Freitas
Pete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
.
Side one
- "The CutterThe Cutter (song)"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
" – 3:56 - "The Back of LoveThe Back of Love"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
" – 3:14 - "My White Devil" – 4:41
- "Clay" – 4:15
- "Porcupine" – 6:01
Side two
- "Heads Will Roll" – 3:33
- "Ripeness" – 4:50
- "Higher Hell" – 5:01
- "Gods Will Be Gods" – 5:25
- "In Bluer Skies" – 4:33
2003 bonus tracks
- "Fuel" – 4:09
- "The Cutter" (Alternate Version) – 4:10
- "My White Devil" (Alternate Version) – 5:02
- "Porcupine" (Alternate Version) – 4:04
- "Ripeness" (Alternate Version) – 4:43
- "Gods Will Be Gods" (Alternate Version) – 5:31
- "Never Stop (Discotheque)" – 4:45
Porcupine – An Atlas Adventure
- "In Bluer Skies"
- "The Cutter"
- "My White Devil"
- "Porcupine"
- "Heads Will Roll"
- "The Back of Love"
Personnel
- Ian McCullochIan McCulloch (singer)Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
– vocals, guitar - Will SergeantWill SergeantWill Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
– lead guitar - Les PattinsonLes PattinsonLes Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool based band, Echo & the Bunnymen....
– bass - Pete de FreitasPete de FreitasPete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
– drums - ShankarL. ShankarLakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer.-Early life:...
– stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones... - Ian BroudieIan BroudieIan Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
– producer - Dave BascombeDavid BascombeDavid Bascombe is an English music producer and mix engineer. He has worked with many bands and musicians, such as Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode and Suede.-Selected engineering, production, mixing and remixing:*Tears for Fears - Songs From the Big Chair...
– engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Paul Cobald – engineer
- Colin Fairley – engineer
- Dave Woolley – engineer
- Steve Short – engineer
- Steve Presige – engineer
- Brian Griffin – photography
- Martyn Atkins – cover design
- Andy ZaxAndy ZaxAndy Zax is a music historian and producer of CD boxed sets and reissues by Talking Heads, Rod Stewart, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Judee Sill, John Cale, Nico, The Neon Philharmonic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, The Sisters of Mercy,...
– producer (reissue) - Bill Inglot – producer (reissue), remasterRemasterRemaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
ing (reissue) - Dan Hersch – remastering (reissue)
- Rachel Gutek – cover design (reissue)