Disco de Cocteau Twins: “Blue Bell Knoll [Remaster]”

Cocteau Twins have been my favourite band since a couple of years after they started out. I've bought everything, searched out collaberations, solos, etc. Bands typically come in and out of your favour, or you still like them but just don't play them any more. Cocteau Twins are one of the exceptions - I just don't get tired of listening to them. I've played Blue Bell Knoll on a regular basis, ever since it came out. There's so many layers in the mix and the songs are gorgeous. This record contains their most breathtaking work, in my opinion. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Six years of sonic exploration culminates here in artistic triumph. The Cocteau Twins began with the somewhat harsh and angular "Garlands" in 1982, before ascending into sonic bliss with "Head Over Heels" (1983), the bewitching "Treasure" (1984) and the beautifully austere ambience of "Victorialand" (1986). Along the way, the band released a series of EP's that continued to explore and refine their signature sound (with the 1985 double EP "Tiny Dynamine/Echoes From A Shallow Bay" probably their most successful from an artistic perspective).

Blue Bell Knoll stands at the pinnacle of the Scottish trio's career because it strikes such a perfect balance between the bounding creativity of their previous work and the commercial sheen of their subsequent releases - in other words, it catches the best of both worlds. Even better, the songwriting is top notch and all three members of the band are in fine form. Robin Guthrie's enormous palette of guitar textures continues to grow in maturity and subtlety. Elizabeth Fraser is also at the peak of her powers, and Blue Bell Knoll testifies to her growth as a vocalist, while bassist Simon Raymonde proves equally adept at supplying the melody and holding down the bottom at the same time.

All the songs here are nothing less than magnificent, but particular highlights include "For Phoebe Still A Baby" which perhaps epitomises the dream-like aspects of the band's sound like no other song in their catalogue. "Suckling The Mender" is also notable for Fraser's astonishing vocal performance and Raymonde's buoyant bass, while the savagely poignant "Ella Megalust Burls Forever" closes the album on a definite note of farewell. Guthrie, Fraser and Raymonde would continue to pursue their unique sound through more commercial territory on subsequent releases, yielding such memorable albums as "Heaven Or Las Vegas" and their swansong "Milk And Kisses", but never again would the band return to the illustrious heights of this album. Blue Bell Knoll is their masterpiece.

To be fair, I thought the original album, even the cd release, was amazing. The remastered version is definitely an improvement, but the improvements are fairly minor in nature. The individual tracks (vocals, guitar, drums, bass, synths) all are a bit brighter and more distinct, hence less "muddy." The original mix was a bit treble-heavy and could sound washed out at times, and that is counterbalanced in the remaster by the clarity given to the individual tracks. If you are a fan of the group and already own this album in its original format (whether vinyl or cd) and have been thinking about replacing it, I'd recommend going with the remastered version. If you're thinking about giving BBK to a friend who is not familiar with the group, give the remastered version. If you're expecting to hear something that sounds incredibly different from the sound of the original version, I suspect that you may be disappointed. All in all, I believe this is an improvement on an album that was already pretty darn close to perfection.

Music is indeed a very personal experience. I remember first hearing BLUE BELL KNOLL in 1988, not too long after its release. Since I wasn't terribly familiar with the Cocteau Twins at that time, my initial impressions were of two or three (or maybe more) women (presumably French) singing what seemed to me equal parts lullaby, siren song, neo-folk, and - I don't know -- Arabic ululation perhaps? I remember rushing to find a copy of BBK (on vinyl, natch) after being seduced by the title song and "Carolyn's Fingers." (And incidentally -- are those Carolyn's long skinny fingers on the grainy album cover? A long-gone friend said they resembled a stylized depiction of Yoko Ono and John Lennon lying on the beach. Whatever.) Then I made a tape for drives to and from high school and wherever the day took me; and then the associations began: I don't think I can listen to "Cico Buff" for instance without picturing the flat oversized snowflakes parachuting into the ditches while I tried to keep that miserable two-toned Escort L on the slippery county road. And then "A Kissed Out Red Floatboat" (appropriately) reminds me of enduring a painfully ungoth ride on my parent's pontoon boat daydreaming of escaping and/or fleeing the Midwest.

Now it's nearly two decades later (gasp!), I'm still "imprisoned" in the Midwest, and each and every Cocteau Twins song, especially those from my first CT album BLUE BELL KNOLL, is like a very particular time capsule. They remind me of "that little phrase" of music from Proust's SWANN'S WAY that serves as a poignant memento of Swann's early love for Odette. But no need to get so literary about it. Cocteau Twins make very unique music, conducive to daydreaming, wistful recollection, and just plain feeling good - if even in a sometimes begrudging gothic sort of way.

Of course, I've dispelled my first impressions since 1988. If you haven't yet, well, then you should know that Cocteau Twins is a (now-defunct) Scottish band comprised, at least in the most common manifestation, of Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, and Simon Raymonde. (Their debut album and first couple 12 inches featured Will Heggie in lieu of Raymonde. A few other things were done without Raymonde who either had not joined yet or was on hiatus - as in the case of VICTORIALAND.) The subject of lyrics is a controversial one. The late Cocteau Twins music is very discernibly English, but many people maintain that this was not always the case. The number of theories and supposed interviews with Ms. Fraser on this topic have yielded as much debate -- at least in the mid-80's heyday -- as the JFK assassination. Whatever the case, gibberish, English, or foreign tongue, it's just great music.

Shortly after the release of HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS, BBK's follow-up, Alternative Press published a blurb, as I recall, referring to Cocteau Twins as "ABBA for the college set." I was furious -- not because ABBA wasn't cool in its own kind of anti-doctrinaire way, but because the comment seemed to suggest (in my admittedly defensive interpretation) that the band was something frivolous - as "frou-frou" perhaps as those midsummer fires. My question is: What's frivolous about catharsis?

At any rate, BLUE BELL KNOLL and 1984's TREASURE mark the Twins at the height of their powers. (At the obverse end of the spectrum, I'd situate HEAD OVER HEELS, but keep in mind though that even a lesser Cocteau Twins effort, being after all still a Cocteau Twins effort, isn't all that bad.) And they're all magical, multifoiled conduits to a mini-golden age in music - when you scoured the music bins for any and all 4AD releases (Colourbox excepted, Colourbox always excepted) waaaaay before the Warner Brothers distribution deal - when a Cocteau Twins imported CD cost twenty-four bucks and was available only at the neighborhood hole-in-the-wall indie record store - and when after a long, long, long search you finally snagged that "Peppermint Pig" 12" at Wax Trax and your collection was finally complete.

Please note that this review pertains only to the remastered 2003 edition of this album, not to the content of the original release--which is brilliant, amazing, etc, etc... words don't express, though many have been written. My disappointment stems from the remastering itself. Aside from the cranked-up volume, there is simply no improvement over the sound of the original master. And there are some serious deficits: The feedback ending of the title track has been curtailed (too boisterous?), and the synth ending of 'suckling the mender' suffers the same fate. These are not such minor quibbles as they might seem-- little details like these are the interwoven gems in Blue Bell Knoll's sound tapestry, and if anything should have been opened up and showcased a bit. I expected as much from Robin Guthrie after his work remastering the hits for 'Stars and Topsoil'-- notice his treatment of the ending to 'Sugar Hiccup'. And idiosynchrasies continue: the bass on the new version may be a tad fuller, but it must come at the expense of the drums, which have noticeably less impact. I listened to them one-after-another and I couldn't believe what I heard. This was my first purchase of a Cocteau Twins remaster, and it's totally changed my plan to get the whole collection-- ask anyone, I've always said the early Twins' albums could really use a remaster. This was just absolutely not what I had in mind.