Cope's new album, Black Sheep is now available!
So far the only place I've seen selling it is Head Heritage:
http://www.headheritage.co.uk/merchandiser/
Black Sheep
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Black Sheep
by Tripecac on 2008-07-30 06:37:24
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by Spacecat on 2008-07-31 02:27:08
Thanks for that..I'd checked Cope's site a few times recently as I knew it was coming out. I'll order this today. Hope the description is accurate...
"...Cope at a pinnacle of songwriting and feature sumptuous lashings of orchestral Mellotron, orchestral percussion and marching bass drums, plus oboe, wah guitar, rumbling synthesizers and gorgeous harmony vocals. "
"...Cope at a pinnacle of songwriting and feature sumptuous lashings of orchestral Mellotron, orchestral percussion and marching bass drums, plus oboe, wah guitar, rumbling synthesizers and gorgeous harmony vocals. "
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by Spacecat on 2008-08-05 01:01:35
Well...I got it yesterday and have listened to most of the first CD on the way to work - some of it I like - especially one song that reminds me of 'Woden' from YGPWM- I won't comment yet on the rest as i need to give it another listen.....don't take that as a bad sign!!!
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by Tripecac on 2008-08-05 06:31:48
Cool! A lot of people on the Head 2 Head forum seem to like it, but I always worry about reviews over there being biased (consciously or unconsciously) because it's an official forum. Even if Cope doesn't post over there, there's always an impression that he's watching, so the tendency is to not want to say anything bad. It'll be nice to hear your unbiased opinion of the album!
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by Spacecat on 2008-08-06 03:05:24
Been busy these last couple of days so still haven't sat down for a really good listen of both CD's....however, CD2 has had a couple of listens and I'm really into it now...although at first I though that the Black Sheep song was a bit dodgy it sounded great on a second listen. I have found that with his last three albums (CC, DO & YGPWM) if I ever got them out I would always play a few songs from each rather than listen to the whole album - but I'm sitting here in work looking forward to listening to the whole of CD2 again on the way home....(by the way i love the opening track on this, 'All The Blow Themselves Up MF Will Realise The Moment They Die They Were Suckers' (or something like that - I hardly remember song titles anymore) - sounds like a very 'Skellington 2' ish singalong song!!!
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by Tripecac on 2008-08-22 21:19:49
Got it today!
First impressions:
CD 1
1) Come the Revolution - Cope's voice is tuneless, and the music is brain-dead simple and repetitive. However, there's a certain catchiness, and the harmonies are often nice.
2) It's Too Late to Turn Back Now - It starts with aggressive panning and noisy garage pounding. It sounds like there's no bass. Cope's yelling, not bothering to be tuneful. The production makes this sound like it was recorded live. After about 3 and a half minutes, the production changes, sounding much fuller. Weird. The song stays pretty 'tarded, though. So far I'm not very impressed!
3) These Things I Know - The jangly guitar and tuneful singing definitely sound like something off of Skellington. Despite the sparse production, there's lots of melody here. It's a completely different Cope from the first 2 songs. This is more like '90s Cope, which I definitely appreciate more! This song gives me hope for the rest of the album.
4) Psychedelic Odin - Cope's singing again! He's actually trying to sing nicely, which it seems like he hasn't done in a decade. This song is simple, but it's bouncy rather than thrashy. Again it sounds like '90s Cope. Relaxed, catchy, gets your head bobbing. It's not perfect, but I'm definitely appreciating the "retro" feel. At about 5 minutes, it turns really weird and (as the title implies) psychedelic, and almost crescendoes but then collapses. Intriguing.
5) Blood Sacrifice - Again, I am reminded of Skellington or Droolian. Cope's singing melodically, but he's a bit out of tune. Still, the guitar and keyboard sounds are kinda charming. It's like watching a little kid try to play a song that you know is good, but he keeps hitting wrong notes. It's sloppy, but kinda endearing.
6) The Shipwreck of St. Paul - Very strange. This starts with a deep bass synth riff with eerie howling in the distance. Then more synths kick in. The percussion sounds programmed. This is completely different from anything Cope has done. Very very strange. Cope's vocals are distorted. The synths continue, no guitar in sight. No really groove. Just buzzing synths and eerie echoey things. Hmm. Not awful, but hard to "get". I can't see this being played often at gigs. Or ever.
CD 2:
7) All the Blowing-Themselves-Up Motherfuckers (Will Realise the Minute They Die that They Were Suckers) - Rough production. Catchy chorus. Very repetitive and stupid, but with a sense of humor. Tongue-in-cheek bombast. Neat harmonica solo. Lots of reverb going on here. Solid vocals. Weird ending.
8) Feed My Rock'n'Roll - Standard rock, very unlike Cope. I guess that's the point; he's directly referencing rock'n'roll. Like the last song, this feels like a joke (funny, right when I typed that, Cope sang the word "joke"). It gets catchier as it goes on. In a stupid-silly kind of way. I can see how this would grow on people, once they get over the shock of Cope singing over 1/4/5 chords.
9) Dhimmi Is Blue - Starts with an echoey piano. There's definitely lots of reverb on this album. Then comes singing and a [fake?] oboe. By the time Cope starts singing, you know this will be a slow song. Heartfelt, gentle. Not bad, but not rocking. After more than 3 minutes, some drums finally pound their way in. They don't create much of a groove, though, which is a little disappointing. Then a couple minutes later there's a synthy drone and Cope talks about some weird stuff. Very strange. How can a gentle song sound so sinister at the same time? Perplexing.
10) The Black Sheep's Song - Simple and melodic. Very gentle and sing-along-ish. Good harmonies. Tamborines are too loud, but the whole album is mixed weirdly, so it's not too annoying.
11) I Can Remember This Life - This kinda fades in and builds in intensity. It sounds like it's gonna be long and epic. Cope finally starts singing, and then some low synths and drum machines kick in. This makes sense, since the first CD ended with a similar orchestration. The overall feel reminds me of something off of 20 Mothers. The ending fade is very gradual, kinda sad. It definitely makes me want to put on the CD again!
OVERALL - Wow, what a surprising concoction of songs! It's a schitzo mix of Skellington, Droolian, his 2000s stuff, and some completely new elements. The production is very rough. Muddy in bits, piercingly crisp in bits. Very amateurish. It takes a while to get used to it. The song writing seems more "hit" than miss, and is definitely stronger than the production. This means this album is probably a "grower". There's not much here that I would call "boring". It oscillates between either catchy, eerie, or confusing. It's impossible to say whether these songs will be stuck in my head a year from now. However, my gut feeling is that I will play this CD more often than the last several, if only to try to give myself enough time to "get" each song. This one's a real puzzler! I think any Cope fan would like at least some of the songs on here, regardless of which era(s) you favor.
First impressions:
CD 1
1) Come the Revolution - Cope's voice is tuneless, and the music is brain-dead simple and repetitive. However, there's a certain catchiness, and the harmonies are often nice.
2) It's Too Late to Turn Back Now - It starts with aggressive panning and noisy garage pounding. It sounds like there's no bass. Cope's yelling, not bothering to be tuneful. The production makes this sound like it was recorded live. After about 3 and a half minutes, the production changes, sounding much fuller. Weird. The song stays pretty 'tarded, though. So far I'm not very impressed!
3) These Things I Know - The jangly guitar and tuneful singing definitely sound like something off of Skellington. Despite the sparse production, there's lots of melody here. It's a completely different Cope from the first 2 songs. This is more like '90s Cope, which I definitely appreciate more! This song gives me hope for the rest of the album.
4) Psychedelic Odin - Cope's singing again! He's actually trying to sing nicely, which it seems like he hasn't done in a decade. This song is simple, but it's bouncy rather than thrashy. Again it sounds like '90s Cope. Relaxed, catchy, gets your head bobbing. It's not perfect, but I'm definitely appreciating the "retro" feel. At about 5 minutes, it turns really weird and (as the title implies) psychedelic, and almost crescendoes but then collapses. Intriguing.
5) Blood Sacrifice - Again, I am reminded of Skellington or Droolian. Cope's singing melodically, but he's a bit out of tune. Still, the guitar and keyboard sounds are kinda charming. It's like watching a little kid try to play a song that you know is good, but he keeps hitting wrong notes. It's sloppy, but kinda endearing.
6) The Shipwreck of St. Paul - Very strange. This starts with a deep bass synth riff with eerie howling in the distance. Then more synths kick in. The percussion sounds programmed. This is completely different from anything Cope has done. Very very strange. Cope's vocals are distorted. The synths continue, no guitar in sight. No really groove. Just buzzing synths and eerie echoey things. Hmm. Not awful, but hard to "get". I can't see this being played often at gigs. Or ever.
CD 2:
7) All the Blowing-Themselves-Up Motherfuckers (Will Realise the Minute They Die that They Were Suckers) - Rough production. Catchy chorus. Very repetitive and stupid, but with a sense of humor. Tongue-in-cheek bombast. Neat harmonica solo. Lots of reverb going on here. Solid vocals. Weird ending.
8) Feed My Rock'n'Roll - Standard rock, very unlike Cope. I guess that's the point; he's directly referencing rock'n'roll. Like the last song, this feels like a joke (funny, right when I typed that, Cope sang the word "joke"). It gets catchier as it goes on. In a stupid-silly kind of way. I can see how this would grow on people, once they get over the shock of Cope singing over 1/4/5 chords.
9) Dhimmi Is Blue - Starts with an echoey piano. There's definitely lots of reverb on this album. Then comes singing and a [fake?] oboe. By the time Cope starts singing, you know this will be a slow song. Heartfelt, gentle. Not bad, but not rocking. After more than 3 minutes, some drums finally pound their way in. They don't create much of a groove, though, which is a little disappointing. Then a couple minutes later there's a synthy drone and Cope talks about some weird stuff. Very strange. How can a gentle song sound so sinister at the same time? Perplexing.
10) The Black Sheep's Song - Simple and melodic. Very gentle and sing-along-ish. Good harmonies. Tamborines are too loud, but the whole album is mixed weirdly, so it's not too annoying.
11) I Can Remember This Life - This kinda fades in and builds in intensity. It sounds like it's gonna be long and epic. Cope finally starts singing, and then some low synths and drum machines kick in. This makes sense, since the first CD ended with a similar orchestration. The overall feel reminds me of something off of 20 Mothers. The ending fade is very gradual, kinda sad. It definitely makes me want to put on the CD again!
OVERALL - Wow, what a surprising concoction of songs! It's a schitzo mix of Skellington, Droolian, his 2000s stuff, and some completely new elements. The production is very rough. Muddy in bits, piercingly crisp in bits. Very amateurish. It takes a while to get used to it. The song writing seems more "hit" than miss, and is definitely stronger than the production. This means this album is probably a "grower". There's not much here that I would call "boring". It oscillates between either catchy, eerie, or confusing. It's impossible to say whether these songs will be stuck in my head a year from now. However, my gut feeling is that I will play this CD more often than the last several, if only to try to give myself enough time to "get" each song. This one's a real puzzler! I think any Cope fan would like at least some of the songs on here, regardless of which era(s) you favor.
- Tripecac
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