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Customer Reviews of Wilder

Superb though Strange
Classified by many as the Love album that never was, the Teardrops second coming was indeed as ferociously unbalanced and deviant from the canon as anything Arthur Lee has yet produced.Still,it was rock solidly anchored in brilliance.Julian Cope's shape shifting song structures left no stone unturned in his quest for diversity.The album's mind boggling scope(which goes from punk to psychedelia and back) makes it a difficult listen,with Cope's cryptic writings only making it harder to really comprehend the music.Still,when you do "get" the songs you'll probably love them forever."Colours Fly Away","Passionate Friend","The Great Dominions" or "Like Leila Khaled Said" are all unbelievably beautiful ,colourful songs and of what true genius is really made of."Wilder" may not have "Kilimanjaro's" imediacy and punkish edge but it does have a larger growth capacity on the listener.And above all it presents us a more refined,exquisite Julian Cope's tunesmithery.

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The British Psychedelia Revival's Best Band!
The Teardrop Explodes appeared at the end of the 70's, led by Julian Cope. They combined a post punk British sensibility with the psychedelic revival that was going on there at the time, and were very sucessful in Britain. This is their second album and arguably their best. Sadly, Cope couldn't hold the band together just as they were begining to get some exposure and touring in the US. He began to drift into an LSD induced fog for a few years. His solo work since then has been very erratic and not very successful. The breakup of TTE left only one other band of any stature in this movement to carry the torch: Echo And The Bunnymen, who went on to make a fairly big name for themselves in the US as well as Britain. Prior to TTE and Echo, Cope and future Bunnyman, Ian McCullogh were in a band together. One can only speculate what might have come from that had they stayed together.
In my opinion, TTE was a better all around band than Echo.
Cope's vocals were far more expresive and his arrangements far more complex. He wrote songs that were often easy to sing along with, but laced with quirky lyrics. He still retains that talent to this day, though his recording quality is often shabby.
"Wilder" makes a great introduction to Julian Cope. It was mine way back in 81. It's certainly some of his most focused work.
Other works by Cope I recomend are: "Saint Julian" (1986) and "Peggy Suicide" (1991)

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Excellent Album
I'm not quite sure what to say about this album to those uninitiated into lead singer Julian Cope's weird world. First, I should say that its a great album that I've found endlessly listenable. The production is clearly of the British neo-psychedelic school of the early '80's, but it never sounds in the slightest dated - its crisp and clean, beautifully varied in texture (never over-chorused or -flanged or synth-heavy) and it accordingly sounds like it could have been made last week or 25 years ago. The instrumentation is similarly perfect - the rhythm section is great, and Cope and his mates use horns (!) brilliantly - for an example, check out "Passionate Friend." All this inspired craftsmanship is married to Julian Cope's magnificent songwriting and singing, which elevates this to five-star, favorite album territory. Cope's songwriting is just great - melodic as all get-out, destroying conventional structures, but always in the service of the song and not just for effect. Sometimes, as a song is ending, he's still wringing new melodies from the song - again, check out "Passionate Friend" (which sounds equally informed by the Turtles and the Buzzcocks). Its almost all upbeat, exuberant pop, yet nevertheless imbued with an abiding sense of mystery and loss. The lyrics are opaque but still dazzling and revealing, the singing passionate. Every song is great, and after 3 years of listening to this frequently, like all great art, something new is always revealed or reflected, yet I know I'll never get to the great mysteries at the heart of this record. (As you can see, after I slow start, I can't say enough about this record!) In conclusion, this is a unique record you won't regret purchasing if you're a fan of slightly twisted power pop or psycheldelia, and especially if you are a fan of the Chameleons UK, the Church, XTC, Echo, or Robyn Hitchcock. As high a recommendation as I can make!