Recommendation #1: Peggy Suicide

As a break from mundane report writing, I thought I'd pen a quick recommendation of an album I'm currently digging: Julian Cope's Peggy Suicide, released in 1991 on Island. Upon listening to this album for the first time last week, my initial feelings were that of disappointment - I was expecting something more, something with clear creativity and originality. But, with more listens, the infectious nature of this music eventually made me realise that the music is in fact all those things! This is not an album you can listen to in a cursory fashion and expect to understand it immediately (at least, not for me anyway) and this was the mistake I made at first, daunted by the sheer length of the double album.

The message on this album is dense and complicated, being delivered with aggression, sadness and frustration in response to political and philosophical matters. Upon reading the inside of the gatefold LP sleeve, I found that 'Peggy Suicide' is in fact a personification of mother earth, which lays down the foundation for the concept of this album. As of yet however, I am no where near even beginning to understand Julian's overall statement for this album, and I imagine many more intense listenings will be required before this is the case!

The sound of this album is somewhat indescribable - though no through lack of distinctness! If I was forced to put a label on it, to me, it sounds like a mix of Syd Barrett/Todd Rundgren/Stone Roses (and something else I can't quite put my finger on). Genre-wise, I would describe it as somewhere between folk rock and psychedelia, though with a relatively modern (90's) interpretation on these ideas. Overall, it is clear that Julian is a true music enthusiast, as well as musician, if not through knowledge of the books he's put out, then through the seamless blending of sounds on this album - truly a superb effort in my opinion!