In the mid 1980s, there was no internet, eBay, discogs, and if you didn't live in a metropolitan area, music was expensive. These two releases were the first affordable releases to surface on the North American continent from Cocteau Twins, and while neither were issued by the band themselves in this form, the arrangement of the collection and the pairing of the two EPs are flawless and remain a fantastic listen three decades later.
The Pink Opaque was the first disc in the short-lived partnership with Relativity in the USA, and features ten songs from 1985 and before. For me, it was the first CD I could buy from Cocteau Twins that was under $20 ($44.60 in the equivalent of 2015 dollars!). Perhaps it was designed by committee to be a sampler of other releases, and maybe my nostalgia skews my objective assessment of the running order, but the flow remains perfect.
Great albums tend to creep in, such as the opening of "The Spangle Maker," as it has a pulsating opening before the bombastic shimmer kicks in. It's a reminder that while Cocteau Twins are cited for their "dreaminess," guitar layers, and Liz Fraser's unique vocal style, their strict adherence to pulse is exceptionally important.
Along with single cuts such as "Pearly Drewdrops' Drops," "From the Flagstones," and "Aikea-Guinea," the collection features music from each of the first three albums, an exclusive remix of "Wax and Wane" as well as a compilation-only song, "Millimillenary," which has still managed to evade every Cocteau collection since. It perfectly wraps up as the clock at the end of "Pepper-Tree," from 1984 The Spangle Maker EP runs straight into "Musette and Drums" off 1983's Head Over Heels.
Tiny Dynamine and Echoes in a Shallow Bay were both issued on the same day as EPs, also in 1985, and once again issued on CD in North America at an affordable price, this time through Vertigo in Canada. Each EP features four stunning songs that everybody reading this has probably heard a billion times at this point. These EPs, along with Victorialand, released the following year, marked a shift in their sound, favoring multiple layers of lush guitars and long, spacious, shimmering echoes.Even Vaughan Oliver's artwork seemed to indicate all three releases were a set.
Tiny Dynamine is certainly the brighter of both, with the gorgeous "Pink Orange Red" and sparkling sounds of the opening guitars in "Ribbed and Veined," while Echoes opens with the more sinister-sounding "Great Spangled Fritillary" and continues with the haunting "Melonella."
Three decades later, I can't listen to one of these EPs without the other, and two sides on a single LP is a better listening experience than getting up and flipping a record over after only two songs.
I can only speculate that the meticulous attention to detail by V23 from day one has facilitated reissue artwork, and these vinyl reissues both feel and sound like they should. The sleeves are sturdy with a heavy stock, and the records look beautiful themselves, with deep, thick grooves. There has been quite an uproar about Cocteau Twins remasters, but for my ears, these both sound fantastic.
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