I'm the one who kept hassling Nick to listen to This Mortal Coil's version of the song, which I've loved since I first heard it in 1983. I'm so glad he liked it as much as I thought he would.
Love this song as well Marc. It will be played at my funeral...Honest, along with "California Dreaming" by the Mamas and The Papas and "Dragon Song" by Seasurfer. The Cocteau Twins are also a favourite as the late great DJ John Peel got me hooked on them along with so many other bands.
@@InsignificantNick Let's go down the rabbit hole a little further. What is a siren? She is a mermaid who sings and lures sailors to their death by drowning them. "Elizabeth Fraser" heard the song by Tim Buckley and covered it......and through that she dated Jeff Buckley....his son. Jeff died drowning in a river............and while that was happening....Liz was recording "Teardrop" with Massive Attack. Even stranger....Jeff had a song called "Corpus Christi Carol" (listen to that mate...it's amazing!)....and guess what day he died on? Yep....Corpus Christi Day.
Listening to a This Mortal Coil album in a darkened bedroom is to have an out-of-the-body experience. Back in my wild, misspent youth, it was the perfect comedown soundtrack after a night spent tripping the light fantastic.
Have you done any Cocteau Twins reactions? Oh please do some. I would suggest the songs Pandora, Carolyn's Fingers, Evangeline, Pearly Dewdrops' Drops, Heaven or Las Vegas, Iceblink Luck, Lorelei, Wax and Wane... SO many great songs! One thing to know going in is that Liz Fraser (when with the Cocteau Twins) sings in a glossolalic sort of bunch of random words/syllables - the lyrics don't necessarily mean anything in any language. It's fascinating, and she has one of the strangest and most beautiful voices EVER. I'm sure you'd love the Cocteau Twins.
Jeff (Buckley) was indeed bewitched by Elizabeth's voice - they did a song together but it was never officially released. His song "Morning Theft" was written about her and she has said that she'd just heard about Jeff's death on the day she went into the studio to record the vocals for "Teardrop" (Massive Attack) although I imagine the lyrics were written beforehand
So grateful to have been 22 when Elizabeth Fraser first sang this - it has been my favourite song for nearly 40 years. Lucky to have seen the Cocteau Twins several times - mesmerising.💙
Oh finally Tim Buckley! Huge, huge artist. Scaruffi said he was the greatest rock singer ever. And This Mortal Coil is just great, react to Cocteau Twins for more Elizabeth Fraser's songs
Tim was a big thing before drugs took him (just missed membership in the "27 Club"). The live version recorded to close out _The_ _Monkees_ television show is a little more up-tempo is definitely worth a listen. It is a great song which, as you said, envelops you in the story. His "No Man Can Find the War" was IMO his best anti-war tune; also "Pleasant Street" and "Star Sailor" are worth listens (advise against doing psychedelics while playing the latter). We do tend to suggest better-than-average songs, but I'm sure we all can recommend some truly awful tracks if you want 'em (maybe for next April Fools?).
The youtube has hundreds of videos, which is why the world celebrates. Think if it had thousands how confusing that would be. That said, let me say that I very much enjoyed seeing Tim at an outdoor concert once, and am sad for him and his son, whose Hallelujah can hardly be beat. Liz is a phenom, in fact many folks on the 4AD label are as well. Cocteau Twins. Dead Can Dance. "Mr. Somewhere" is another song by the Coil I feel sure you would like. Haunting and beautiful like these two today. Cheers!
What's particularly nice is that Liz Fraser's version is so different. Too often when people cover a song, they try to just recreate the original. I like the Cocteau Twins well enough, but all the echo could get annoying. Guthrie said he did that to cover his poor guitar skills, but it buried Fraser's voice too much. It would have been better to have had much more time to hear her voice plain and clear. That is one of the really nice things about Teardrop and Black Milk. One can hear her voice properly. Even on Group 4, though she's singing a bit in the background, her voice isn't farted about with. Also...Guthrie's hair. Ouch.
Liz was born not far from me in Grangemouth, a town in Scotland... I have followed her career since the 80's and the Cocteau Twins. She married the drummer from Echo & The Bunnymen (a band you really should try...Villiers Terrace, The Cutter or Killing Moon would be good places to start) He worked with Massive Attack who Liz also did when she did the vocals for their massive hit Teardrop (definitely try that....haunting). This Mortal Coil also had people from The Pixies and Dead Can Dance (if you liked this you will possibly like The Host of Seraphim ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-l3W3UwBjTWs.html ...total high gothic and DEEPLY atmospheric (they did some of the music for Gladiator too)...but like a few others I would wholeheartedly submit that the Cocteau Twins are the one to venture into... ANYTHING by them tbh.... From Blue Bell KNoll to Treasure, Victorialand, Head over Heels or even as late as Four Calander Cafe...any of the tracks on any of these albums is a star.
Loving your channel, just came across it and have thoroughly enjoyed binging on your wonderful selections. THIS posting really is going to be THEE gateway post for so much wondrous gems to come, lol. Other commenters have already pointed out further amazing suggestions so I won't bother, but yeah... 4AD really had their finger on the good stuff. Even yeeeears later when Hans Zimmer was working on the Gladiator soundtrack... he was like, this needs some... Lisa Gerrard(!). I hope you check out her track, Now We Are Free, used for the end credits. Goosebumps, Every time :)
Liz Fraser owns this song the way Johnny Cash would own certain songs he covered. Her complete, utter mastery of her instrument - her voice - is breathtaking to behold. What a gorgeous version!
Liz Frazier made this her song - I have this single. Robert Plant did a brilliant version as well. This Mortal Coil made 3 brilliant albums that each have well chosen interpretations of other peoples songs as well as their own music. The first album has a couple of Big Star covers both great but “Kangaroo” is astonishing. The second album is my favorite of theirs, full of great covers like Judy Collins “My Father” and a haunting cover of Van Morrison’s “Come here my love”. The third album includes a wonderful Gene Clark cover and even has a great Syd Barrett cover. Check them out, you might like them.
Song of the Siren (A first-time listener handguide for the Cocteau Twins music) It's difficult to go from Tim Buckley's Hippy/Folk Music version, then into Elizabeth Fraser's, Goth-Hazy, Ethereal Atmospheric interpretation, so euphorically named the Cocteau Twins, they were never referred to as This Mortal Coil (that was Ivo's 4AD vanity project). Nevertheless, She had picked the song out for herself to sing and accompany it with Ivo Watts-Russell's, This Mortal Coil band project, but Elizabeth was an admirer of Buckley's music. Consequently, this lead her to form a deep friendship and eventually as extramarital relationship with Tim Buckley, because she couldn't handle Robin Guthrie's constant infidelity and lack of loyalty to her (all of which, at the time, was known to only a very few people). Shortly after beginning to record with Massive Attack, Elizabeth received a devastating telephone phone call, informing her that back in United States her "secret love", Jeff Buckley was found apparently drowned in the Memphis harbor, while wading water during a late night dip and his body was found four days later. Only recently has she openly discussed her relationship with Jeff in a small documentary, dedicated to his memory. Nevertheless, Elizabeth was devastated and wanted to shout her feelings, so sitting near a roaring fire, it's almost unmanageable to believe that somewhere, deep inside her soul, she found the will to write out "Teardrop ('s)" lyrics and with a simple chord progression in an outpouring of grief, loss, and heartbreak in a clear declaration of love. What's ironic is that Tim Buckley's father who wrote "Song of the Siren" which is about mermaids, or otherwise known as the Siren. These sea-nymphs would lure innocent sea-goers by their astonishing beauty and the music they sang, only to grab men and pulling them down into the ocean depths ― Where they drown. Strangely, Jeff Buckley himself was found drown; but, some have question why he was found, fully dressed in his street clothes. It's a very interesting turn of events. However, it was 4AD's director and father of Independent Music movement, Ivo Watts-Russell who said: "Nobody, except Elizabeth, has sang "Song of the Siren" with such magnificent beauty and haunting charm to where I've watched grown men, burst into tears and cry, because it touched them so much. She is Universal and equally beautiful both inside and outside as well." For all of it, people have wondered why Elizabeth sounds so different....??? She suffers from Psychogenic Dysphonia, a very rare condition where she is unable to enunciate words properly. I'll hope you do more Cocteau Twins music in the future, because their discography is absolutely astonishing. Astonishing enough to be declared, "The Voice of God" and enough for Japan to rename their Treasure album, "The Woman Whom God Has Loved" (an extremely collectible album). It's like she said in an 80's magazine, "I dream of music ― I write it down and then I sing it ― It's for me to know what they're meaning is about. I'm only provide the 'hand-rails' and you do the rest. My hope it that you make each song your own".
1. No-one seems to have mentioned that the Tim Buckley track here isn't the "classic" version. This is a demo from circa 1967 - identifiable by the fact it has a fixed tempo, the "hare/fox" and "oyster" lyrics which were later changed, and a much more restrained vocal. Whereas the much more far-out version from Tim's classic album Starsailor is the template for almost every subsequent cover - from This Mortal Coil to Robert Plant to whoever. Of course now Nick needs to go through the ritual of experiencing the "stereotype version of" Ol' Timmy - and to that end I recommend either "Come Here Woman" (whether fast or slow version, it's still a Plantian nightmare), "The Borderline" (song about synaesthesia? well, let's hope so!) or the infamous Live At The Troubadour version of "Gypsy Woman" 2. Thirty to forty years later and still...Elizabeth my heart is thine.
I was thinking it sounds like the Cocteaus! Gave me the similar feels as "Arvo Pärt My Heart's in the Highlands Else Torp and Christopher Bowers" though that's very different.
ELIZABETH FRASER dated JEFF BUCKLEY years later & they did a beautiful demo, "All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun" Never released but leaked on the Cocteau Twins webpage years ago
George Michael always sound checked his live venues with this song and I always found that to be amazing. George's version, which he recorded years later, didn't exactly move me but what can you do after the original & Liz's rendition?
I think Liz's vocals were influenced by Bulgarian choral music (4ad, the Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil's record label) reissued a famous compilation of traditional songs. Check out this one and you'll hear something that's similar to the way Liz sings hold you/sorrow at the end of each verse ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s75K8yWKYLE.html
Oh Nick! It was such a wonderful surprise to see you had reacted to this gorgeous song by Tim Buckley. It was truly a joy to see the look on your face when you heard Elizabeth's voice for the first time! Whilst I do love his original version. For me I truly fell in love with it, when I first heard the version by This Mortal Coil. (TMC) To give a little background TMC was the brain child of 4AD records label boss Ivo Watts Russell. Song to the Siren, was originally released as a b side to the song 16 days (gathering dust) but it garnered so much attention it charted in it's own right. As you mentioned spending an astonishing 100+ weeks on the indie chart. Whilst Elizabeth Fraser And Robin Guthrie of Cocteau (pronounced Cock Toe Twins) were to sole musicians on TMC's version of Song to the Siren. The TMC project actually featured a whole host of artists signed to 4AD records ( members from Pixies ,The Breeders, Dead Can Dance, Cindytalk, Belly etc etc ) Elizabeth & Robin also covered Roy Harper's Another Day for the TMC project which also appears on the album It'll End In Tears. TMC released three albums It'll End In Tears | Filigree & Shadow | Blood. The project itself was never actually a band in the traditional sense but rather a studio based project. Each album featured various cover versions of (at the time of recording) quite obscure songs interwoven beautifully with original music & original songs. Whilst I would highly recommend that you check out each of the albums by TMC. Because they are unique & gorgeous, full of gothic atmosphere and are superbly produced records. But you know that I'm going to have to encourage you to explore the work of Cocteau Twins (aka the greatest band of all time) Whilst signed to 4AD they released a series of brilliant albums and eps check out www.cocteautwins.com for a comprehensive archive and history of the band. Their albums are Garland 1982 Head Over Heels 1983 (thee greatest album of all time ) Victorialand 1984 Treasure 1984 ( the first to feature Simon Ryamonde who had joined about 2 years earlier) Moon and the Melodies ( which is actually a collaboration album with Ambient legend the late Harold Budd) which was released under the collective names of the artists rather than Cocteau Twins with Harold Budd. Blue Bell Knoll 1988 Heaven or Las Vegas 1990 They released a number of excellent eps on 4AD alll featuring non album tracks . They left 4AD around 1990, even though Ivo Watts Rusell declared Heaven or Las Vegas to be his favorite of all the albums any artist had release on his label. The band felt that they had been under served by the label. They went on to release two further albums the gorgeous Four Calendar Cafe 1993 & the Majestic MIlk & Kisses 1995 before splitting up in 1997. I utterly adore everything that Cocteau Twins ever released each song is a glimmer jewel of brilliance from the dark & foreboding Garlands era to the simmering brilliance of Sugar Hiccup to the dazzling euphoria of Loves Easy Tears to the magnificence of Blue Bell Knoll or the radiant gorgeousness of Ice Blink Luck. They are truly unique & brilliant in a way I have never again encountered. The only bands| artists that come close ( for differing reasons are Kate Bush , Prince , Bowie LOW & Sigur Ros) So Nick I would beseech you and implore you to react to Musette & Drums by Cocteau Twins from their 1983 album Head Over Heels. It is just the most magnificent song of all time ;-) Trust me I know what I'm talking about. ;-) Hugs Happigoth IG: Perhaps_some_other_aeon
