April 23, 2001
Echo & The Bunnymen : It's Alright
They deserve a kinder fate than becoming a Stranglers-type self-tribute band.
They get knocked down, but they get up again. The original Starsailor, Merseyrock's longest-running soap opera stand again on the brink of a new album. But while their majestic comeback single 'Nothing Lasts Forever' was possibly the finest Bunnymen song ever, this is a worrying throwback to their roots - literally, since 'It's Alright' dates back to 1978. But it sounds even older, a dead-on pastiche of the swirling, Doors-y acid rock which so intoxicated them in their youth. It's not a great song, and hackneyed homilies about how far the mighty have fallen are hard to resist. The Bunnymen never quite achieved true greatness but they always acted like they had, which counted for something. They deserve a kinder fate than becoming a Stranglers-type self-tribute band.
Stephen Dalton
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