Jehovahkill by Julian Cope [VINYL]

	£		52
	$		68

Tracks:
Soul Desert
No Hard Shoulder to Cry On
Akhenaten
The Mystery Trend
Up-Wards at 45°
Know (Cut My Friend Down)
Necropolis
Slow Rider

Performer Notes:

• Personnel: Julian Cope (guitars, bass); Donald Ross Skinner (keyboards, bass); Rooster Cosby (drums, saxophone).
• Additional personnel: Doggen, Hugoth Nicolson (guitars); Tom Nicolson (harmonica); Shaun Harvey, Dr. Fiorella Terenzi.
• Producers: Donald Ross Skinner, Julian Cope.
• JEHOVAHKILL continues--and refines--Julian Cope's crusade to make music safe for acid-damaged intellectuals. This time out, his main target is the reclamation of pagan ideals and symbolism appropriated by Christianity--when was the last time you listened to a pop-rock album with goals as extravagant as that? Cope's ultimate brilliance is that he is able take concepts such as this and render them in a manner that is hard to take offense at. Whether you agree with him or not, the songs are gentle, catchy statements of their author's beliefs, never preachy and always shot through with just enough psychedelic weirdness to keep the experience musically arresting.
• Standouts include the opening track, "Soul Desert," which sneakily prepares listeners for the combination of musical styles that will follow; the simple acoustic guitar and vocal combination (along with the occasional cymbal and synthesizer squelch) of "Up-wards at 45" that builds to a full-on rock freak-out; and the redemption and joy of "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fine." Though perhaps not the best place to begin with Cope's catalogue--neophytes should investigate the FLOORED GENIUS compilation--JEHOVAHKILL is a excellent example how Cope and his band can incorporate everything from funk, punk, surf, and neo-techno into 70 startlingly original minutes.

Professional Reviews: Rolling Stone (1/7/93, p.47) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...an overwhelming 16-song has packed JEHOVAHKILL with enough musical novelty to keep listeners guessing--and intrigued...he couples lyrics of inscrutable power with music that is both ecelctic and tightly tailored..."

Spin (1/93) - Highly Recommended - "...JEHOVAHKILL is better than anything else Cope has 's message to the universe has become remarkably selfless and 's most consistent album..."

Entertainment Weekly (1/15/93, p.52) - "...sounds like a guy with great taste having an orgy in the studio--and echoing everybody he's ever liked in the process..." - Rating: B+

Q (10/94, p.135) - 3 Stars - Good - "...strung-out battiness, Floydian noodling, eco-fear and humble autobiography..."

Alternative Press (3/93, p.45) - "...he's found the magic again...an album full of driving music; Cope jumps into the void and discovers freedom...overflows with new ideas, sounds and styles...A record to be treasured and enjoyed over and over again..."

The Wire (p.66) - "JEHOVAHKILL marked the final shift from Cope the ex-Teardrop and ex-pop star to Cope the shaman, heathen rocker and wayward polymath.....An engaging sequence of songs."

Audio Magazine (2/93, p.94) - Sound: A / Performance: A- - "...fascinating....Paranoid whispers, distant howls, seductive bass lines, rough acoustic/electric climaxes--refreshing audacity--this is Julian Cope..."

(3/93, p.54) - "...At once didactic and confessional, these songs demonstrate a severe form of self-analysis..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.134) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he results are still a thrilling charge to the head."

NME (Magazine) (11/7/92, p.38) - "...A 16-track testimony to the everlasting worth of ancient is funnier and more inventive than he's been in years..."

Format: Vinyl (2 Disc)

Studio/Live: Studio

Release Date: 23 February, 2018

Label: IMS-ISLAND