Cocteau Twins: Cocteau Twins Singles Collection ( 10 CD Box) 1991

 

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by

Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often abandon recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative rock subgenre of dream pop.
                                                   

A group whose distinctly ethereal and gossamer sound virtually defined the enigmatic image of the

record label 4AD, Cocteau Twins were founded in Grangemouth, Scotland, in 1979. Taking their name from an obscure song from fellow Scots Simple Minds, the Cocteaus were originally formed by guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie and later rounded out by Guthrie's girlfriend Elizabeth Fraser, an utterly unique performer whose swooping, operatic vocals relied less on any recognizable language than on the subjective sounds and textures of verbalized emotions.
                                      

Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, and Will Heggie were too young to have been much a part of the punk

scene’s early years; by the time they came of age it was in full-swing. In 1980 they were still in their teens, and the music and the attitude of punk inevitably made its mark on them. “Punk to us didn’t mean your clothes,” Guthrie told Martin Aston many years later, “but doing what you want. Self-expression. A teenage cry for help.”
                                        

In 2006, Robin reflected, “I was actually a little bit too young for punk. To my eternal discredit one of the only original punk bands that I ever saw was Generation X, and they were hardly first level. I was sneaked in through a toilet window to see Generation X when I was about 14. I did, however, certainly

buy punk records from 1976 onwards. Punk did give us the ability to do what we wanted. I came into it absolutely without any pretension. I saw it like a wee boy perhaps would. I was hugely excited that here was this movement which was all about doing what you wanted to do and in the way you wanted to do it. It gave me the headspace to think, We can have a drum machine, We don’t have to have a drummer, and We can have all these fuzz boxes and things.”
                                      

Twenty years since their last full-length release, the Cocteau Twins remain, for many, a gold standard of a band, a group that seemed to have emerged fully formed from some dark, shadowy intersection of Victorian elegance and post-punk moodiness. The Cocteaus’ initial releases –1982’s Garlands album, followed by the Lullabies and Peppermint Pig EPs – were almost proof-of-concept efforts with flashes

of inspiration, something also borne out by sessions for John Peel. It’s easy to hear what fed into the dark, overwhelming flow of Garlands – Siouxsie and the Banshees, in particular – but at the same time, the rigid punch of their electronic beats gave them as much of a distinct mark, blended together with Liz Fraser’s understated, unusual vocals. If there’s a standard on Garlands, Wax and Wane is it – the buildup of percussion, Will Heggie’s murmuring bassline then Robin Guthrie’s cascading sheets of guitar sets the stage for Fraser’s still comparatively quiet but nonetheless strong singing turn. It signalled that the Cocteaus had a clear power; what emerged further was the beauty.
                                        

In 1982, the trio signed to 4AD, the arty British label then best known as the home of the Birthday

Party, whose members helped the Cocteaus win a contract. The group debuted with Garlands, which offered an embryonic taste of their rapidly developing, atmospheric sound, crafted around Guthrie's creative use of distorted guitars, tape loops, and echo boxes and anchored in Heggie's rhythmic bass as well as an omnipresent Roland 808 drum machine.
                                             

Shortly after the release of the Peppermint Pig EP, Heggie left the group, and Guthrie and Fraser cut

1983's Head Over Heels as a duo; nonetheless, the album largely perfected the Cocteaus' gauzy formula, and established the foundation from which the group would continue to work for the duration of its career.
                                                      

In late 1983, ex-Drowning Craze bassist Simon Raymonde joined the band to record the EP The

Spangle Maker; as time wore on, Raymonde became an increasingly essential component of Cocteau Twins, gradually assuming an active role as a writer, arranger, and producer. With their lineup firmly solidified, they issued The Spangle Maker, followed by the LP Treasure, their most mature and consistent work yet.
                                           

A burst of creativity followed, as the Twins issued three separate EPs -- Aikea-Guinea, Tiny Dynamine,

and Echoes in a Shallow Bay -- in 1985, trailed a year later by the acoustic Victorialand album, the Love's Easy Tears EP, and The Moon and the Melodies, a collaborative effort with minimalist composer Harold Budd.
                                                 

With 1988's sophisticated Blue Bell Knoll, the trio signed an international contract with Capitol

Records, which greatly elevated their commercial visibility. After 1990's Heaven or Las Vegas, the Cocteaus severed their long-standing relationship with 4AD; notably, the album also found Fraser's vocals offering the occasional comprehensible turn of phrase, a trend continued on 1993's Four-Calendar Cafe.
                                          

In 1995, they explored a pair of differing musical approaches on simultaneously released EPs: while

Twinlights offered subtle acoustic sounds, Otherness tackled ambient grooves, remixed by Seefeel's Mark Clifford. On the other hand, 1996's Milk & Kisses LP marked a return to the band's archetypal style. Cocteau Twins quietly disbanded while working on an uncompleted follow-up. Posthumous releases followed, such as 1999's BBC Sessions, 2000's Stars and Topsoil, and 2005's Lullabies to Violaine.

Cocteau Twins – Cocteau Twins Singles Collection
Label: Capitol Records – C2-15788, 4AD – C2-15788
Format:    Box Set, Compilation
10 x CD, EP, Reissue
CD, Single, Reissue
CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: Nov 4, 1991
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Ethereal

                                                 

TRACKS

CD1. LULLABIES  1982

                                         

  
1-1. Feathers-Oar-Blades    4:32
1-2. Alas Dies Laughing    3:40
1-3. It's All But An Ark Lark    8:06

CD2. PEPPERMINT PIG  1983           

                                         

 
2-1. Peppermint Pig (7" Version)    3:24
2-2. Laugh Lines    3:20
2-3. Hazel    2:49
2-4. Peppermint Pig (12" Version)    5:02

CD3. SUNBURST AND BLIND     1983       

                                               

                                          
3-1. Sugar Hiccup    3:41
3-2. From The Flagstones  (Producer – John Fryer)  3:39
3-3. Hitherto    3:56
3-4. Because Of Whirl-Jack  (Producer – John Fryer)  3:29

CD4. THE SPANGLE MAKER  1984       

                                                   

                                           
4-1. The Spangle Maker    4:42
4-2. Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops (12" Version)    5:14
4-3. Pepper-Tree    3:47
4-4. Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops (7" Version)    4:11

CD5. AIKEA - GUINEA 1985           

                                               

5-1. Aikea-Guinea    3:57
5-2. Kookaburra    3:20
5-3. Quisquose    4:10
5-4. Rococo    3:08

CD6. ECHOES IN A SHALLOW BAY  1985           

                                            

6-1. Great Spangled Fritillary    4:02
6-2. Melonella    4:05
6-3. Pale Clouded White    4:59
6-4. Eggs And Their Shells    3:06

CD7. TINY DYNAMINE  1985       

                                     

  
7-1. Pink Orange Red    4:41
7-2. Ribbed And Veined    4:00
7-3. Plain Tiger    4:01
7-4. Sultitan Itan    3:53

CD8. LOVE'S EASY TEARS  1986       

                                             

  
8-1. Love's Easy Tears    3:37
8-2. Those Eyes, That Mouth    3:38
8-3. Sigh's Smell Of Farewell    3:33
8-4. Orange Appled    2:49

CD9. ICEBLINK LUCK  1990       

                                                 

  
9-1. Iceblink Luck    3:20
9-2. Mizake The Mizan    3:03
9-3. Watchlar    3:17

CD10. SINGLES BOX BONUS CD  1991       

                                              

  
10-1. Dials    2:39
10-2. Crushed    3:17
10-3. The High Monkey-Monk    3:07
10-4. Oomingmak (Instrumental)    2:43
                                        

Printed on back cover, Disc 10:
Track 10-1: Previously unreleased
Track 10-2: Originally released on 4AD compilation 'Lonely is an Eyesore' (CAD 703)
Track 10-3: Originally released on 'Gigantic II' Melody Maker compilation
Track 10-4: Previously unreleased.

Disc 10 is titled "Bonus CD" on label, "Dials • Crushed • The High Monkey-Monk • Oomingmak" on spine; it is sometimes referred to as "Bonus Disc" or "Dials".
Track 10-1 is from the US promo-only 'Heaven Or Las Vegas' 12" and CD single.
Track 10-4 is used as outtro on the 'Lonely Is An Eyesore' video.
                               

10 CD Singles and EPs beginning with their first recorded release right up to the present. With the exception of Iceblink Luck none of these CDs have ever been available individually on CD. Also included in this package is an additional CD which contains four tracks never commercially released.
Includes all nine of the 4AD-period singles plus a bonus disc of rare tracks.
                                             

MEMBERS

                                           

Bass [Uncredited] – Simon Raymonde (tracks: 4-1 to 10-4), Will Heggie (tracks: 1-1 to 2-4)
Guitar [Uncredited] – Robin Guthrie
Performer – Elizabeth Fraser (tracks: 4-1 to 4-4), Robin Guthrie (tracks: 4-1 to 4-4), Simon Raymonde (tracks: 4-1 to 4-4)
Vocals [Uncredited] – Elizabeth Fraser
Written-By – Cocteau Twins
                                    

DISCOGRAPHY

                                      

01. Garlands (1982)
02. Lullabies EP (1982)
03. Peppermint Pig EP (1983)
04. Head Over Heels (1983)
05. Sunburst and Snowblind EP (1983)
06. Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops EP (1984)
07. The Spangle Maker (1984)
08. Treasure (1984)
09. Aikea-Guinea EP (1985)
10. Tiny Dynamine EP (1985)
11. Echoes in a Shallow Bay EP (1985)
12. Victorialand (1986) (made without bassist Simon Raymonde)
13. Love's Easy Tears EP (1986)
14. The Moon and the Melodies (1986) - collaboration with Ambient musician Harold Budd.
15. Blue Bell Knoll (1988)
16. Iceblink Luck EP (1990) - the title track would be featured on the released-soon-after Heaven or Las Vegas.
17. Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)
18. Cocteau Twins Singles Collection, aka the Dials / Crushed / The High Monkey-Monk / Oomingmak EP (1991) - the only non-album EP to not be included in the Lullabies to Violaine compilation.
19. Evangeline EP (1993)
20. Four-Calendar Café (1993)
21. Snow EP (1993)
22. Bluebeard EP (1994)
23. Twinlights EP (1995) - acoustic album.
24. Otherness EP (1995) - remix album.
25. Milk and Kisses (1996)
26. Tishbite EP (1996)
27. Violaine EP (1996)
28. Lullabies to Violaine (2005) - box set with all the band's singles and EPs plus some extra tracks with the Tishbite and Violaine sections, except for the aforementioned Dials EP.

CD1. - CD2. - CD3. - CD4.
MP3 @ 320 Size: 155 MB
Flac  Size: 408 MB

 

CD5. - CD6. - Cd7. - CD8.
MP3 @320 Size: 149 MB
Flac  Size: 401 MB

CD9. - CD10.
MP3 @320 Size: 60 MB
Flac  Size: 141 MB