Julian Cope - Saint Julian (1987)

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Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician, author, antiquarian, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator. 

Originally coming to prominence in 1978 as the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes, he has followed a solo career since 1983 and worked on musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep. 

Saint Julian is his third solo album. It has a very strong pop sound, compared to other Cope releases, and spawned several of his best known tracks (including "World Shut Your Mouth" and "Trampolene", which were both hit singles). 

A switch to Island Records resulted in the best possible start -- not merely a generally fine album but a simply fantastic hit U.K. single, "World Shut Your Mouth." 

Nothing to do with the record of the same name but definitely possessing much of the same energy, it's a great slice of modern rock, with a crisp arrangement and punchy performance from Cope and his band. Skinner and Fried drummer Chris Whitten reappear, while bassist James Eller and keyboardist Double DeHarrison fill out the lineup. 

Kate St. John once again adds cor anglais here and there, one of her best moments being the bright charge of the title track. Together they tackle a set of songs notably less insular than much of the Fried material, with full-on performances to match. 

One song shows that best of all -- "Shot Down," which originally appeared on Fried and here becomes a swaggering, pounding rocker with keyboards adding to the impact. More than ever before in his solo career, Cope sounds like he's performing songs meant to be heard live, as the charging "Trampoline" and "Spacehopper" show. 

There's an almost finger-snapping, swinging vibe to a number of the performances that recall Teardrop Explodes days without trying to simply re-create that sound -- he's not trying to revisit the past, there's no need. A few numbers sound a bit too cold and crisp to work entirely -- "Planet Ride" is arena soul/rock that sounds like something Robert Palmer would have done around the same time, lyrics aside. 

A couple of other moments like that crop up, but with the balance skewed more to joys like Cope's in-your-face vocal on "Pulsar" and the lengthy final track "A Crack in the Clouds," Saint Julian is another winner. 

The album's cover was shot by English photographer Peter Ashworth, who said of the shoot, "The pose for the album cover was standing with his arms outstretched, as if being crucified. It was freezing. One of the coldest nights of the year. It took many hours for me and Bruno Tilley, the art director, to light the entire space with heavy duty parcan lights running from a generator truck just out of sight."

Track listing

1.  Trampolene - 3:33 

2.  Shot Down - 3:35 

3.  Eve's Volcano (Covered in Sin) - 4:16 

4.  Spacehopper - 3:59 

5.  Planet Ride - 5:42 

6.  World Shut Your Mouth - 3:06 

7.  Saint Julian - 3:20 

8.  Pulsar - 2:46 

9.  Screaming Secrets - 3:27 

10.  A Crack in the Clouds - 7:59 

All tracks are written by Julian Cope

Personnel

• Julian Cope – vocals, 9-string rhythm guitar; (also performs pseudonymously as "Double DeHarrison" playing organ and Hohner Clavinet on most tracks and 'Oregon' guitar on "A Crack in the Clouds")
• Donald Ross Skinner – electric & slide guitars, 'airhead' guitar & screams on "Spacehopper"
• James Eller – bass guitar
• Chris Whitten – drums
• Warne Livesey – synthesizer, strings on "A Crack in the Clouds"
• Paul Crockford – Ace Tone organ on "Planet Ride"
• Richard Frost (credited as "Keith-Richard Frost") – string machine on "Saint Julian"
• Kate St. John – cor anglais on "Saint Julian" & "A Crack in the Clouds"
• Dee Lewis, Tessa Niles – chorus vocals on "Eve's Volcano", chorus agreement vocals on "Planet Ride"

Technical

• Warne Livesey - production on "Trampolene", "Eve's Volcano", "Planet Ride", "Saint Julian", "Pulsar", "Screaming Secrets", "A Crack in the Clouds"
• Ed Stasium - production on "Shot Down", "Spacehopper", "World Shut Your Mouth"
• Felix Kendall - recorded by
• George Schilling - recorded by
• P. St. John Nettleton, Island Art - sleeve design
• Peter Ashworth - cover photography
• Lawrence Watson - inner photography

Notes

Released:  2 March 1987 

Genre:  Alternative rock 

Length:  41:43 

Label - Island Records