Blue Bell Knoll
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''Blue Bell Knoll'' is the fifth studio album by Scottish
dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...
band
Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...
, released on 19 September 1988 by
4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...
. This was the band's first album to receive major-label distribution in the United States, as it was originally licensed by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
from 4AD for North American release. After a period of being out of print while 4AD reclaimed the American distribution rights for their back catalogue, the album (along with much of the band's 4AD material) was remastered by guitarist
Robin Guthrie Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the post punk alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has ...
and reissued in 2003. Vocalist
Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, who achieved success in the UK from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums '' Victorialand'' (1986) and '' H ...
named the album after a peak in southern
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
called Bluebell Knoll.


Background

Upon the release of the album,
Ivo Watts-Russell Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954) is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the independent record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director" ...
, co–founder of the band's record label
4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...
, commented on lead singer
Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, who achieved success in the UK from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums '' Victorialand'' (1986) and '' H ...
's vocals on ''Blue Bell Knoll'' saying "It’s got her best singing since she discovered her higher range. ‘Carolyn’s Fingers’ is absolutely beautiful, and still gives me the shivers". Fraser would later comment on the album, saying "Blue Bell Knoll was the easiest I’ve ever done to make a record. The records are a representation of our coping skills, and I think I was very much in denial, and I think that you can hear that on Blue Bell Knoll. Not one word can you grasp. Giving anything away it just wasn’t allowed". Raymonde claimed there was a greater sense of freedom around the recording of the album, saying "it really felt like a period of creativity and freedom, we were all getting on great musically and socially, Liz and Robin were about to have a baby, I was about to get married, there was lots of joy around. Very productive! It was a really fun record to make". The lyrics of the songs are entirely in Elizabeth Fraser's self-constructed language: "I gained so much from nventing language, Fraser said in a 2017 interview, "Writing ''Blue Bell Knoll'' I had a wonderful freedom to put lyrics aside and not to worry bout people's opinions" Fraser also revealed some of the ideas of the song titles: "Athol-Brose" was named after the Scottish drink Atholl brose, "A Kissed Out Red Floatboat" is "a romantic image of being open and having your heart open" and that "Ella Megalast Burls Forever" is a tribute to Robin Guthrie's mother.


Release and performance

''Blue Bell Knoll'' was released in September 1988 by 4AD and
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
(in the United States), where it marked the first major record label release for the band in the United States market. The album peaked at number fifteen on the UK Albums Charts, and number one hundred and nine in the United States on the ''Billboard 200'' albums charts. “ Carolyn's Fingers” from the album reached number two on the US
Alternative Airplay Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
Charts. In Japan, the song “Athol-Brose” was released as a single in 1990, accompanied with “Carolyn’s Fingers” and “Iceblink Luck”, following a feature in a Japanese television commercial. The release of the album marked the first time a 4AD release was released commercially in DAT format, with a limited-edition gatefold sleeve being made available for the vinyl release of the album. To further promote the release of the album, two promotional music videos were created to accompany the release of "Carolyn's Fingers" and "Cico Buff". 7-inch and 12-inch singles were released to promote the single “Carolyn’s Fingers”, featuring “Ella Megalast Burls Forever” and “A Kissed Out Red Floatboat” as b–sides. Upon the album's release, it was voted as ''Album of the Week'' by Dutch radio broadcaster
Omroepvereniging VARA The Omroepvereniging VARA (), the VARA Broadcasting Association, was a Dutch public broadcasting association primarily operating in the fields of television, radio, publishing and interactive media. It was a member of Netherlands Public Broadc ...
. In 2014, the album was repressed on 180g vinyl using new high definition masters. ''Blue Bell Knoll'' was ranked as the 89th best album of the 1980s in ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' magazines "200 Best Albums of the 1980s" list.


Critical reception

In a contemporary review of ''Blue Bell Knoll'', Victoria Thieberger of ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' appraised it as "everything that atmospheric music should be and usually isn't". ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' also reacted positively, ranking ''Blue Bell Knoll'' at number 33 on its list of 1988's best albums. A less favourable response came from ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
''s
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
, who wrote that "these faeries are in the aura business" and asked "what are they doing on the
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
charts? Ever hear the one about being so open-minded that when you lay down to sleep your brains fall out?"
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
critic Ned Raggett retrospectively wrote that "''Blue Bell Knoll'' has some striking moments that are pure Cocteaus at their best", citing the opening track "Blue Bell Knoll", "For Phoebe Still a Baby" and the U.S. single " Carolyn's Fingers" as highlights, before suggesting that "things slowly but surely slide back a bit" afterwards. Gen Williams of '' Drowned in Sound'' disagreed, saying in her 2002 review that "from start to finish, it's a record that gleams with grace and emotion; chiming, mournful guitars and layered tapestry of sounds evoke a vast array of imagery". '' Consequence''s Len Comaratta wrote that the album, "with its rich and ambitious expressiveness, returns the band to its
dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...
roots in the ether." ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' listed ''Blue Bell Knoll'' as the 81st best album of the 1980s, with reviewer Stuart Berman calling it "a record that courts the pop mainstream through its crisp, radiant production and also boldly rejects it through vocally smeared songs that are nigh impossible to sing along to."


Track listing


Personnel

*
Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, who achieved success in the UK from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums '' Victorialand'' (1986) and '' H ...
– vocals *
Robin Guthrie Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the post punk alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has ...
– guitar, keyboards, synth & drum machine programming, production *
Simon Raymonde Simon Philip Raymonde (born 3 April 1962) is an English musician and record producer. He is the son of the late arranger and composer Ivor Raymonde. He is best known as the bass guitarist and keyboard player with the Scottish band Cocteau Twins ...
– bass guitar, keyboards


Charts


References


External links


Blue Bell Knoll lyric interpretations
{{Authority control Cocteau Twins albums 1988 albums 4AD albums