“Talking to no-one is strange, talking to someone is stranger…”
Kevin Coyne, “Talking to No-One” from the album Marjory Razorblade (Virgin Records, 1973)
This page is under construction!
To be written: The Virgin Records Years, The Paradise Band Years, The Final Years
Index
- I. The Siren Years
- II. The Virgin Records Years
- III. The Paradise Band Years
- IV. The Final Years
- V. Discography
Perhaps one of the most intriguing musicians I’ve come across, and the impetus for making this site (complete with inspired title and URL), Kevin Coyne’s music has had a large impact on me in recent years.
It started with a passing recommendation for an odd looking album entitled Babble (Virgin, 1979), a duet album with one Dagmar Krause, whom I was familiar with previously through her collaborations with Henry Cow, but a regular duet album this was not. It was and is one of the greatest albums I’ve heard, personally.
This jettisoned my curiosity into Mr. Coyne as I hadn’t heard of him previously and just like that, each new album I explored, the more I admired and the more I cherished his approach to music, his interests, his overall work…all of it quite captured me. I’d say that, more likely than not (as of this writing) Kevin is probably my favorite artist.
His music seems overlooked, but by writing this and starting this site, I hope as I share my thoughts that I encourage others to listen to this intriguing, unique, wild, and thought-provoking artist.
I. The Siren Years: 1969 – 1971
The first releases involving Kevin Coyne were of his band Siren, a blues/pub rock band in late 1960s England, alongside main members Dave Clague and Nick Cudworth. They would release their first singles (where they were originally named as Clague or Coyne/Clague) on John Peel’s label, Dandelion Records.
A full LP and name change would occur in 1969 with the self-titled album Siren (Dandelion Records, 1969). Siren goes shows off many of the facets and attributes of the then burgeoning blues rock surge in England, but has little odd touches that make it stand out; namely, the vocalist himself, Mr. Coyne. While not as wild as he will become, he shows off unique vocals and lyricism that foreshadows his future interests (especially the song Asylum). The progression and flow here is sound; instrumentation is solid and effective, and while it is not a hugely dynamic work in comparison to future albums, it serves well as a very solid blues rock record [Picks: Asylum, Ze-Ze-Ze-Ze, Get Right Church].
The follow-up to the self-titled would be 1971’s Strange Locomotion and adopts many of the same beats of the debut record, namely that rollicking blues rock with a more boisterous vocal performance from Kevin. The lyrics are not yet up to his later caliber, but there are some gems here that are quite fun, and I would be remiss to not mention the odd nature of some lyrics such as on Some Dark Day; other songs feel indicative of the time, if perhaps with a dark humor to them. Overall, I prefer the debut but this has some solid stuff. For the uninitiated to Kevin Coyne, I would say that you should start with one of his next two records, going under his own name. [Picks: Strange Locomotion, Some Dark Day]
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II. The Virgin Records Years, 1972 – 1980
After the two Siren records (and two other recordings), Kevin would go solo and establish his debut in 1972 with the spectacular Case History (Dandelion Records, 1972). It is one of the few records I would recommend for first time listeners, as it highlights Kevin Coyne’s strengths at this early stage as a vocalist & lyricist, and his penchant for unique/experimental approaches to instrumentation/effects can be seen readily in tunes such as the eerie echo-y Evil Island Home, featuring vocal effects that add tension to the atmosphere, the guitar proceeding at a steady, unyielding strum with Kevin weaving his vocals throughout the track, with the chorus delivering a powerful moment of release to the building tension.
Another highlight, the wonderful White Horse, one of Kevin’s most ornate and subtle tracks, sounds like overlapping acoustic guitars, one of which utilizes a memorable, sharp sounding riff that adds to the complex acoustic arrangements of the piece. It is almost dreamlike listening to this particular song – Coyne’s poetry is at one of his highest levels here. A beautiful work.
The opening track, God Bless the Bride, feels like the obvious connection back to the bluesier compositions of Siren, but the improvement in performance and lyricism is noticeable; Coyne’s notable vocals take shape here and he has a wonderful bluesy grit to his voice while retaining a melodic quality that I enjoy greatly.
Other highlights for this work include Uggy’s Song, a humanistic, passionate song, and Mad Boy, a wild chorus and erratic verses meeting a fun chugging acoustic progression; both are quite memorable as is Sand All Yellow, Kevin showing off his varied vocals, almost snarling and growling in his delivery; so instantly captivating. The sweetest song here, Need Somebody, is a sad reflection on aging and needing someone, not even someone to love but someone to just be there; it is quite affecting. Kevin has improved his lyricism and themes from Siren.
Discography
Recommended albums are highlighted in BOLD TEXT.
1969 – Siren
1971 – Strange Locomotion
1971 – Rabbits (compilation)
1972 – Case History
1973 – Marjory Razorblade
1974 – Blame It on the Night
1975 – Matching Head and Feet
1976 – Heartburn
1976 – In Living Black and White (live)
1976 – Let’s Have a Party (compilation)
1977 (1983) – Beautiful Extremes: 1974 – 1977 (subtitled Et Cetera for 1983 release)
1978 – Dynamite Daze
1978 – Millionaires and Teddy Bears
1979 – Babble (w/ Dagmar Krause)
1980 – Bursting Bubbles
1980 – Sanity Stomp (w/ The Ruts (sides A + B), Robert Wyatt + Brian Godding (sides C + D)
1981 – Pointing the Finger
1982 – Pøliticz
1983 – Legless in Manila
1985 – Rough (live)
1987 – Stumbling onto Paradise
1987 – Everybody’s Naked
1990 – Romance-Romance
1990 – Peel Sessions (compilation)
1991 – Wild Tiger Love
1992 – Burning Head
1993 – Tough and Sweet
1994 – Elvira: Songs from the Archives (1979 – 83)
1995 – The Adventures of Crazy Frank
1997 – Knocking on Your Brain
1999 – Sugar Candy Taxi
1999 – Bittersweet Lovesongs
2000 – Room Full of Fools
2002 – Carnival
2002 – Life is Almost Wonderful (w/ Brendan Croker)
2004 – Donut City
2005 – One Day in Chicago (w/ Jon Langford & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts) (live)
2005 – Underground (posthumous)
2010 – I Want My Crown: The Anthology 1973 – 1980 (compilation) (posthumous)
2012 – Nobody Dies in Dreamland: Home Recordings from 1972 (compilation) (posthumous)
2019 – Live at Rockpalast 1979 (live) (posthumous)
Sources
Special thanks to Pascal whose fantastic Kevin Coyne fansite was an invaluable resource for a newer fan.
Beautiful Extremes, Etc. - b4bbl3.com 