| The Coral |
| History |
| They're not like Echo & the Bunnymen and they claim they're not seaside scousers of their Liverpudlian hometown of Hoylake, for The Coral are crazy geezers, Happy Mondays-style. Comprised of six neighborhood mates James Skelly (guitar/vocals), Ian Skelly (drums), Nick Power (organ), Bill Ryder-Jones (guitar/trumpet), Lee Southall (guitar/vocals) and Paul Duffy (bass/sax), The Coral formed in their early teens in 1996. NME was quick to jump on them in Autumn 2001, proclaiming The Coral as the best new band in England thanks to the popularity of "Shadows Fall." The next summer, The Coral was still a buzz - their self-titled debut album appeared on Sony Music UK in July. While the fiery rock & roll spirit of The La's Lee Mavers courses through their veins, the debut album by youthful Liverpudlian mystics the Coral proves they are far more than Merseybeat chancers. The opening "Spanish Main"--"We've set sail again! / We're heading for the Spanish Main!"--casts the sextet as marauding scally pirates, out to pillage musical history for any loot they can lay their hands on. Magnificently, it's possible to hear the influence of everything from Captain Beefheart to Miles Davis, from Spanish mariachi guitar to rambunctious Cossack dance rhythms surfacing between the tight, ragged grooves of "I Remember When" and "Shadows Fall". But the staggering thing about The Coral is that it's stuffed to bursting point with ideas, yet presents them all in such stark clarity. It's hard to pick an album highlight, but it's probably a toss-up between the curious, swooping fable of "Simon Diamond" and the unfettered insanity of "Skeleton Key", which finds frontman James Skelly croaking "Solid gold skeleton key / opens the most intricate lock / Brother roll another for me/ I am shipwrecked on the rocks!" as his bandmates caw like parrots in the background. The Coral are off on a totally mental trip. It would take a fool, however, to choose not to join them. |
| Pictures |
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| (Top-Right Pic) The Coral are (l-r): Paul Duffy - Bass/Sax Lee Southhall - Guitar/Vocals James Skelly - Guitar/Lead Vocals Bill Ryder-Jones - Guitar/Trumpet Ian Skelly - Drums/Percussion Nick Power - Organ/Vocals |
| Discography |
| July 2001 - Shadows Fall EP <Deltasonic> December 2001 - The Oldest Path EP <Deltasonic> April 2002 - Skeleton Key EP <Deltasonic> July 2002 - Goodbye [single] <Deltasonic> July 2002 - The Coral LP <Deltasonic> October 2002 - Dreaming Of You [single] <Deltasonic> March 2003 - Don't Think Your The First [single] <Deltasonic> July 2003 - Pass It On [single] <Deltasonic> July 2003 - Magic And Medicine LP <Deltasonic> |
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| Recommended Tracks |
| I Remember When Dreaming Of You Spanish Main Don't Think You're The First Goodbye Skeleton Key |
| My Comments |
| This is the first really alt band I've done on the site. Bringing together all kinds of music into one big ball of something. They are really cool, go out and get their album. It's was up for the 2002 Mercury Music Prize. They are meant to be really good live and hopefully I'll find that out. The first time I heard them was on Steve Lamacq's Show on Radio 1 (8pm Mon-Thu), can't remember what the song was though. The first release I got by them was the Skeleton Key EP, that song is just mad. Another thing; I got the album for only �10.99 from Virgin, that was unusual 'cos Richard Branson is usually a right rip off. Can't wait for the new album! |
| Check Out The Coral If You Like: |
| Can't really compare them to anyone they're so original. Just check them out if you like good music. |