Peggy Suicide

I wish I loved anything as much as the listmaker loves British guys who jerk off on tape and call it "music."

Flying blind again going into this one with an artist I have never heard of. “Pristeen” is certainly unique. Halfway through the songs I started wondering if I had taken something a half hour ago that was starting to kick in. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this album at this point, but the opening drums and guitars in “Double Vegetation” grabbed my attention. The verses show off Julian Cope’s vocals which were starting to grow on me. Good song! As the album progressed, I was liking this more and more. There were a number of standout songs. "East Easy Rider" with its cool, groovy sound, the organ in "Promised Land", "Safesurfer" and its mantra-like ending, "If You Loved Me At All" with its really catchy chorus, the also catchy "Drive, She Said" with that old-school guitar vibe (perhaps my favorite song on the album - "Yeah we could crawl but I'd rather drive, she said"). PEGGY SUICIDE has a lot of subtle things happening in the music alongside some very pointed lyrics in songs like "Soldier Blue" and "Leperskin". The former seemed disturbingly relevant today - so much for progress. The youth choir singing "Western Front 1992 C.E." over the strange drips and ominous music was very cool although it may have a decidedly niche appeal. "Hung Up and Hanging Out to Dry" spends more time out in the more experimental sounds. These songs were well-placed later in the album as by now I am fully on-board and ready to appreciate them, although I could see how they might inspire the use of the skip-forward button for some. I pretty much fell in love with this entire album. I had thought there was no way I'd make it through the extra 11 tracks of the DELUXE EDITION, but by the end of the original album's quietly appropriate last song "Las Vegas Basement," I was more than happy to hear more. The additional tracks of the Deluxe Edition (an entire album’s worth) consisted largely of music that seemed suited for the lobby of a boutique Millennial hotel or maybe the Cosmopolitan in Vegas. Nearer the end were some alternate versions and very experimental pieces. The Deluxe Edition I didn’t mind but probably wouldn’t visit that often and wouldn’t recommend to new listeners. Judging from PEGGY SUICIDE, Julian Cope is a very interesting person in a profession that is filled with interesting people. One review referred to him as a madman, and that seems apt. This madman's music is fantastic and inventive, the lyrics at some times pointed and other times cryptic, and this album has a lot to say. Madmen can often end up creating unlistenable music. Fortunately I did not find this to be the case here. This album is a wonderful, trippy, exciting journey. Fantastic!

“By 1984, Cope's love of hallucinogens -- as well as a toy car collection that occupied nearly an entire year of his life -- was at an all-time high.” I rest my case, your honor.

Not gonna listen to an album with that cover. Sorry. 1/5

This feels like the kind of album that would be playing super loud at a record store and you'd be shopping and grooving and you'd pick up a copy and then listen on your walkman and it would feel like a wonderful secret. I loved this an awful lot. Even songs that started out kind of annoying (is he rhyming "mistake" with "mistake"?) built to something magnificent. Different tracks brought to mind wildly different things: Pristeen reminded me of Jesus Christ Superstar, Double Vegetation of The Who's Tommy, Promised Land of Leonard Cohen, Safesurfer of Pink Floyd. Several of the tracks are a total groove and a half: East Easy Rider, If You Loved Me At All, Soldier Blue, Not Raving But Drowning, Head. I was dancing along for a lot of it. And then we end with the easy, mellow Las Vegas Basement. I didn't pay much attention to lyrics. They seem repetitive but I didn't mind that at all. Love it love it love it. Thank you for this!

Julian Nope

Weird.

I'm not sure where to start with this one. I guess to get the obvious out of the way, it's long. It seems a bit Madchester-adjacent, so it seems to lose itself in the groove more often than not, and at about the third track I realized it's extremely repetitive. I flitted between giving this a two and a one, but I think the length eventually chewed me down to a one. There were some decent grooves on here, but they are too few and far between, and I'd really rather listen to anything else. Maybe even Lenny Kravitz again. At least he knows brevity.

Schrodinger’s cat. The movement of the Holy Spirit. The ending to most of the Coen brothers’ movies. I commented in my review preceding this one that sometimes you don’t completely or immediately comprehend an artist, where they’re coming from, what they’re trying to express, and it adversely affects your enjoyment. Other times, you don’t get it, and its ok. But in this particular instance, I neither immediately nor completely understood Julian Cope’s 'Peggy Suicide'; but, I loved it! He claims the whole thing is a meditation on humanity’s relationship with Mother Earth, and there are certainly songs that may be interpreted in that way. But I also heard him reflecting on a myriad of other things like birth control, police brutality, politics, religion- just to scratch the surface. And I’ve got a hundred questions that need answering: What/where is Cope’s promised land? Who’s the apostolic hag? What’s the significance of 1904? What is the meaning of the lyric, ‘Concentric circles running to the American lite’? Or, ‘It’ll all wash down when it rains’? And when he sings on the opening track, 'Pristeen' (spell check is now screaming at me), ‘How much can you take? ‘Cause your lying to me was your first mistake. Your trusting in me was your major mistake,’ is he singing about or as (and I’m guessing here) Mother Earth? This is a recording to spend some time with, to re-visit, on many occasions. And not just for the lyrics, which are rhymed and rhythmed masterfully. The music is wonderful, too. Passionately sung (and I loved the use of echo on his voice), unique melodies, a wide variety of styles and arrangements while at the same time keeping it simple in the best way, great supporting musicians, even better production (the sound engineer excelled.) There wasn’t a bad or even mediocre track in the bunch. And man, 'Hanging Out And Hung Up On The Line' is rockin’ the way rock oughta rock! I’d love to see this performed live. I was 32 years old and living in the very small town of Como, TX when this LP was released. Nirvana’s 'Nevermind' pretty much dominated my cassette deck back then, along with Metallica’s 'Metallica' (Black Album) and the Rollins’ Band, 'The End of Silence.' The sheer volume of those three no doubt rendered 'Peggy Suicide' inaudible to my ears. But that was then, and this is now. Yeah, this… is… now. (Your turn, Julian. What do you think I mean by that!?) At the conclusion of his musical meditation, he leaves us with this forlorn lyric: ‘I was born to entertain, so here I go. I was shown the door before I got to sing. Only to be now forgotten.’ Well, you know what they say: When one door closes, another opens. Uh, Julian, that would be my open door. And you’re welcome to visit anytime you want.

First time hearing this or anything from Julian Cope. It feels aggressively artful. That is, the existence of the songs and their collection into this album represents a single object. As songs in and of themselves, they show a stunning array of style and execution.

This album is too irregular for me. There are some great songs, but there are also some experimental and dislocated songs (more appropriated in some kind of really experimental album)

Immediately angry because this album is 2.5 hours long! The first song "Pristeen" asks me "how much can [I] take," and honestly, after listening to this song, I don't know if I can take much more of the whining. The album redeems itself slightly with the song "East Easy Rider." Its groovy. The song "American Lite" with its "haha hehe" line got me giggling. I am SO bored of listening to this album. I can't wait for it to be over.

I liked it quite a bit. Julian Cope at times sounded like he was bringing in influences from the Smiths, Lou Reed/The Velvet Underground, and various new wave/post-punk artists. The album runs a bit long and would benefit from a pruning of sorts.

One of my favorite things about doing this is discovering new stuff, especially when it's pretty good like this. It's solid post-punk and he's a great singer and songwriter, but it's definitely a little too long. Unless this is a compilation of non-album tracks, no post-punk album needs to be over 40 minutes. But I also don't know if I'd cut anything out? Will likely come back. B

Emännän näköinen... taustakuvassa... muuten hyvä.. heh... tarvitsee vähän.. heh.. cope.. kopin.. kopinkeinoja.. heh.. silmänraastot ja muut tarttuneet varttuneet....tavat... heh.. jatkuvalla syötöllä ja käytöllä.. tässä perheessä.. heh... Kuunnellessa.. ei kuitenkaan.. tarvitse murehtia... tai-.. maallista.. heh.. musiikkia..

Peggy Suicide I love World Shut Your Mouth, but despite liking it, it has never made me want to delve into Julian Cope’s discography. I always get crusty Glasto canal boat vibes, and I don’t want another Levellers on my hands. However I enjoyed this, particularly on repeat listens. I’d definitely question whether it needs to be 18 songs and an hour and fifteen minutes but I found myself liking the slightly idiosyncratic and trippy folky, baggy, new wave-ness of it. I can hear a bit of Velvet Underground, Inspiral Carpets, Can, Echo & the Bunnymen, early Verve, The Clash, Happy Mondays in it, all good stuff. Pristine’s folky intro is very nice and I like the build into a slightly psychedelic guitar and organ track. Double Vegetation is a good too, I like the triplets on the acoustic in the back half. East Easy Rider is great, a nice groove going on with a great vocal. Promised Land has a slightly haunting feel, which I also like. Hanging Out and Hung Up On the Line is a fine punky thrash, but the riff definitely elevates it. Safesurfer’s guitar pyrotechnics may not be fully successful, but it's a great song with a pretty progressive message for 1991. Lovely groove on If You Loved Me At All, and a great song. Drive She Said is ok, really reminds me of something, but not one of the stronger tracks. Soldier Blue has a great hypnotic feel, but I prefer the instrumental parts to the verses with the guitar underneath. You…is also just ok, these three songs being a bit of a dip before picking back up with Not Raving But Drowning with it’s great spacey groove. Head is another great little track, the organ and bass working nicely together. Leperskin is another nice groove, despite the first few bars sounding like the What’s Mr Chips Doing music from Catchphrase. Apostolic Hag is a great insult too. Not entirely convinced by the calypso of Beautiful Love but I did find myself starting to enjoy it, as there is a bit of joyful carefreeness to it. Not sure there’s a great deal going for Western Front 1992 CE. Can feel quite a lot of Can influence on Hung Up & Hanging Out to Dry, love the drum pattern and the snare sound. I like a lot of The American Lite, but not the spoken word parts so much, they’re bit poetry slam. Quite catchy though. Las Vegas Basement doesn’t start promisingly but it settles down into a sweetly bit darkly melancholic tune with a pleasing, gentle vocal. Great track. A bit of a surprise overall how much I liked this. Despite there being a couple of possibly redundant songs I really enjoyed its vibes. It's a real grower, and definitely something I will come back to. 4. 🌍🌍🌍🌍 Playlist submission: Las Vegas Basement

nope

Safesurfer encapsulates of the beautiful and difficult parts of this album with interesting instrumentals and repetitive vocals played like another instrument. A really slow and meandering sound throughout much of the album keeps me from really enjoying too many tracks, but i found myself appreciating the more political/philosophical tracks. Drive, She Said. Soldier Blue. You. Not Raving, but Drowning. Leperskin. Beautiful Love.

Cool album.

Ok.

What a great find. Super album

Wow I really enjoyed this album. It’s hilarious that the “about the artist” bio on Spotify talks about his post-punk background and heavy hallucinogenic usage, and then this album is tight bluesy/singer-songwriter, a little experimental. Great variety, which I so much appreciate after listening to albums where every track has the same energy. The guitar/piano interplay on Safesurfer is beautiful. Other favorite tracks are Drive, She Said and If You Loved Me at All. But there are lots of good ones. Great discovery!

A stunning album - idiosyncratic and unusual, Cope follows his own path to make this absorbing album which sound like nobody else.

Zeer afwisselend album. Het was iedere keer benieuwd zijn naar hoe het volgende nummer zou klinken. Enkele zeer rustige nummer, en ook iets meer rock-nummers met goeie riffs. Leuke verrassing

Sounds very diverse and creative, good flow through the album, liked a lot better than some of the other “punk” or “post punk” on this list. If out of 10 stars, I’d probably go 9, but I’ll give it the 5 stars for a truly creative piece of art and pleasant surprise that didn’t lose my interest over the long playback time

Eclecticismo y distorsión, guitarras y New Wave, cantautor progresivo. Tiene temazos. Para escuchar en modo concentración literaria.

Prog rock with a dose of 80s cynicism. Pink Floyd without the irritating bits. Absolutely loved it.

Well... that was a fun ride.

Unabashedly artful. Genuinely enjoyable most of the songs

I'd never heard of Julian Cope before. His description on Spotify piqued my interest but didn't leave me optimistic that I would enjoy the album: "musician, writer, historian, and cosmic shaman... ... enigmatic storyteller, contrarian, mystic, and hallucinogen enthusiast". The unusual cover art, 75 minute length, and terrible pun for a title also didn't increase my expectations. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. This is a work of genius. A meandering and eclectic tapestry of sounds and genres that frequently change between, and within, tracks. Styles range from beautiful ballads of longing where understated strings pop up at just the right time, to sample-based political sound collages, post-punk, garage rock, calypso, and noodly pseudo-prog. Despite the variety and length it does feel like a piece and no track strikes as being out of place - perhaps all being tied together by the incredible attention to detail and intricacy. Whilst I prefer the more accessible first half to the more experimental second, I can't help but admire the ambition of this extraordinary piece of work. Rating: 4.5/5 Playlist track: If You Loved Me At All Date listened: 19/08/23

I really enjoyed this disc from another artist I'd never heard of.

Is it his finest solo album? yes. Is it perfect no, and there are signs of the Droolian obsessions that would lead him into full on druidery. But the songs are bullet-proof and providing you don't mind it's a double, it's a fantastic time trip to early rave culture, poll tax riots, the awful afterglow of Mrs Thatcher and how deeply wierd we all were in the early nineties. Also, lots of great photos in the packaging.

I do not mind a long album at all as long as the music is varied, interesting, and kickass. This album was all three. Many Very Important Albums suffer from being not very listenable. To me, it sounds like he took care of the music first, then threw in the Margaret Thatcher insults ("apostolic hag" lol) later. Best track: Safesurfer

Going to give this a 5. I always liked the album, especially Safesurfer of course, but there is a lot more to like: the songwriting.. lyrics.. general atmosphere, same vibes as that Soft Boys record from the 70s: Underwater Moonlight. So, it is great that both are included on the list.

I liked this. Kinda trippy, really long album but enjoyable all the way through.

Too long, obviously, but excellent. Annoyingly so, because I was ready to bail on it when I saw the play length, but ended up listening to and enjoying the whole damn thing.

Unusually, especially for a double album, my rating increased the deeper I got. All different kinds of cool.

This is a musical odyssey that requires multiple listens

Never heard of Julian Cope but this is a great album. Sort of post-punk grungy stuff. Will definitely be exploring some more of his music.

Ty for bringing this psychodelic artist! pleased to meet him =D Maybe the overall experience was a 4, but i give a 5 because i listened others albums and read his bio and it was delightful.

I liked this album a lot. Never heard him before...that I remember. Psychedelic, punk, brooding, odd. I need to listen again.

Aesthetically / conventionally puzzling. Maybe it belongs to the same genre-defying genre as Beck, Bill Fay, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa...

I actually own a copy of this but I haven't listened to it (until now) since it was a new release. I bought it because I had quite liked a couple of Cope's earlier albums, "Saint Julian" and "My Nation Underground" but for whatever reason I didn't remember much of this. I have a vague memory of thinking maybe he had had some kind of breakdown. Who knows what I was thinking because man, I really dig this. I definitely did not remember so much of it having that funky, swirly Madchester sound which I still really enjoy. Anyway I think this is gonna get five stars from me.

Have on vinyl. Fantastic album, great lyrics and fresh sound across 4 sides. Can hear the influence in lots of successive artists

Yes!

Safesurfer is absolutely epic. I was initially a bit dismissive of this and ready to be disappointed, I didn't particularly like East Easy Rider, too similar to the generic rock groove of the time. What I want from Cope is difference. Standing out from the field, paying little attention to the music scene around him and doing his own thing. And that is very much what the rest of this album brings you.

I was probably not going to listen to this album today. I have been jazzed about the last few albums. I got on this list, and I had a bunch of other stuff that I was going to spend my time listening to today. Also, this album was longer than an hour, which usually reduces my excitement to listen to it. I still give thid Hey a shot later in the afternoon at holy shit. This was one of the biggest prizes on this list for me. Had never heard of this guy, he never seen this album. And I can’t find a lot on the history of this album, there’s a Wikipedia article, but it’s more about the political content that made its way into his songs. I’m finding it adjacent to Primal Scream. It’s an album like this that makes me heat bands the call them self psychedelic rock. Because most the time they’re just fooling around on instruments and playing music that is intentionally obtuse. This kind of stuff though on Peggy Suicide is the real psychedelic as it has amazing, musical complexity, and structure, but while you’re listening to it, just transports your mind somewhere different. I also thought that I was probably gonna drop this down star because it was going on for so long, and I thought it was going to overstay as welcome. But this thing keeps its flow, the entire way through, and wins a big finish, which I love to see on an album. It’s a strategy that basically dead tnow in 2022. Amazing album and if anyone was thinking of skipping over it, I would advise against it

Actually enjoyed that

Interesting artist. I never heard of Julian Cole before and this album was quite a ride. Music was very psychedelic and all over the place. I highly recommend if this is your style.

this was really great and had amazing range. feels like some shit my mum would play but in a good way. not a 5 because it was so long that I can’t really remember what I listened to at the beginning.

I enjoyed a lot of it. No need for the deluxe edition again, guys. I've not got 2 and a half hours in me. Felt like the Man Utd Villareal penalty shoot out.

Weird and surprisingly enjoyable

Doesn't always work, but when it does this is brilliantly weird fun.

Great find! Really enjoyed this.

A few songs really grabbed my attention for good and bad reasons, including Promised Land, Safesurfer, and Western Front 1992 CE. I am starting to resent having to review new music by comparing it to other music I know, but in this case, the way he reminded me of Velvet Underground, Sugar, Morphine, Bowie, Henry Rollins.... some wide variety and usually a positive comparison. And now learning he's a paleolithic scholar on top of this, I'm really intrigued and will return to this.

7/10. I quite liked this album, not sure why. I was definitely dreading the length of it at the start.

I really enjoyed this one. It was interesting and different, but still very musical. I liked the variety of instruments and sounds, and how Julian Cope varies his resonant voice. The lyrics definitely make relevant statements to 1991 Britain, and some which definitely speak 30 years later in the USA. I didn't love every track but I liked most of the eighteen. A few quickly picked favs might be "Double Vegetation," "East Easy Rider," "You...," and "Beautiful Love."

Wasn't expecting to like this album, but WOW. "Safesurfer," "Hanging Out and Hung Up on the Line," "Double Vegetation," "Leperskin," and "Drive, She Said" were probably my favorite tracks.

Album 207 of 1001 Julian Cope - Peggy Suicide Rating : 3 / 5 Good listen. Didn't know much about him going in. He spreads it around a bit. Great guitars, good songwriting. One to go back to. "Peggy Suicide is the seventh album by Julian Cope. It is generally seen as the beginning of Cope's trademark sound and approach, and as a turning-point for Cope as a maturing artist. "

weird and captivating. 4 stars.

This was a trip! Never heard of Julian Cope but it was arty and rocky in a fun way. I stopped at the regular album, but I might circle back to the deluxe later.

Wasn't familiar at all with Julian Cope before this. The first track didn't do much for me, but it took off after that. I love the sound of this album, and I dig the variety of styles. I read a little about Julian's background and there's definitely evidence of his post-punk roots, but there's so much cool exploration and weirdness. The song You... is fantastic. This is an album I would for sure spin again, way too much to hear in only one sitting.

Some great tunes

Wild ride. Wasn't sure at first but grew on you.

Es una mezcla de Iggy Pop y Lou Reed... así punk-rock.

Liked a lot. Nice surprise.

Better than I expected, very long of course, but there was a lot in there. Came to this with minimal knowledge and was pleasantly surprised.

A reecljter

I wasn't sure at first... I'll be honest I'm still not sure but I do want to listen to it again so that must be a good sign.

Quite good

Interesting. I would have rated this a 3 but hit the 2nd half and just started jamming out to it. Listened in pieces and not as a whole but nothing turned me away. 3.6

Really good songs but an albums can’t be longer than goodfellas.

Too long

Enjoyed!!

Enjoyably weird

A pleasant listen. Soft rock with some nice synthesizer music in between. Would recommend.

I was born to entertain, so here I go.” That seems about right. One gets the feeling he’s doing this for himself, following his muse and exploring his ideas, more than worrying what the listener would expect. Some of the songs (“Promised Land”) emphasize concept/angle over payoff (or all premise-no punchline as comics say).“Pristeen” is strong opener, followed by a few pretty meh tracks. Then things elevate significantly – “Not Raving” and “Head” and “Beautiful Love” and “American Lite” are all good and “Las Vegas Basement” is a highlight to close. Maybe slightly excessive as a double album, but interesting and engaging all the way through from an artist that’s worth getting to know a bit better.

What a wild ride! Super neat and varied, and a VERY long album. I didn't make it through disk 2, but I did really enjoy disk 1.

A little too bloated, but I did like most of this. I think the more mature sound as opposed to The Teardrop Explodes really highlights a much more intentional artistry.

I can't even begin to describe what, exactly, I just listened to, but I really liked it. The percussion especially stood out to me throughout the album. A solid 4/5. I will be listening to more Julian Cope.

Interesting, but not there yet.

what this album did was prove to me that preconceived notions don't do us any good. i made the error of reading the wikipedia article before listening. i was sure peggy suicide would be pretentious art rock or a wannabe pink floyd, and that i would be bored and unimpressed. that was not the case! this album was refreshingly different. julian cope dabbled in so many genres--punk, rock, pop, a little jazz, and more i'm sure i didn't catch. calling this album art rock is limiting, really. cope as the primary lyricist is able to make quite a statement with these songs. the choice of a chorus singing all lyrics in "western front 1992 c.e." is bold. i wish i knew more about u.k. politics, because "each day we get closer to the big bad fire" in "double vegetarian" seems rather poignant. within "drive, she said," two sets of lyrics grab me: "she shouts, screaming down, over cities and towns, 'i have rights!'" and "yeah, we could crawl, but i'd rather drive, she said." 1991 was a quieter time, relatively, for women's rights, but i too want to go fast for societal progress. and that's only a handful of songs! this album could still be considered too long at 75 minutes, but i didn't find myself bored much. cope's ability to make every song unique helped in that regard.

I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed this. A strong, catchy, well produced set of songs. 4 stars.

This is more of a 3.5 for me, but I'll round up. Dope album

I first heard of Julian Cope recently, as he wrote one of the leading books about kosmische/krautrock. I looked him up and thought "holy shit, here's a long recording career I know nothing about". So I'm coming into this album with a pleasant and intrepid feeling of discovery... Well, it's pretty good. I put it in the niche category of "solo male rockers (normally previous members of a post-punk or new wave band) with long and adventurous careers making authentic, non-compromising albums which I respect but don't completely love in all their sprawling incoherence". This record is a semi-concept album. The concept/narrative is pretty loose, and stretches out across 18 tracks / 1h:15m. Within it, there are lots of nice catchy/poppy moments as well as strong elements of rock and alt-rock. I enjoyed it quite a lot on second listen. It doesn't really hang together perfectly, but I like its ambition. It also just sounds better (and more unique) than the vast majority of more "classic" albums on the list. On that basis, I'll be generous with 4*.

I liked this more than I thought i would, even though the lyrics are very simple and often repetitive. I can see influences from a lot of other artists and bands here too.

nice album with a very experimental vibe

Probably his best solo album

Interesting album. Good find. I enjoyed the instrumentals the best.

The second half hooked me. First was okay.

Quite interesting, difficult to define

Very good

Nick Cave psych brother. good album overall

enjoyed it probably

Immensely captivating album with really strong tracks amidst this huge album that can get kind of patchy at some places but we're used to it with double albums, aren't we? I was shocked to enjoy this one as much as I did. I won't get into the music because like most Julian Cope, it's really hard to describe. Like psychedelic rock with some moments sounding like Nick Cave or even The Birthday Party?

Great sound from the artist, unique soft experimental rock. Cheerful in the edge of being depressing, relaxed beats. Good vibes

After a second listen I liked it even more

Really cool album. Lots of styles, lots of interesting studio trickery but nothing overwrought, always in service to the song and the songs are great. Great melodies, interesting lyrics and the rhythms are tight and driving. I lje his vocals toond sounds like John Cale at times. 4 🌟

meh, sounds hippie, it's ok

Started slow, but really got me near the end. Liked it!