Heaven Or Las Vegas

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Customer reviews

review by: guitar george date: 2009-07-04 rating:
80's synth multi-layered vocal weirdness
I got this album based on the Cocteau Twins reputation as being worth a listen, and it is. br /It contains most of the worst cliches of 80s music - tinny production, cheesy keyboards and too much chorus pedal and combines them to make something trippy, weird and evocative. The way the different vocal and instrumental lines float around each other is great. br /Its the 80s but not as you know it...

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review by: richie date: 2009-04-26 rating:
heaven
I have had this on a cassette I bought in Bali - a pirate copy! It was an impulse purchase - didn't know what it would be like. It quickly became one of my all time favourites. If you don't know the Cocteau Twins' music this is a great place to start.

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review by: I Like Toast date: 2008-10-09 rating:
I'd forgotten...
I bought this album years and years ago...and then my sister nicked it. And I forgot about it. br / br /But then Amazon had it going in their sale for less than £5.00 so I thought 'why not'? br / br /What a classic album. I'm sat here, listening to it now. It just hasn't aged at all. br / br /A rare thing with the Cocteau's, just about understandable lyrics, but still with that ethereal winsomeness that is such a trade-mark of all their albums. br / br /O.k., I suppose you could say that this is the most 'commercial' Cocteau album. Who cares? It's got some beautiful tunes, some gorgeous productions, some classic songs. br / br /From the promising, slightly down-tempo 'Cherry-Coloured Funk', the album moves into the lilting, almost circular 'Pitch the Baby'. After dreaming off, we wake up to 'Iceblink Luck', with that lovely bell-like guitar and melodious bass and glorious chorus. Then, suddenly, 'Fifty-Fifty Clowns', that insistent beat, smooth keyboard chords stepping through up to a climax, wilting vocals behind a wailing guitar, but so smooth and mellifluous. br / br /Then we have the almost rousing chant-like `Heaven or Las Vegas'. No idea what she's singing about, don't really care, but it's something about being in either Heaven or Las Vegas. That unmistakable Cocteau bass and guitar, loads of reverb softening the sound to the typical sonic dreamscape. br / br /Oh, and then `I Wear Your Ring'. This album just keeps getting better. That lovely, stepping up, almost gasping vocal harmony. `Fotzepolitic', electric twelve string guitars or something, almost an electronic acoustic strumming wall of sound. `Wolf in the Breast', again, a lovely soft melody, with a gently howling guitar, but a harmony that just keeps reminding me, somehow, of late Beach Boys. br / br /`Road, River and Rail' is a seriously down-beat track, almost sounding Joni Mitchell-ish, circa Hejiraand then, finally, `Frou Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires', a gentle, laid-back start, reminiscent of older Cocteau, blossoming into a fairly conventional (for the Cocteau's) song, finally fading away. br / br /A lovely album. The Cocteau's have been so influential. Talking of Frou Frou, I was listening to a Frou Frou album (Details) the other day and noticed how much it owed, not only to Bjork, but also to the Cocteau's. This is one fine album which I am very happy to own again. br /

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review by: date: 2008-07-19 rating:
The last great Cocteau Twins album!
Rating: 7.5/10 br / br /Best tracks: "Heaven or Las Vegas", "Wolf in the Breast", "Fotzepolitic", "Fifty-Fifty Clown", "Cherry-Coloured Funk" br / br /The Cocteau Twins have rarely been rivalled, let alone surpassed, for their ability to create songs of purely beautiful sound and atmosphere, and Heaven or Las Vegas is arguably their last great album. Coincidentally, it was also their last for cult indie label 4AD; after this, they defected to Fontana and delivered two perfectly fine, occasionally brilliant, but relatively conventional albums. Both this and predecessor Blue Bell Knoll act as the bridge between the otherworldly qualities of the Cocteaus earlier works and the comparative normality of what was to follow; this makes for a pair of albums that, while clearly more of this world than the almost supernatural, untouchable essence of their singles and albums from the early to mid eighties, more often than not scale heavenly, glorious heights that beggar belief. br / br /The opening swirl of sound that is "Cherry-Coloured Funk" makes for a wonderful start to the album; it's a song rich with seductive textures, while "Pitch the Baby" is a charming, thoroughly agreeable way to keep the luscious feel of the album going. "Iceblink Luck" was chosen as one of the singles for this album, and much like the sweet "Carolyn's Fingers" from Blue Bell Knoll, it's a fine, if hardly breathtaking example of the band's sound. It's also clearly more of a blatant single than most of their other songs, and that's all well and fine, but it's all a little too.... I suppose `normal', given the wonder this band is capable of. The other single was, however, a miracle to behold. The title track is one of the best things the band ever gave us, a truly fantastic; chiming guitars throughout, peerless singing from Liz Fraser and a joyous, maddeningly wonderful chorus that really does get the hairs standing on end. This song is a triumph all the way. br / br /In-between the two singles on this album is the sensual, seductive "Fifty-Fifty Clown", which I love a lot. There are some really, really gorgeous sounds to feel and treasure here, as rich as intoxicating perfume and as comforting and dreamy as the sweetest sleep. After the title track comes the decent but not excellent "I Wear Your Ring", but after this comes a double-hit of magic; "Fotzepolitic" is a gliding headrush of a song that gets better and better as it goes along - it's like being spun around over and over, but without all the feeling sick part that ultimately ruins it! "Wolf in the Breast" is unspeakably beautiful, with many awe-inspiring moments, be they the glittering, heavenly guitars in the delicious chorus, or the slinky sweetness of the verses, or Fraser's perfect, amorphous vocals. The last two tracks are a little less special (though the last track builds to a fine second half), but they sure are sweet on the ears, and they wrap up a solid album very nicely indeed. br /


review by: my heart bleeds Tel! date: 2008-06-25 rating:
Yes its worthwhile.Still discovering elements of the Remaster....
I was surprised this album was remastered as the original album had a really clear production...however listening to it on a fairly decent mp3 player (i.e. not an ipod) each listen is revealing more detail. The basslines on this remaster are given much greater clarity and scope, the soundstage for the complex guitars is broader and the subtle nuances of Liz's newly found coherent lyrics are easier to discern. br /Like most twin's pervious albums the style and feel of this album was different from the last and brought accusations of "mainstreaming" from some quarters ... br /(seeing them on Top of the Pops was quite a shock when I remember falling in love with the twins on Old Grey Whistle Test) br /IMHO unjustified..this album was and still is affecting,beautiful and intelligent...typical Cocteau Twins. br / br /

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