The Christmas Post

Cocteau Twins - Snow

Ripped from a compact disc single released on Fontana Records (COCCD 1) in 1993 to high quality lossless flac audio. It may not be snowing where you are this year, however Grangemouth's finest do their very best to get us in a seasonal spirit.

1 Winter Wonderland
2 Frosty The Snowman

Paul Haig / Durutti Column - Scottish Christmas

Originally released as a 7" vinyl single on Les Disques Du Crépuscule / Factory Benelux (XM 1) in 1985. Recreated here from lossless flac digital audio files.

A1 Paul Haig - Scottish Christmas
B1 Durutti Column - Christmas For Pauline
B2 Durutti Column - Snowflakes

The Roy Budd Trio - Have A Jazzy Christmas

Ripped from a vinyl released on Master Mix Records CHELP 9) in 1988 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. With thanks to Steve, here is a seasonal rarity unusually released on a British dance/hip-hop label in the late eighties. Roy Budd was a British jazz pianist most famous for his soundtrack to Get Carter. Enjoy!


A1 We Three Kings
A2 Winter Wonderland
A3 Ding Dong Merrily On High
A4 Christmas Song
A5 Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
A6 Lieutenant Kije
B1 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
B2 While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By NIght
B3 Jingle Bells
B4 When You Wish Upon A Star
B5 White Christmas
B6 We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Great Spangly Thingamybobs

Cocteau Twins - Tiny Dynamine

Ripped froma 12" vinyl EP released om 4AD Records (BAD 510) in 1985 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. For penguinflight.

A1 Pink Orange Red
A2 Ribbed And Veined
B1 Plain Tiger
B2 Sultitan Itan

Cocteau Twins - Love's Easy Tears

Originally released as a 12" vinyl single on 4AD Records (BAD 610) in 1986. Ripped here from a 1991 compact single reissue. 

1 Love's Easy Tears
2 Those Eyes, That Mouth
3 Sigh's Smell Of Farewell
4 Orange Appled

Cocteau Twins - Tiny Dynamine / Echoes In A Shallow Bay

Ripped from a compact disc mini album released on 4AD Records (BAD 510/511 CD) in 1985 to high quality lossless flac audio. Both the featured EPs were released on the same day as companion records. 

1 Pink Orange Red
2 Ribbed And Veined
3 Plain Tiger
4 Sultitan Itan
5 Great Spangled Fritillary
6 Melonella
7 Pale Clouded White
8 Eggs And Their Shells

I thought I would bring the current run of 4AD posts to an end with a selection of very worthy Cocteau Twins releases from vinyl and cd. The keen of ear and the non-believers should take time to compare the original cd releases to my vinyl rips. There will be a few more 4AD bits to come but for now I'd like to thank Steve, penguinflight, Thierry and Pablo for their donations and assistance in making these posts happen. We have managed to cover a huge chunk of the pre-1986 catelogue between us, plus dipped into some of Ivo's discoveries from the new world post-1987. More will follow... but for now there are many other aural delights to bring you.

Tiny Dynamite

Cocteau Twins - Aikea-Guinea

Ripped from a 12" vinyl EP released on 4AD Records (BAD 501) in 1985 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. Enough of these youngsters for now ...back to the old guard. One of the Cocteau Twins' most gorgeous singles ripped lovingly from a 31 year old slab of vinyl. For penguinflight.

A1 Aikea-Guinea
A2 Kookaburra
B1 Quisquose
B2 Rococo

Pepper Pigs

Cocteau Twins - Peppermint Pig

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on 4AD Records (BAD 303) in 1983 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. Likely the single which marked the end of the Cocteau Twins early stages with Will Heggie and not named after a popular jelly sweet commonly found in your local M&S! For penguinflight.

A1  Peppermint Pig B1  Laugh Lines B2  Hazel

Moon Meets Melodies

Harold Budd/Simon Raymonde/Robin Guthrie/Elizabeth Fraser - The Moon And The Melodies

Ripped from a compact disc album released on 4AD Records (CAD 611 CD) in 1986 to high quality lossless flac audio. Often mislabelled as a Cocteau Twins with Harold Budd album, The Moon And The Melodies are eight soundscapes of dreamy esoteric bliss sounding much like if the Cocteau Twins were ever to record an album with Harold Budd! Ooze Out and Away!

1 Sea, Swallow Me
2 Memory Gongs
3 Why Do You Love Me?
4 Eyes Are Mosaics
5 She Will Destroy You
6 The Ghost Has No Home
7 Bloody And Blunt
8 Ooze Out And Away, Onehow

Fluffy Tufts

Cocteau Twins - Victorialand

Ripped from a vinyl album released on 4AD Records (CAD 602) in 1986 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. It had been two years since Treasure and it's follow up Victorialand marked a transition in the Cocteau Twins into more ethereal gentle melodies. The drum machines were now left to the side, whilst Guthrie and Raymonde created lush soundscapes with lavish layers of textured guitar and synth. Elizabeth Fraser's angelic voice drifts between the layers and effects, redefining the use of the voice in music. Blog follower thehappyone has expertly coaxed these sounds for us all in high resolution from his copy of this fine thirty year old album.

A1 Lazy Calm
A2 Fluffy Tufts
A3 Throughout The Dark Months Of April And May
A4 Whales Tails
B1 Oomingmak
B2 Little Spacey
B3 Feet-Like Fins
B4 How To Bring A Blush To The Snow
B5 The Thinner The Air

Treasured

Cocteau Twins - Treasure

Ripped from a vinyl album released on 4AD Records (CAD 412) in 1984 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. I want to finish the current run of 4AD posts (there are more to come soon) with a Cocteau Twins album. Drawn between a choice of three, I went for my favourite Treasure as it just sounds so incredibly lush and intricate, and really this album was made for vinyl. Okay, I know in 1984 it likely was but shame on anybody who listens to this as an mp3. 

The record builds up beautifully through the tracks, each wrapped up in its own little space, each one evoking the memory of listening to them for the first time back in 1984 ....I am waffling again! Maybe it's an middle age thing, perhaps if I was in my late forties back in 1984 I would have heard Treasure differently. Many will be tempted to dive straight for Donimo, oh go on ...I'll let you, hang on...everybody does that don't they? 

A1 Ivo
A2 Lorelei
A3 Beatrix
A4 Persephone
A5 Pandora (For Cindy)
B1 Amelia
B2 Aloysius
B3 Cicely
B4 Otterley
B5 Donimo

Heed Over Heels

Cocteau Twins - Sunburst And Snowblind

Re:ripped from a 12" vinyl EP released on 4AD Records (BAD 314) in 1983 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. I often wonder if Guthrie and Fraser realised at the time how important these melodic delights would become when they first sat down in the studio to record them. This EP, the accompanying album Head Over Heals and the follow up Treasure have to be their most inspiring works of art, which they would never better.

A1 Sugar Hiccup
A2 From The Flagstones
B1 Hitherto
B2 Because Of Whirl-Jack

Sleep Deeply

Cocteau Twins - Lullabies

Ripped from a 12" vinyl EP released on 4AD Records (BAD 213) in 1982 to high resolution 24-bit flac. I was couldn't make up my mind which record from two should commence the next run of posts, so in the end went for neither. Here's the Cocteau Twins debut EP instead!

A1 Feathers Oar-Blades 4:30
A2 Alas Dies Laughing 3:38
B1 It's All But An Ark Lark

From Grangemouth To Las Vegas

Cocteau Twins - Sunburst And Snowblind

A lovely 24/96 rip of this classic Cocteau Twins EP. It was my first purchase by the band some 29 years ago and the vinyl has stood the test of time (plus seven or eight home moves). This 12", the accompanying Head Over Heels album, and it's follow-up Treasure were all magnificent things of beauty as far as I was concerned, and in my opinion, the Grangemouth two/three piece were never to better them.

Ripped from a 12" vinyl EP released on 4AD Records (BAD 314) in 1983 to high resolution 24-bit FLAC audio.
A1. Sugar Hiccup
A2. From The Flagstones
B1. Hitherto
B2. Because of Whirl Jack