Head over Heels (Cocteau Twins album)

Head over Heels
Studio album by Cocteau Twins
Released 31 October 1983
Recorded 1983, Palladium Studios, Edinburgh, Scotland
Genre Gothic rock, ethereal, post-punk
Length 37:01
Label 4AD
Producer Cocteau Twins, John Fryer
Cocteau Twins chronology

Peppermint Pig
(1983)		 Head over Heels
(1983)		 Sunburst and Snowblind
(1983)
Alternate cover
original and reissue cover

Head over Heels is the second studio album by Scottish rock band Cocteau Twins. The album was released in October 1983, and was their first album as a duo. It features the band's signature sound — "Guthrie’s lush guitars under Fraser’s mostly wordless vocals" — and is widely considered an archetype of early ethereal goth music.[1]

Release

Head over Heels was released on 31 October 1983.

The original United Kingdom and Canadian cassette and CD and the Brazilian CD versions of Head over Heels included the EP Sunburst and Snowblind. The 2003 CD, remastered by Robin Guthrie, does not include the EP.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
Martin C. Strong 8/10[3]
Rolling Stone 1992[4]
Spin 6/10)[4]

Head over Heels was ranked at number 7 in Sounds magazine's End of Year List for 1983.[5]

In 2003 the album was named one of the most eccentric British albums of all time by Mojo magazine.[6]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Cocteau Twins (Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie). 

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "When Mama Was Moth"   3:06
2. "Five Ten Fiftyfold"   4:59
3. "Sugar Hiccup"   3:42
4. "In Our Angelhood"   2:59
5. "Glass Candle Grenades"   2:44
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "In the Gold Dust Rush"   3:41
2. "The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)"   4:57
3. "Multifoiled"   2:36
4. "My Love Paramour"   3:39
5. "Musette and Drums"   4:39

Credits

Cocteau Twins
Additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ MTV News Staff: "In 1983, Heggie left the band, and the group recorded Head Over Heels as a duo. The album was highly improvised and is the first recording to feature the Twins’ signature sound — Guthrie’s lush guitars under Fraser’s mostly wordless vocals. The group became a trio again when bassist Simon Raymonde joined in 1984. Later that year, they released Treasure, an album that hit #29 on the U.K. charts and cemented the band’s ethereal sound.", Cocteau Twins short biography, January 4, 1998
  2. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Head Over Heels - Cocteau Twins". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  3. ↑ The Essential Rock Discography - Volume 1: 222. 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sounds End Of Year Lists". Rock List Music. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Top 50 UK Eccentric Albums". Music List NL. Retrieved 28 January 2013.

External links