Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas ALBUM REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 20 авг 2024
- Listen: • Cherry-coloured Funk
Classics Week 2022 closes with Heaven or Las Vegas, Cocteau Twins' final 4AD album and one of dream pop's most iconic statements.
More classic reviews: • Classics
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COCTEAU TWINS - HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS / 1990 / 4AD / DREAM POP
CLASSIC/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?
when the cocteau twins said “yeeeeewwawwoaywoayyyyyyyyyruuuuuuubaaaaahpearlyayoyo” i really felt it
when this ratio ratioed you I really felt that
@@fiscalizacaoletterboxd ratio’d again clown
Cherry colored funk
alobalobalobaloe gloryyyy
the fact that ik exactly which part in the song you mean
Never forget when a fan asked Fantano his thoughts on Cocteau Twin’s Heaven or Las Vegas, and he said “I’d probably go with Las Vegas as my pick”
W pfp
Oof
literally
Based
Exposed Fantano as not being the internet's busiest music nerd
You immediately know an album is a total classic when you can't decipher a single word of what the singer says yet you can't stop listening to it.
I just got A-FINE A-FINE A-FINE A-FINE A-FINE
on the album name song, I kept hearing "singing on the famous street" as "LIVING IN A FEVUS DREEEAAAN!" and I decide to hear that instead lol
Death grips
Yellow Ledbetter lol
Yep, also check My Bloody Valentine.
A late night drive in the city with this album is just pure bliss.
NO, NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME! why should i waste my time at school? i am super famous on youtube. tell me, dear h
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS
It’s funny you say that, the interview Anthony had with Jean Dawson, he described being in a car chase from the police at night blasting Heaven or Las Vegas.
That’s so crazy. The first time I heard this album in full I was driving at night. Man that was soothing drive.
Took the comment right from my fingertips....
Cherry-Coloured Funk one of the best songs of all time
And the titular track
facts
That and heaven and las vegas 10/10 songs
Ethereal I'm busting every time Cherry-coloured Funk comes on
Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fries is my favorite. It's so beautiful
the Cocteau Twins discography has zero misses, from goth rock to dream pop, they nailed an impressive range of sounds over the decades
@ghost mall that’s fair haha, I’m probably biased cuz Head Over Heels is my favourite album of theirs 🙏
True, no bad albums.
Knoll is peak, agreed. So dense and complex but not busy, incomprehensible but accessible. Garlands is a bit TOO thin and four calendar is missing some of their eerie edge. Everything else is great
My least favorite album is one of the ones that many people cite as a favorite, Treasure. It feels disjointed and I can never unhear "When The Levee Breaks".
@@asafoetidajones8181 Summerhead has all of the edge you need on 4CC.
Holy shit he did it, the absolute madman. This is such a sonically beautiful and influential album.
he talked about it for three minutes
IM LOSING IT
@@Leozzye yeah it was a little short imo but I enjoy the recognition.
I discovered this album in the past year. It quickly became one of my favourites of all time!
discover this ratio looooo
@@fiscalizacaoletterboxd counter-ratio
Same every song is just so good
Same!
Same
This album is an absolutely heavenly velvet-colored sound. From the first note of Cherry-Colored Funk, I'm already in a sun-drenched state of bliss at sundown. Sky red, clouds purple, basslines shaking with groove, and through all of it, a beautiful, angelic woman with a comforting voice guides me through all of it. This album is like Portishead gone dream pop, and I always find myself lost in the wandering vocal melodies, the epic synths that wash over me like waves at sundown, and overall infectious vibe. This album is what it sounds like inside a dreamy, warm-colored California snowglobe, but without snow.
This is my favorite sleepy album, that being stuff I listen to before i sleep. Recommend to get into dream pop, I implore you to.
Agree with all that was said, great comment! This album def got me into dreampop a few years ago, not only the sound but the song strucutures are great, and vocals are really something unique and otherworldly
w
take this cringe to rym
@@BonerSexGaming put your useless cynicism into a skill-set, in which you will have a life
This record is iconic, makes me proud to be from the same town as them.
this ratio is more iconic
@@fiscalizacaoletterboxd cute
Haha radio
Easily one of Scotland's greatest exports
Las Vegas?
When i first discovered Cocteau Twins and downloaded their discography I literally listened to nothing else for about 6months. Nothing else comes close. This is one of those rare albums; perfect in every way.
Beach house
I'm experiencing it right in this period of my life, its the 3th month and i can't stop listening to them
Garlands and Treasure are 2 of my favorite albums of all time.
i went to bed high with treasue playing and thats when they really clicked for me~
vocally The Sundays, Kate bush, The cranberries and rachel goswell from slowdive are the only artists that come close to the Cocteu twins greatness IMO
one of the best mumble pop albums of all time
one of the best ratios of all time
@@fiscalizacaoletterboxd One of the ratios of all time
@@fiscalizacaoletterboxd cringe
@aloevv𖤐 I have your mother so I don't care sadly
@@fiscalizacaoletterboxd cring
Holy shit, I can't believe Fantano is actually reviewing this, this is my favorite album of all time, Cocteau Twins deserve so much more recognition.
I second that emotion.
Couldnt agree more
I know right? I found them last year and wondered if he’d even heard of them.
@@tundrxdemon wondered if the biggest music reviewer on youtube had ever heard of one of the earliest ans most popular dream pop bands? Im sorry but they arent as obscure as you imagine my guy
@@egehan8609 frrr Cocteau Twins are literally considered to be one of the best dream pop bands of all time smh....
Foxes in Midsummer Fires is one of the best dreampop/shoegaze songs of all time!
It took me a while to get into this album, but every time I came back to it I’d have a different favourite song that would stick in my head for the rest of the week. definitely a classic :)
couldn't agree more, this album came at me slowly over like 5 years and now it's one of my all time favs
For me it's always Cherry-Coloured Funk :(
I’m happy somebody else feels the same way about this album. I love the album but I’m never really sure how much.
Really? I thought this band had a really unique sound in dream pop right from the get-go. Liz Frasier comes up with some of the strangest vocal melodies and often sounds like she’s singing in another language.
Same with me with Ok Computer, Kid A, and Pet Sounds. Those end up being the best kind of albums.
Iceblink Luck is SUCH a beautiful song, I can't give it enough praise.
This whole album feels like floating on clouds made of cotton candy (and I mean that in the best possible way). The definitive dream pop album, a classic for sure
I’d say Bloom by Beach House tops it as the definitive Dream pop album but this would be a good pick.
@@davidcamino713 theres like 10 dream pop albums that are better than bloom lmao
@@SwitchbIade Hell nahhh
@@SwitchbIade name them. I'm tryna listen
@@petrichorsbaby
Ozean EP
Julee Cruise - Floating Into The Night
Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll
The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
Silvania - En Cielo De Oceano
Lightning Bug - Floaters
Daniel Land - Love Songs For The Chemical Generation
I’m glad the comments are finally about the album and the review :) shows just how much of a masterpiece this album is that it brings people to fangirl together and not shitpost constantly.
Discovered this album like 20 years ago after reading an interview of Chino Moreno’s favorite albums. Thanks Deftones.
Wow, I love Deftones but I didnt know Chino was a fan of the Cocteaus, thats great. Also they are Robert Smith's (The Cure) favorite band. In an interview he said he was listening to the album Treasure while getting ready for his wedding day, lol.
Yep, love their cover on Wax and wane. Dude's got a classy taste for sure.
Almost everyone is indebted to Cocteau twins in someways. You'd be surprised just how many bands no matter the genre cite the band as an influence.
One of the best shoegaze albums of the early 90s. I’ve never heard the sound that this band has from anyone else. Def check it out.
@ghost mall yes I thought about that after I posted the comment but you’re correct.
beautiful album overall for me. Listen to it everyday.
beautiful ratio
Of all the classic albums you’ve reviewed, this for sure is one of them.
Definitely one of the albums of all time
This album sits firmly in my top 5 forever
Oh wow he really did it. So stoked a ton of people are going to hear this for the first time. Insanely influential and euphoric
Incredible album. If we ever get a new My Bloody Valentine record, there should be an Elizabeth Fraser feature on it.
That'd be a sound of an angel singing while she's vacuuming.
@@zackzallie8735 and that’s based
Fifty-Fifty Clowns ending = especially superb. And yeah, trying to figure out the lyrics. “Good morning myth to somebody I call in light / Motions aren’t in the shape that emotions are” which is just the Internet guess. Still amazing
Hey needle drop, I just got into your videos because my dad watches them. Just wanted to give you a thank you for your commitment to being the internets music nerd. Keep doing what you’re doing, great job.
@ghost mall Haha, it’s been a dad channel.
Cant believe this BEEN WAITING FOR THIS REVIEW FOR SO LONG THANK YOU MELON, the bass in this album is something to behold, so much magic and blissfulness in this album, a classic for sure it blew my mind from first listen and it always be one my favorites of all time.
IM LOSING MY SHIT
Anthony I've had this album on repeat for weeks now, how did you know it's exactly what I've needed from you 😭🥰
Oh you're a cocteau twins fan? Name one lyric.
I understand that you're confused,
Feeling overwhelmed
Well that's a feeling state from then
The reality
I bought this when it came out, kiddos! We were a Lil freaked out that it sounded so pop compared to previous. We snubbed it for....a total of 5 minutes... because we couldn't deny it was EPIC for much longer!
i am going to cryogenically freeze myself and i'll be back when the next classic week is here
I love the backing vocal harmonies on the last track! Liz Fraser’s vocals are so angelic and hypnotic. Truly an underrated vocalist and Robin Guthrie’s guitar effects are so entrancing and dreamy
Came here to mention the last track!
In terms of dream pop outfits, The Cocteau Twins are by far my favourite and it’s great to see someone with a fan base as big as yours showing them some love. Hopefully this leads to plenty of new fans
This is probably my favorite album from Cocteau Twins and while I find top ten albums lists kind of hard to make, I definitely could see this in my top ten albums of all time
One of the most engrossing, immersive, headspace-changing records I've ever listened to - I feel like I'm floating away somewhere every time that ethereal voice hits.
Iceblink Luck is just one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard in my life.
SO FUCKEN TRUEE
@@parmengenesI still remember the first time I heard it, it moved me like nothing else ever had before
I've been obsessed with this wonderful band since I first heard Aikea Guinea in the mid 80s. I LOVED this review. Your descriptions of the Cocteau's evolution of sound and how it progressed to this album really resonated with me. I also agreed wholeheartedly with the bands you compared the tracks to, particularly the amazing Kate Bush. And kudos for using the cover of Hyena when mentioning the Banshees. Thank you.
I I've been a fan for the cocteau twins four years. I think your review is absolutely correct. And I think that my favorite songs are Frou frou foxes and i wear your ring. I really appreciate your take on it and I thank you. Please continue with more reviews.
My exact favorites as well.
Her voice is incredible and that’s a great album. I love that sound.
This is one of my favorite albums. I've listened to it more than I can count, and I'll listen to it in the future more times than I can count. It's been one of the biggest artistic influences on me
These songs speak to each other so intimately from afar, and the sequencing melts my brain. This album is one of the most SOLIDLY built albums I have ever heard.
Thank you so much for reviewing this album. If I could use one word to describe it, it would be addicting. I simply can not stay away from this album, either I’m listening to the beautiful harmonies of Wolf in the Breast, the grand opulence of the title track, or the climatic final track that still gets me every time.
Cocteau twins are my favourite band ever. As much as I rate Heaven or Las Vegas, I still think treasure is the best of their discography. I won’t knock anyone for loving this album, it’s incredible, and a great introduction to the Cocteaus, but I feel like treasure IS the Cocteau Twins distilled to the essence.
And I won't knock anyone for liking the K-Tel compilation that is Treasure. That album sounds like a bunch of demos slapped together with a shitty drum machine loaded with John Bonham samples that really pull me right out of it. Some of the songs are good, but it is probably the album I listen to the least, right next to Victorialand.
I discovered this album this year and listened to it on repeat for like 2 months. It's also great homework music because you can't understand a single word she's saying. Victorialand is really good too
A review of Cabaret Voltaire's "The Covenant the sword and the arm of the lord" would be most welcome! Failing that; how about The Associates' "Sulk" album, Dalis Car's "The Waking hour" or "Secrets of the beehive" by David Sylvian?
About damn time you got around to this one. This album single handedly has made me feel emotions and feel feelings I’ve never experienced. Something about Elizabeth’s voice man
Saw the Cocteau Twins in 1991, touring for this album. One of my most favorite concerts of all time.
Wow. That sounds amazing 🥺
damn boy u OLD /lh
I never thought this day would come, one of my all time favorites ever
When I first listened to this record back in 2015, I've got very addicted with "Iceblink Luck". Dude! That track DIDN'T GET THE HELL OUT OF MY MIND!! It's one of the greatest tracks of all time for me. Other songs that I appreciate very much from this album are "Fifty-Fifty Clown", the title-track and the underrated (not even mentioned by Fantano here btw) and enchanting "Wolf In The Breast". Simply just a gorgeous album. Leads us to the heaven (or maybe Las Vegas).
After iceblink luck I was addicted to 'Carolyn's Fingers' from Blue Bell Knoll
@@pleasegive1000dollar I was addicted with this track too!!! Actually, "Blue Bell Knoll" it's their 2nd best album for me, instead of "Treasure" as it is usually ranked by people.
🌀❤
Cocteau Twins and ethereal wave are underrated, definitely helped bring upon shoegaze
How are Cocteau twins underrated? To my knowledge they're one of the most well known groups from the scene, and they remain popular today
@@turnermclaurin6369 They might be one of the most well known INSIDE the scene but the scene itself is crazy underrated, and it will always be. Its even hard to find a CT video with more than 2 or 3 million views on youtube, from the most popular songs of course. The other songs and videos are, like, from 10 years ago, some even older, with a very niche audience.
@@Brenno_860 Underrated with respect to what? With respect to popular music now, of course they're less known and appreciated, but I think that most people really interested in music have at least some familiarity with their work. So if you're using the world underrated to really mean "people aren't as familiar with their work as other artists," then yeah they're underrated. On the other hand, Cocteau Twins are widely appreciated for their contribution to the genre, and they sustain millions of listens on Spotify per month. This doesn't seem like the mark of an underrated artist to me.
I fucking despise that tag, "ethereal wave" - music styles are not just "adjective + wave/core". The music style was always called Ethereal. I say this as a person who is in a band listed on the Ethereal Wave Wikipedia page, lol.
@@turnermclaurin6369 It never hurts when people like The Weeknd have sampled them and used the samples prominently in the songs.
Never clicked on a video so fast I listened to Cherry Coloured Funk the first time I saw the Effiel Tower so this album means a lot to me
Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires is one of my favorite songs of all time!
Probably my favorite classics week you've done, and the first where I know very well and love all of the albums mentioned.
Never really felt like this was Cocteau Twins best statement, Head Over Heals, Treasure, Blue Bell Knoll
all feel more expressive and rich. I can understand why Heaven or Las Vegas gets the biggest attention because of it's more pop sensibilities and that's not a bad thing if it means more people discover Cocteau Twins.
Agreed. Head Over Heels had so many bangers.
Blue Bell Knoll, for me, was their peak in terms of creativity, arrangement, sound experimentation and vocal technique. HOLV is definitely more easy to listen
I only listened to this album for the first time not too long ago. First album of theirs I've heard and I love all of it. Very excited to hear more :)
Four Calendar Cafe is better than all of those, it hasn't aged at all.
Treasure is more important to me.
While Treasure is my favorite record from the Cocteau Twins, I still think HOLV is one of the most beautiful records of all time.
think about this ratio too
@@fiscalizacaoletterboxd average strokes listener
I agree, the pink opaque and four calendar cafe are some honorable mentions aswell
Same soooo goood. Amelia is one of my favorites on there
Same tbh
This week can’t end without a College Droupout review. We will protest
Having only heard of Cocteau Twins before, this review had me curious to listen to them and OH BOi......
One of the best things I've come across this year. This album is _exactly_ as Melon describes it. Pure pure bliss.
can’t believe you got distracted by the album title and decided to tell us why you prefer heaven instead of las vegas for five minutes and called it an album review… but i can respect it, anthony.
Possibly my favorite album of all time. I've listened to it literally thousands of times. Liz is my all-time favorite vocalist (just barely edging out Aretha Franklin) and
Robin... is the Jimi Hendrix of effects. Heaven or Las Vegas is my favorite song to play on guitar. It is what I want heaven to sound like!
Elizabeth Fraser has to be one of the greatest vocalists of all time...imo
Right up there with Celine Dion and Mariah Carey..
I don’t think you can put her alongside those two. She’s got emotion in her voice, those two just have good pitch, but no emotion.
@@bungle3912 meh
@@bungle3912 I ain’t really thinking of emotions, pitch, tone or range here..
Celine and Mariah are great singers and are considered as such…Elizabeth should also be up there imo
@@bungle3912 Saying Celine Dion doesnt have emotion in her voice is a silly take, just because she’s a pop star doesn’t mean she doesn’t pour loads of emotion into her songs. Don’t be such a cynic.
Yes the things she does with her voice, the oddness and harmonies she brings are so unique and beautiful, you can only get it with Cocteau Twins, love her
You reviewed my favorite two albums this week, this and Elliott Smith
YES!!!! I've waited years for you to finally cover Cocteau Twins!!!!
Cocteau Twins has one of the most consistent discogrpahys in all of music. Heaven or las Vegas is my favorite, but I think manu of their best songs are found in their EPs. i mean Aikea Guinea is just perfection.
im srry, i love cocteau twins as much as the next guy but this just is not true lmao
A lot of the best songs are on their EPs, but they usually had one of mind blowing songs and then a couple more where Robin was obviously doing too much coke. ;-) ok maybe not. The Love's Easy tears ep, echoes in a shallow bay also amazing. People today focus on the albums when UK indie bands- a third of their output were EPs!
The 3 HOLV b sides are also perfection.
@@goingupandupandup Actually, the mid-80s EPs were fucking tops. Echoes in a Shallow Bay / Tiny Dynamine / Aikea Guinea / Love's Easy Tears make one fucking excellent album if you put them all together.
I recently got into the Harold Budd/Cocteau Twins album The Moon and the Melodies, great album.
Because it doesn't have the name Cocteau Twins on it, it gets ignored way too much. Could even get it in the u.s. for a long time!
Frou Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fire is one of the best closers of all time
So happy you finally reviewed this. Cherry colored funk is one of my favorite tracks of all time.
4AD doesn’t get enough credit for putting out some absolute BANGER albums and artists
Another classic review let's go 🔥
his next one should be the dreamimg - kate bush
I discovered this album in February 2022. If only I discovered it when I was 15 in 1990. There's not one bad song on this album. The contrast of synth, guitars, bass, drums and the melodic and beautiful vocals from Elizabeth Frazer makes this album one of the tightest to ever be released.
Fantastic album. Daydream Nation next year please! 😢
This is my personal favorite album of this classics week! It’s an incredible listen
liz is quite truly my favorite female vocalist of all time.
I visited Puerto Rico last summer and this album is just synonymous with the trip. I discovered it then and was playing it over and over on the plane.
Same exact thing happened on a trip to Hawaii for me
Never heard of this prior to this review - thx for the recommendation, can't get enough
*Calassic week* was a great week, hopefully we'll get more later.
I mean he said it was the last classic *for this week* soooo...
I voted for this band at the rock and roll hall of fame when i visited last week. Probably a long shot but who knows what might happen lol
Also Anthony I got major chills listening to you review this, more so than ever on your channels! 💜
Randomly stumbled upon the Twins from following George Clanton's Playlist on Spotify. Now I'm like deep into 80's alt pop and synthwave. What a fantastic album and a great classic to highlight
I prefer Victorialand but this one is also dreamy. The Cocteau Twins catalogue is pretty much spotless.
The Cocteau Twins masterpiece is "TREASURE". And some of their best songs are on their EPs.
Agreed. I think Heaven or Las Vegas is their most influential record, but Treasure is their best and most inspired.
@@mixtapestry I got the feeling that Heaven or Las Vegas was their most commercially successful. That record exposed them to the largest audience. I saw them on tour for that record. Mazzy Star opened and they were great too.
Yawn, more people endlessly blowing the unfinished sounding album with the When The Levee Breaks drum samples. The EP tracks from 1985-1987 make a much better album than Treasure could ever dream about being.
This has by FAR been my main Melon Man's BEST classics week!! Way to start off 2022 strong and gold mint my guy! 🤗👍
To steal a comment I saw about this album:
When she said “myshododlinsnoif,” I felt that.
Excellent record, but its actually only my fourth place from the band. Treasure is their true masterpiece IMO, the crystalline sounds of that record are simply unreal. Also Victorialand and Blue Bell Knoll are both just slightly more consistently interesting than HOLV. Probably the best place to start with the band though.
I only just heard this album (and Cocteau Twins) for the first time last year. I was doing a 90s binge, and I wanted to include some artists I'd never listened to before but that I knew were influential on later bands that I liked. I really didn't expect to like this all that much, since a big part of the Cocteau Twins' shtick is having lyrics that are largely unintelligible nonsense. I normally hate it when lyrics are hard to make out, or de-emphasized in the mix. So I was really surprised to like this one as much as I did, pretty much right away. I eventually decided that this album should be legally classified as a narcotic because it is THAT addictive.
i think in HOLV's case the lyrics don't matter so much, she conveys so much without words and just using her voice, i almost think that to use lyrics on this album would confine it... some things can't be verbalised in language
@@annahall8480 I absolutely agree with that. I'm just surprised at how easy of a time I had rolling with that on this album, when normally having meaningful, clearly enunciated lyrics is something I'm very picky about.
please do wire - pink flag next year! this year has been great but i need to hear you talk about that album in a formal review
thank you brother for introducing hopefully a few new listeners to this classic 4AD sound
Singing on a feebooo streeeet
Whoa... I might have gone for TREASURE as my all time fave of theirs. I found H O Lv to cloy over the years. However, back then when it was new I was all kinds of frisky over it in my imagination, it was a bit of a backdrop to a pretty hot work affair. All said tho, TREASURE is the one for me.
Anthony reviewed FOUR of my most wanted classics week albums this year and it doesn’t feel real, thank you based melon 🙏
This album is simply feels ethereal. Late nights with this blasting on my cd player or smoking to this album is actually unreal. This sounds entirely like another world and will forever be my teenage anthems
Wow, I never thought I would see Melon talking about the Cocteaus!! They're definetely one of the most talented and overlooked bands of all time, and one of my top 3 for sure.
Please do a review of Souvlaki by Slowdive
midlaki by middive
The Cocteau Twins were an influential part of my teens and young adulthood, so it's nice to see their ethereal, gossamer sound inspiring new generations.
this one gets played on all my summer vacation road trips
PERFECT album! Such an all time great band.
There aren't many bands as fantastic as Cocteau Twins, especially the originality of their work on melody and harmony. This album felt like an achievement at the time, a culmination of a new pop sound they had been developing in the years preceding it. My favorite LP from them remains Victorialand (1986) because it is as otherwordly as its theme (Antarctica). Fotzepolitic to me sounds very scottish. I feel like on a high plateau in Scotland. Fifty-Fifty Clown was a favorite song of Prince and he tried to emulate it. He wanted to record with Liz. I mean, so many people wanted, this band was so rebel, they never gave a shit about the music industry. And ideas that they sounded "godlike" made them laugh. They self-described their music as "music to bonk to" but really it was so much more.
It was the first Cocteau Twins album that I bought. I have several more and barely listen to them, whereas I have listened to Las Vegas all the way through hundreds of times.
One of my favorite albums of all time, hopefully this review introduces it to some more people. Thanks melon.