Ed Kuepper -- Search and Destroy, Classic or Dud, whatever you fancy

Also recommended are one of his other groups, The Aints. I think 'Autocannibalism' and 'Ascension' are the only two studio albums they made, and they're both amazing. Much heavier than his solo stuff, with some pretty furious saxophony going down. I haven't yet heard anything by The Laughing Clowns (yet another of his groups), but hopefully will do one day.

Others' words rather than mine, but a lot of people often remark on the vocal similarity. Never saw it myself (then again, I never saw the connection between Ian McCulloch and Jim Morrison and even my *dad* said something about that!). I wouldn't say better than Robert, of course. ;-) But I will say getting up there, actually. And I'm currently listening to Honey Steel's Gold right now and wondering if "Everything I've Got Belongs To You" is the best love song ever.

Put it this way, he hasn't put out very much outright dud work, but when you're as prolific as he, it tends to not be entirely classic either.

The Laughing Clowns box set Cruel But Fair is an excellent collection of all their Laughing Clowns material.

I am curious about the new three CD compilation he's put out. Seems like half of his discs ARE comps.

I'm going to shout out for Frontierland - for a "everything and the kitchen sink production" album it's pretty wonderful (and has some of his best singing I think).

I have this, it's pretty good and has material from across his solo stuff (skips the mid-80s albums, but some of the songs from those pop up in live versions). BUT if you have lots of his stuff already you probably wouldn't need it. good starter pack for those who've been too lazy to keep up with the albums though.

(xp) hi dere gaz I haven't forgotten!

I actually saw Wegener play as the drummer for Deb Cavallero/Dragster in Adelaide in the late 1990s/early 2000s, I think it was...

OTM. The only possible complaint about the 3CD set [pedantry alert!] is that the track ordering follows no pattern discernible to mere mortals.

I was really starting to miss the "Mr Udditch-Schmudditch" LP, having long ago worn out the tape I made of it, years ago (from a mate's uncle's copy - he wouldn't leave the room while we recorded it).

I'm happy with the way they've rearranged the tracks. I find chronological compilations a bit boring, sometimes; I'd rather there be some attempt to make each disc well-paced in its own right, which seems to have worked here.

I really don't get the comparisons between Ed's voice and Robert Smith's. Apart from the fact that they annoy some people.

For me the difference is that the Cure are all aboutregression and childishness. For example:

Ed: "I won't shed tears over spilled and sour milk"
Robert: "Boys don't cry"

Same basic sentiment, very different way of putting it.

Just listening to "Blind Girl Stripper", one of the shortest 10 minute epics ever.

I loved the Saints for years and followed Chris Bailey but only last year did I reacquaint myself with Ed Kuepper's work and what an epiphany it was. Holy crap! I must admit I find his back catalogue a little daunting and have satisfied myself with the excellent 3-CD _This Is The Magic Mile_ retrospective along with _Legendary Bully_ and _The Butterfly Net_, two other best-ofs with very little overlap.

Finally picked up the new album (Jean Lee & The Yellow Dog) and it's a stunner.

Must get. Label?

mr kuepper is doing a show in a month or so in melbs where he will play honey steels gold in its entirety (as part of a series that also includes sonic youth doing daydream nation, one guess as to how quickly that show sold out)

died pretty is doing doughboy hollow on the same night, so i will bee there for sure

(at the same show i mean, it's a kuepper/DP bill)

tis on Hot, mr. ned

i will attend all this event

Damnit, I may yet be convinced to get his entire back catalog. Is there anything that should be avoided?

Honestly, I can't think of a single album to avoid but I would prioritize some over others. Like I said upthread, I'm partial to Frontierland, Legendary Bully and I Was a Male Order Bridegroom

Lengthy series of Kuepper interviews at: http://meltingpod.free.fr/?cat=20

Check 'em out!

Three new live albums are available off of his MySpace page and reasonably priced for AUS->US shipping. Think he's selling these direct as my PayPal went to "Edmund Kuepper."

Still annoyed that he had to drop out of the US leg of the Nick Cave tour. Spiritualized is not a substitute (and that's the only time you'll hear me say that). The recordings from the Europe leg are amazing.

those three are also on emusic

Still annoyed that he had to drop out of the US leg of the Nick Cave tour.

Well he won't have that problem now that he's replaced Mick Harvey.

Aye. Hopefully this combination will make it over the states at some point.

he was in fine shreddin' form at the saints reunion show i saw.

chris bailey was a total cock!

^ that

enjoyed Bailey's early 90s RAT party rave pyjamas though

Podcast interview with Kuepper about ATP and joining the Bad Seeds: http://meltingpod.free.fr/

And indeed he did make it over to the States with Nick et al. Good thing too. But I'm reviving because he's announced a reissue series!

https://twitter.com/EdKuepper/status/657843685560680448

I have the 3cd bo and a couple of other comps ("Legendary Bully" is one). Not sure if I need the albums proper.

Thanks to this thread I have pulled out Black Ticket Day for the first time in probably 20 years. Having never really clicked before, it's sounding pretty damn fine these days...hasn't dated at all to my ears.

I came across pretty much his whole discography, $1 each at the Cheapo moving sale. Paralyzed by indecision, as everyone seems to have a different personal fave, I only picked up "Everybody's Got To," did I make a terrible mistake?

Your only mistake lies in not getting all of them for a $1 each.

^^^

I remember the happy days in the late 1990s when it seemed as though he was putting out a new album every month or two

My first taste of Lost Cities and wow, this is fantastic. A very atmospheric production coupled with Ed's usual high level of songwriting. Hitting repeat on this one.

The new Aint's album, "The Church Of Simultaneous Existence" is out and it's damn good. Made up of some leftovers from the 4th Saints album it's a wonderful juxtspostion of soulful horns and punk rock.

I just picked this up. Seconding the the above! Great album.

Saw him last night with a really very good band… Was super great to see EK looking like a grizzled old member of Hawkwind moving easily between well-crafted pop songs and slow burn proggy jams, with a nice crunchy guitar tone throughout.

A shame that this incarnation is unlikely to tour internationally - I think he would win a lot of new fans (or at least consolidate some old ones). It takes a lot of velocity (and cash) to overcome the tyranny of distance in Australia.

Re S/D - would highly recommend the recent reissue of Honey Steel’s Gold (1990), his best solo LP now finally on spotify. Excellent band featuring Chris Abrahams of The Necks and a nice mix of concise tunes and stretched-out epics. Not quite like anything else but it might sit in broadly the same territory as Spirit of Eden?

Also good - Rooms of the Magnificent, Today Wonder, Jean Lee & the Yellow Dog.

Laughing Clowns’ Law of Nature has also been reissued, not a bad entry point for that band & features Eternally Yours - their most iconic song and a great one too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQW9ZWqtEQA

The Laughing Clowns "Cruel But Fair" box is a stunning collection that should be in print, jazz punk at its finest!

Yeah... definitely one of the greatest collected works of all time - every song has something exceptional going on and the level of invention in the playing and arrangements is just off the scale - not a starter slope though! It's so dense that it takes a lot of investment to get into I think? At least to my ears it took a while to click... I might not even have tried except that I saw Kuepper play a gig with Jeff Wegener (Clowns drummer for those that don't know) and it was so exceptional that I was instantly obsessed - still hands down the best live drummer I have ever seen in any context ever

There was a happy time in the 19990s when it felt as though every month brought a new Kuepper record and they were all wonderful.

1990s even

tonight we’re gonna kuepper like it’s 19990

EK has also been playing with Asteroid Ekosystem - describing them as an improv jazz band isn't helpful, but maybe this clip will give you an idea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iXVovNh0fw

There's a live album available: https://alisterspence.bandcamp.com/album/asteroid-ekosystem-live - an earlier gig at The Great Club would have been my fave album of the 2022 if it was a real release.

I confuse this guy with Eric Kupper, and always expect to see a bunch of stuff about remixes when I pop into this thread.