simply the best

[mmmender]

ok damnit.....we haven't had this poll since last may......so, if you had to pick just one.......in your opinion.....what is the best cocteau twins album EVER?

[santeras]

BBK just gets it over HOLV, holds more fond memories of good times for me and some of the songs are just too good to believe.

[E-Lo]

It was *very* hard for me to pick HOLV or BBK, because both have songs that make me want to scream with glee 'cause they are so perfect – however, HOLV wins by a strand for the variety of sounds and styles . . .

[santeras]

Shame Stars and Topsoil didnt count as that could have been a contender for me.

[mmmender]

stars & topsoil is just a "best of" as is "the pink opaque" also "the moon and the melodies" was left off as it's not a cocteau twins album.

ELLA MEGALAST BURLS FOREVER JUST FUCKING KILLS ME

[robin guthrie]

you can't have a best : you always think the next one will be...

well if you're me that is...

[mmmender]

you can have a best, you can, you can, you can, you can!!!

kiss1

[simon alexander]

Impossible to choose - no 'objective' criterion by which to judge.
The Cocteau Twins simply and gloriously ARE.

[simon alexander]

(The snowman excepted!)

[Iwan]

Originally posted by robin guthrie
you can't have a best : you always think the next one will be...

well if you're me that is...

If the Twins are history... there wouldn't be a next one, so mmmender is in the clear!

By the way, I voted for BBK... I think this is the most timeless of the lot.

[robin guthrie]

beg to differ but I think that you will find, that if you are me, you can't.. fuck, it's like talking to lucy belle... now go to bed...

[robin guthrie]

If the Twins are history... there wouldn't be a next one

hey, I just make records.. don't you get it?

[Brien]

HOLV wins my vote. It came out just a month before I took my first trip to Europe. BTS called and asked what I thought about the album, I said, I think Liz is pregnant. BTS told me Liz and Robin had just had Lucy. It was the HOLV tour, in which I saw them live for the first time in London. It seemed like it was a happy time for both the band... and me personally.

[Iwan]

Originally posted by robin guthrie


hey, I just make records.. don't you get it?

Sure I get it, now be nice.

[Iwan]

And thank you for MAKING records... I know I can't ;)

[santeras]

hey, I just make records..

Cool, does it get sticky mixing the acetate?

(facetious be my name, sorry.)

[robin guthrie]

If the Twins are history... there wouldn't be a next one

hey, I just make records.. don't you get it?

[Brett]

This reminds me of some of your old interviews! :D

[watchlar]

of course i voted for FCC...and i'll probably be the only one on the board who does so :(

[Brett]

And I'll bet I'm the only one who'll fess up to voting for Head Over Heels under the gaze of Guthrie.

:)

[Dan]

Martin Amis wrote that, when writers read their own books, they only see the results of hundreds of big and small decisions and the possibilities of what might have been if they had made them differently.

i don't know if robin or other artists (on this board?) think like this but I wonder how much enjoyment they get out of their creations compared to the rest of us. the joy of creation compared to the joy of consuming.

god I've started to watch too much Sex in the City - "why is that I must summarise my monologue into a pithy and thought-provoking question and then follow it with another shorter and punchier question?"

I vote for Robin / Simon / Liz's next album!

(PS HOLV)

[iceblink555]

Originally posted by robin guthrie
you can't have a best : you always think the next one will be...
well if you're me that is...

So do you think the "unfinished" album could have been CT's best?

It's impossible for me to pick just one. Best I can do is eliminate 2 or 3 (FCC & Garlands being the easiest to set aside). --Alan

[robin guthrie]

And I'll bet I'm the only one who'll fess up to voting for Head Over Heels under the gaze of Guthrie

hey brett, sorry to dissappoint but I love that album and I am very proud of it.. 'course it was 20 yrs ago...... :)

just a thought : is it not possible that I may love these records way more than you know?

[jana]

each one is so completely different to me...it's like choosing Family Fodder or John Denver.

[jana]

hell in a fucking handbasket...that last post made no sense.

[kookaburra]

M&K

[ScottL]

Originally posted by watchlar
of course i voted for FCC...and i'll probably be the only one on the board who does so :(

think again

[watchlar]

:) scott

[steven]

I voted for Heaven, because I think it's their most consistently, brilliant album. All ten tracks are steller, the album artwork is fantastic, and the b-sides of that era, especially watchlar, are brilliant.

Steven

[aprilskies]

Celtic bhoys love 'em all, Rob!

[iceblink555]

Originally posted by robin guthrie

just a thought : is it not possible that I may love these records way more than you know?

It's easy to get the opposite impression after you were so critical of CT albums in interviews for so many years. Maybe you've mellowed out a bit in this respect? --Alan

[seeker]

Treasure!

just as the name!

even everybody hate it !

[Trashmad]

Well I've been hovering between Head over Heels and Blue Bell Knoll and finally plumped for Head Over Heels

[lake]

Originally posted by simon alexander
(The snowman excepted!)
PARDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It takes a big man to admit that they really LOVE snow - & you do, dont you? Go on, say it! You'll feel better when you do! I am not afraid to say " I LOVE IT "

Back to the poll, i voted Victorialand, no suprise there.Treasure V. close 2nd.ballerina

[Phil Lawton]

It takes a big man to admit that they really LOVE snow - & you do, dont you? Go on, say it! You'll feel better when you do! I am not afraid to say " I LOVE IT "

Lilly - does this mean that YOU are a big man?

Christ....another illusion shattered.

[lake]

Originally posted by Phil Lawton


Lilly - does this mean that YOU are a big man?

Christ....another illusion shattered.
roflmao
You nearly made me choke on my lolly ice!Fab lollies,remember them?!

[Phil Lawton]

You nearly made me choke on my lolly ice!Fab lollies,remember them?!

"Fab" lollies? Are those the red ice/milky ice things with the hundreds 'n' thousands on the top?

[dprid]

http://www.whom.co.uk/sugar/fab.jpg

[someotherian]

ugh.. i used to eat those things. can't think why now though! lol

[mattadore]

I had to cast my vote for "Victorialand" (sorry dprid ;)); as a fellow board member recently put it, "One of the most beautiful things to ever come out of a speaker...".

np: Violet Indiana - "Casino" :1pimp:

[aprilskies]

Originally posted by robin guthrie


hey, I just make records.. don't you get it?

oh come on, ol' bean. no need to get out of your pram over it.

your ball is over there. now go pick it up and head on home. you know you wanna.

ballerina

[aprilskies]

did i vote in this? hmmm.... guess i must have if i can see john snow's swing-o-metre above...

um, let's see - i usually reach for HoLV on a good night.

[Lucibelle]

I really HATE making this decision, since I really want to vote for FIVE of them! But I ended up voting for Blue Bell Knoll.

[lake]

Originally posted by Phil Lawton


"Fab" lollies? Are those the red ice/milky ice things with the hundreds 'n' thousands on the top?
The very same:D
As purchased in that up-market store, "the ASDA"ballerina

[iceblink555]

Originally posted by Lucibelle
I really HATE making this decision, since I really want to vote for FIVE of them! But I ended up voting for Blue Bell Knoll.

Same here, Steph. Which five would it be for you? Mine are Treasure, Victorialand, BBK, HoLV, and M&K. --Alan

[steven]

The irony in my opinion of HLV being the most popular (just on the basis of this highly unscientific survey) is this album was really the odd-man out in relation to the cocteaus entire catalog (although HOH could be an exception to this). I mean, Heaven was by far the most uptempo, extroverted, and positive release the cocteaus created. Whereas, the vast majority of their other output was actually very meloncholic. I don't really consider the cocteaus to be a "happy" band, there was such an intrinsic sadness to most of their music. Yet, for whatever reasons, motherhood, good drugs, who knows what...Heaven really is an upbeat, happy record. I think it's there best yet I don't really think it represents truely what the cocteaus were about.

Steven

[ScottL]

Hadn't considered it, except vaguely that HoL is a happier sounding album, but that strikes me as totally right-on steven, well said really on every point too, esp. the last where I don't find any one release to be what CT was all about, at least not in terms of my own listening experience...I'm not speaking to what it was all about for the artists themselves. It had some general thoughts about all this...

To me the whole career(not unlike most artists I really like on the whole) is a catharsis....kinda like what Robin said about FCC being only what it could be at the time...each is a reflection of a process affecting these 3 artists and how they worked together with eachother and eventually with others....I find that holds true as a listener, how music affects me depends often on my own state of mind as well as stage of emotional development, what I like to listen to and why. Over time, the various stages of CT's music has found a place for me, so in time I get futher away from having any favorite at all...but even early on(for me) Victorialand, BBK, HoL & FCC(my 1st 4 albums) were all up there all close and statisfying different moods, making it hard to absolutely pick one....

That all said, the reason I(alone w/Watchlar) chose FCC is personal, it hits me deepest emotionally. If HoL is the peak of some high, FCC is withdrawal...anyone who has had to go through such things knows life doesn't let you escape yourself, I haven't done so with drugs, perhaps in some emotional sense during college, but not to that intensity, just imagining and reflecting here...dealing withdrawal is like finding yourself after the high is over, a defining moment to go on or loose touch with yourself for ever...I wouldn't want to linger in that state myself, but this is just why I like the title 'Know who you are at every Age'...it is brilliant to me. 12-steppy perhaps, but if every 12step program were like FCC,it'd be a profound thing I believe. It has given me infinite comfort for the many stages of life.

CT's early material affected me later...that is a symptom of getting into them after all was done...so for me nostalgia reaches back only to 95 when I first heard Victorialand...and didn't know much about them, and a few years later really got into them. Part of appreciating their early material had to do with trying to put myself in the shoes of people back at the time, like anthropology or something piecing together historical elements...a bit vague but it must have been something at the time...you old folks may miss your youth, but at least you got to experience something pretty cool back then. Each age has something cool I believe, but you have to look for it in new places...what was cool then has eroded in to a somewhat tired scene..but new things are developing all the time, sometimes where we least expect them,...so I'll keep looking...

[multymfoiled]

I voted for HOLV, but I have to agree with Scott here on the scope of influence on one's life as a precurser for particular fondness for a CT release. HOLV was my first exposure to the Twins, and it came in college at a critical point in my life. Each release I discovered after that I can connect with a period, event or mood that was filled with that particular album....A "life's soundtrack" as it were.

I think as well that, given the nature of the artistic process, it's hard to compare and contrasts albums that were created over many years while the artists were experiencing their world, and each others, in very different ways. Each record is a testimony to that moment in their existance as a band and as individuals, which by nature is fleeting and ever-changing. How can the releases be anything but what they are?

My, I'm getting quite deep for so early in the morning...Perhaps I need to go back to bed!

[scott]

I've been a fan since the spangle maker ep. for me the best is:

1) victorialand
2) treasure
3) bbk
4) holv

I didn't really like BBK when it first came out. it was to smooth and well produced I guess. I have grown to love it.

I always thought that HOLV, FCC & M&k were to much alike. they had found a rut. when the twinlights ep came out I thought great, a new direction. but no, they choose the safe route with M&K.

how many of you new the end was near at that point?

when simon first annonced the breakup I thought for sure they would be back in a few years with fresh ideas. but now ...

[Tinspur]

I voted for Milk and Kisses as my "favorite album." I think it unfair, if not impractical (with regards to artistic merit), to label any album the "best." There is simply no way of establishing a universal set of criteria in which to judge any piece of art better than another; it contradicts the very meaning of art.

I direct this tirade towards no one in particular, I simply wish to stress an artistic axiom, seeing as we congregate on a forum that discusses musical "artists" and their craft.

If anything, you may disregard the ramblings of a hick (originally) from Virginia. :dunno:

[Tinspur]

I voted for HOLV, but I have to agree with Scott here on the scope of influence on one's life as a precurser for particular fondness for a CT release I agree wholeheartedly Tym. The first CT recording I ever heard was Ice-pulse, a thick slice of ether with operatic vocals that instantly awoke my spiritual consciousness. It was during the '98 Winter Olympics and the song beautifully fit the times. I envisioned the mountainous region in Japan, where skiers twisted through the air and ice-skaters danced their minuets to a "pulse" that you couldn't see, only feel. I actually wrote to the TV station (NBC?) recommending they use the song in one of their highlight segments, but alas, they never responded. :(

[REPLICESS]

Garlands is the best!

(how many times to I have to tell y'all ? ;) :tongue: )

2) Head Over Heels
3) Heaven Or Las Vegas
4) Treasure
5) BBK

[iceblink555]

Originally posted by Tinspur

If anything, you may disregard the ramblings of a hick (originally) from Virginia. :dunno:

(Tin)spur, you mean you're not a *true* Texan? ;-)

BTW, what part of Texas are you in? I'm (originally) from Corpus Christi :)

--Alan
np: Julee Cruise - The Nightingale

[bLeafminer]

What a difficult and enjoyable task it is to make this decision with enough confidence to air it amongst such critical ears. I surprised myself and voted for HOLV. BBK would have likely been my choice at any moment since that day in 1988 but HOLV gets the nod for exactly the reason of emotional context discussed by others in this thread. I spent the first year of a distant, longing love consoling myself with it as it became a map of precious and fleeting moments. Once together, it flowed around us, celebratory. 5 years on, amidst despair, it became something devastating like a logged childhood forest and I truly thought I’d never listen to it again. Therein hides the strength in this music, the timeless, enduring quality of it that continues to inspire debate and reflection. It overcame memory, overcame love and today I listen to HOLV in awe, and it is again mine in the only way a snowstorm can be owned, by it’s presence in the heart.


That said, if the Tiny Dynamine/Echoes in a Shallow Bay CD was on the list, I’d yet be wringing my hands in indecision. So what the hell do I know?
;)

[Tinspur]

Hey ice, naw, I'm originally from Richmond, Virginia, that's where I grew up and where my soul still resides (forgive this brief, opulent display of sentimentality). I currently reside in Texas City, just south of Houston, where I'm constantly fighting off the fumes from the local oil refineries. I just moved down here from Memphis (no Elvis jokes please, I could write a book...) a few months ago and will be teaching at one of the local colleges in the fall. I went through Corpus Christi once on my way to South Padre Island, it's a nice town, reminded me of the Galveston area a bit.

P.S. Sorry for the late response to your post, my internet service was down for several days due to hackers.

"My mind is in Texas, my heart is in Memphis and my soul's in Virginia."

[iceblink555]

Originally posted by Tinspur

"My mind is in Texas, my heart is in Memphis and my soul's in Virginia."

Howdy Tinspur,

Yeah, Corpus Christi does have a lot in common with Galveston: both touristy beach towns/port cities/with oil refineries.

I'm similarly "trifurcated":

My mind is in Montreal, my heart is in Spain, and my soul is (trapped) in Texas ;-)

np: 23 Lies - Death in Vegas feat. Susan Lillane

[grnfaerie]

well, i picked HOLV but i will have you know it was harder than picking a favorite child!
they all have their blissful moments that shine above all others.

[iceselkie]

I voted for Treasure, as it was the first album I bought.

[JohnnyV]

Nice to read over thread again...Robin's wit, Phil the ole crumudgeon before his Monk Sabatical, and some Aprilskies as well....

...and Blue Bell Knoll is the only correct answer

[Jeek]

Yes, Dave, BBK it is!

[bearclaw]

i have to say head over heels becasue it was the very first album that i bought [ on cassette ;-) ] but i have to say that i dont have a favourite because i adore them all - theres not a single song that doesn't completely fill my heart with delight & wonder

[lo-fi]

Heaven Or Las Vegas , with Blue Bell Knoll a close 2nd :)

[by the sea]

BBK would be flawless if it didn't have 'Cico Barf'. Oh well, nothing's ever perfect.

What about Elizabeth's high note though, at 1:15, on 'Suckling The Mender'? Damn!

[DJ SMITHMIX]

I remember buying the UK Import LP of BBK with the fold-out gate (the only LP of CT's that has this) putting it on my turntable and blissing out on my kissed out red floatboat!
I believe BBK has CT's finest moments on it.
ballerina

[postlibyan]

I remember buying the UK Import LP of BBK with the fold-out gate (the only LP of CT's that has this) putting it on my turntable and blissing out on my kissed out red floatboat! man, i had a copy of that.... it got left when i lieft my ex.... sigh. she probably doesn't even own a turntable on her own! what a waste.....

PJK

[mwddrwg]

'head over heels'....it blew me away 20 years ago....and it still has that power now.

every song sounds so urgent and elizabeth fraser has NEVER sounded better.

it's the only album that i don't skip a track.

[mike_mhg]

I can't believe Head Over Heels is leading Treasure in the poll, or that Milk & Kisses is such a low vote.
BBK nostagically shades it over HOLV for me, only because of The Itchy Glowbo Blow which for me encapsulates the whole CT thing.

[david porte]

heaven or las vegas...i usually find the first album i buy by any artist is my favourite. I can't think of one which isn't. Maybe Hats by the Blue Nile which was the second of theirs i bought.

[Monk]

I voted for Heaven, because I think it's their most consistently, brilliant album. All ten tracks are steller, the album artwork is fantastic, and the b-sides of that era, especially watchlar, are brilliant.

Steven

Agreed. I love each album, but HOLV is just perfection.

[paulr]

you can't have a best : you always think the next one will be...

well if you're me that is...

So release a new one then - go on, dare you !!

[petroldarling]

it's a tossup for me between holv and bbk, as it seems to be for many people!
but ultimately i always come back to blue bell knoll as the most perfect.

[Thackeray]

My vote was FCC, however, Milk and Kisses was not an option. I'll have to check my CTforums rulebook but Mmmmender baby you might get the boot.

I agree with Alli that BBK was the most superbly delivered group of recordings...I suppose that's what happens when the right personalities decide to let go...a divine album indeed.

[Pale Clouded]

Victorialand is my favorite....then the Ep's Tiny Dynamine/Echoes In A Shallow Bay and Aikea-Guinea...

Then (in no particular order): Head over Heels, Garlands, Blue Bell Knoll, Treasure, and Four-Calendar Café....

I love ALL the above work...Victorialand and those EP's just stick out a bit more for me....

I go back and forth on most of HOLV, though the last two songs on there are great always!

I like about 3 songs off M&K (love Violaine!) I like the b sides to this album better....


I like them all just some better than others...Even the ones I'm not to crazy about I still like if that makes sense?

[4Cc[]]

Treasure



P.S.: I can't believe that BBK is the second most voted... And Treasure has too few votes.
:explode: :explode:

[toothbrush]

']Treasure



P.S.: I can't believe that BBK is the second most voted... And Treasure has too few votes.
:explode: :explode:

yeah i couldn't believe that either. i voted for treasure, not because i like it the most, but i think it's their most representative. it kind of sums up what the twins are a about imo.
i love bbk but it was just a bit overproduced

[BBKnoller]

It's hard to decide which is the best...there are a number of candidates and they all could be the best, depending on the mood you're in.
The pool to choose from I think is Blue Bell Knoll, Heaven or Las Vegas, Treasure and Victorialand.
Treasure, like someone else mentioned, I think is the band's most representative album, with the CT trademark sound and landscapes.
Victorialand is the magic album, pure magic.
Blue Bell Knoll seems to me like an avant-garde album for 1988, with unbelievable production quality, and it seems to have the happiest sound.
Heaven or Las Vegas makes the list because it expands on BBK.

FCC, Milk and Kisses, the EP's, they are all amazing too, but maybe not up there with the previous ones.

[salve_sons]

1. Treasure crystillizes their signature sound (gothy rock: hard beats, chiming fuzz guitars/piano and soaring vocals) before the 90's and so gets the top vote as the most complete representation of their innovative sound.
2. BBK crystillizes their signature sound since (ethereal rock: layered guitars, softer beats, soaring and yet sometimes more intimate vocals), and the melody/crunch ratio is just right.
3. Victorialand is of course their best pure dreamscape album before the 90's, with 4CC being the 90's best in that catagory.
4. HOLV is of course their best pop album.
5. Tiny/Echoes' Great Spangled Fritillary is of course their most ambitious song: the intertwining tempos and passionate vocals amid the finally fully produced wash of guitar is awe-inspiring.
6. Best album art: Echoes in a shallow bay
7. Most underrated: Milk and Kisses. The vocals soar with lyrics that match ("breath of god in my mouth") in a way Liz had just started with 4CC, and the songs are just as good as most on HOLV.
8. Top melodic vocal idea: "essence" from 4CC
9. the one album you don't need (which isn't really by "them" anyway): Otherness. The ambient remixes are boringly repetitive instead of what they should do: break an under-appreciated element of the song into its own little spotlight. The textures are good for a second and then they start to grate, being way too equalized; they should start with compressed frequencies and then open up to a fuller dynaic range as part of their dramatic arc...but they don't.
10. Best B-side or hard to find track: Circling Girl, Comp. 15 version. Majestic.

But having one of the most consistent catalogs and a nice slow progression from youthful passion to a mature love of the melodic/harmonic over a 20 year or so period makes every album and every song essential!!!

[salve_sons]

Salve - I love it when you kill a thread!

[salve_sons]

That's ok - I can always have a conversation with myself.

[andylama]

That's OK; if thread killing were a crime, I'd be doing "25 to life, hard time".

I'm accustomed to the sound of crickets chipring after I post.

[Tinspur]

Sorry salve, but the coveted title of "International Heavyweight Thread Killer Champion" belongs to yours truly!!!

[salve_sons]

Thanks - I want to use my fame to bring world peace to America...where it has been lacking.

[salve_sons]

I'm accustomed to the sound of crickets chipring after I post.

Is that song on a bootleg?

[salve_sons]

Actually...here's a few good ideas for a poll...

Best solo/non-4ad Liz Fraser vocal;
(My answer: this love with craig aromstrong)

Best solo Robin song;

best solo production effort

Best simon solo song;

etc.

[cico]

Im afraid im not going to add anything new or ground breaking to the debate but Heaven or Las Vegas over Treasure and Bluebell Knoll by a head. It's all down to how I felt (I think - it was a long time ago!) When BBK came out I lived the LP for an age thinking it was the best thing Id ever heard. When (eventually) HOLV came out I was just blown away as IMO it topped it. These days I listen to both but that thrill hasnt died, and Cherry Coloured Funk just is so infused in my veins - the most perfect feeling, I suppose because it just feels fresh despite over 1000 plays.
There = said it would not be new or groundbreaking - but it's how I feel - so there!

[Delerium242]

Since I'm listening to Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummers Fires for the 2nd time in a row I'd have to say HOLV. This was the CT's music for the masses CD IMHO.

[Enmore]

I voted for BBK, but in reality they are all fuckin' glorious.

[chased]

I voted for treasure all the way.

[Thackeray]

My vote was FCC, however, Milk and Kisses was not an option. I'll have to check my CTforums rulebook but Mmmmender baby you might get the boot.

I agree with Alli that BBK was the most superbly delivered group of recordings...I suppose that's what happens when the right personalities decide to let go...a divine album indeed.


Maybe I didn't see it then I do now...

Two Feet in Mouth..."Milk and Kisses" IS an option...

sorry...

[serpentine]

ya know, i love them all. i get in moods for different albums; i chose four calendar cafe for the time being but ahhh, it will change to another album eventually. then another.

CocteauTwins albums have a way with paralleling my emotions.

Sigh. <3

[Zus]

Not surprisingly, BBK and HOLV are in a tight race for the first place. I voted for BBK, by the way.

And I also feel Milk and Kisses is underrated. Am I the only one in the world who likes Treasure Hiding, Ups and Eperdu? ;-)


P.S.: I remember my joy when I first heard of M&K, because of all the problems the band was facing at the time they released Four-Calendar. Sadly, the end came a few years later...

[serpentine]

P.S.: I remember my joy when I first heard of M&K, because of all the problems the band was facing at the time they released Four-Calendar. Sadly, the end came a few years later...


*double sigh...*

[ossian]

HOLV. I love each of their albums but HOLV is just perfect, every fuckin moment of it.....

[kinty]

hey brett, sorry to dissappoint but I love that album and I am very proud of it.. 'course it was 20 yrs ago...... :)

just a thought : is it not possible that I may love these records way more than you know?

I agree...garlands for me, although Blue Bell Knoll is my favourite, is unique and wonderful....Grail Overfloweth simply breathtaking.

M

[moeism]

yeah i was torn apart between garlands and head over heels... but what is a girl to do when you must only choose ONE? I chose HOH... but now I don't know how I feel...

[mortalcoil]

I chose Treasure but I have a soft spot for Head Over Heals because it was the first CT album I bought and I just love Mussette & Drums.

[stargazer]

I voted for BBK. Its just timeless, that's all I have to say.

[Moya xx]

BBK

[Ghosty]

HOLV is just perfect, every fuckin moment of it.....
Yes, it even skips the 'crap third song on side two'* syndrome that most CT albums have. I actually quite like Wolf in the Breast.

*The eight song on the CD for all you non-vinyl era youngsters.

[Nomen_Luni]

My favourite is Treasure as it's the first album I heard and I thought it was really amazing when I heard it. Blue Bell Knoll is a very close 2nd though. :)

[lucynow]

Blue Bell Knoll

[kyuball]

Despite the teeny tiny margin, I am glad that HOLV holds an edge over BBK. I think that HOLV has a broader emotional range within the album as a whole and within each song. BBK loses out in that it tends to flatten out and flutter on vocal and sonic acrobatics, whereas HOLV just has solid, solid gems. Cherry Coloured Funk is and will always be one of the best songs EVER!

[starhopper]

I voted for HOLV, but they all can be my favorite. Like serp said, it all depends on my mood. Some days, it's all pre-Victorialand and others is all later. Some days it's all singles and EPs. Some days it's a mix of everything. Hmmm, I just love CT - imagine that?? :smitten: