Songs to Learn & Sing

Songs to Learn & Sing is a compilation album by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 11 November 1985 and featured all of the singles the band had released up to that point. Released on LP, cassette and CD by Korova, WEA and Sire Records, the album received positive reviews and reached number six on the UK Albums Chart[4] and number 158 on the US Billboard 200.[5]

Songs to Learn & Sing
Greatest hits album by Echo & the Bunnymen
Released	11 November 1985[1]
Recorded	1979–1985
Genre	Post-punk, new wave[2]
Length	40:09
Label	Korova, Sire
Producer	Ian Broudie, Bill Drummond, David Balfe, Hugh Jones, Echo & the Bunnymen, Laurie Latham
Echo & the Bunnymen chronology
Ocean Rain (1984) Songs to Learn & Sing (1985) Echo & the Bunnymen (1987)
Singles from Songs to Learn & Sing
"Bring on the Dancing Horses" Released: 14 November 1985

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Robert Christgau	C+[3]

Releases

Songs to Learn & Sing was first released as an LP, a cassette and a CD by Korova in the United Kingdom, WEA in Germany and Sire Records in the United States on 15 November 1985. The LP and cassette versions of the album have six tracks on side one and five tracks on side two. The album was also available as a limited edition picture disc and a limited edition album with a copy of "The Pictures on My Wall" single. The album was reissued on 17 October 1990 by WEA.

The tracks included on the album are in chronological order and taken from the four studio albums that had been released up to that point as well including two non-album singles: "Rescue" from the Crocodiles album; "The Puppet", a non-album single; "Do It Clean", the B-side to "The Puppet"; "A Promise" from the Heaven Up Here album; "The Back of Love" and "The Cutter" from the Porcupine album; "Never Stop", a non-album single; "The Killing Moon", "Silver" and "Seven Seas" from the Ocean Rain album; and "Bring on the Dancing Horses" a new single.

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue number
United Kingdom	11 November 1985[1]	Korova	LP	KODE 13
			LP picture disc	KODE 13P
			Cassette	CODE 13
Germany	15 November 1985	WEA	LP	240,767-1
			CD	2292-40767-2
United States	15 November 1985	Sire Records	LP	1-25360
			CD	25360-2

Singles

Although the album is a compilation album it included one previously unreleased single — "Bring on the Dancing Horses" which was released on 14 November 1985. The single reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart[4] and number 15 on the Irish Singles Chart.[6]

Reception

Allmusic rated the release four and a half stars out of five and describes the album as "a solid and comprehensive collection of the band's material".[7] The album was listed in Rock Compact Disc magazine's list of 45 classic "British Indie Guitar Rock" albums.[8] The album was also reasonably successful with the fans which was shown by the album reaching number 6 on the UK Albums Chart.[4]

Chart positions

Chart (1985)	Peak Position
UK Albums Chart[4]	6
Billboard 200[5]	158
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9]	57

Track listing

Note: track timings taken from original LP's labels.All tracks are written by Will Sergeant, Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson and Pete de Freitas.

No.	Title	Album	Length
1.	"Rescue"	Crocodiles (1980)	3:46
2.	"The Puppet"	non-album single (1980)	3:05
3.	"Do It Clean"	Crocodiles (US version)	2:43
4.	"A Promise"	Heaven Up Here (1981)	3:40
5.	"The Back of Love"	Porcupine (1983)	3:13
6.	"The Cutter"	Porcupine	3:55
7.	"Never Stop"	non-album single (1983)	3:29
8.	"The Killing Moon"	Ocean Rain (1984)	5:46
9.	"Silver"	Ocean Rain	3:17
10.	"Seven Seas"	Ocean Rain	3:19
11.	"Bring on the Dancing Horses"	Previously unreleased	3:56

Personnel

Musicians

• Ian McCulloch – vocals
• Will Sergeant – guitar
• Les Pattinson – bass
• Pete de Freitas – drums

Production

• Ian Broudie – producer ("Rescue", "The Back of Love", "The Cutter")
• Bill Drummond – producer ("The Puppet", "Do It Clean")
• David Balfe – producer ("The Puppet", "Do It Clean")
• Hugh Jones – producer ("A Promise", "Never Stop")
• The Bunnymen – producer ("A Promise", "The Killing Moon", "Silver", "Seven Seas")
• Laurie Latham – producer ("Bring on the Dancing Horses")
• Anton Corbijn – photography

References

1. "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 August 2009. Note: User needs to enter "Echo & The Bunnymen" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
2. MacKenzie Wilson (15 November 1985). "Songs to Learn and Sing – Echo & the Bunnymen | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
3. Christgau, Robert. "Echo & the Bunnymen". Robert Christgau.
4. Roberts, David, ed. (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). HIT Entertainment. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. "Echo & the Bunnymen > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
6. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". IRMA. 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
7. Wilson, MacKenzie. "Songs to Learn and Sing - Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
8. Patterson, Sylvia (April 1993). "State of Independents: British Indie Guitar Rock". Rock Compact Disc. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

External links

• The Ultimate Echo and the Bunnymen Discography, Tab & Lyric Site