Heaven Up Here
	Produced by Hugh Jones in association with The Bunnymen
	Released on June 1981
	UK CHART POSITION #10 . . . US CHART POSITION #184
	Find it at GEMM
SRK 3569 cover [high resolution photo]

A dark record, chilling in its detached dissection of love and life, Heaven Up Here is the product of a troubled psyche. It took a long time for me to appreciate this record; little on here jumps out at the listener like the single “A Promise.” However, calling this a case of the sophomore slump misses the point. Far too much thought and care went into this music to dismiss it out of hand. In fact, the songs demand your attention: “Turquoise Days,” “It Was A Pleasure,” “Show of Strength” are arresting. Difficult to recall on command, sure, but the songs exist in a middleworld between the conscious and the subconscious anyway. You’re supposed to feel music like “All My Colours,” not go home humming it. The reference points are again Gang of Four, U2, The Cure, bands that managed to make more memorable music than what you’ll find on Heaven Up Here. And little on this album sparkles the way those bands did, as Ian McCulloch sings just below the surface of the music. Words slip in and out, when you catch hold of a lyric it’s usually very clever, but years later I still can’t tell you what most of these songs are about. What does emerge is Will Sergeant’s sonic artistry, extending his guitar into realms that Andy Gill and The Edge merely hinted at. With McCulloch and Sergeant occupying their own musical limbos, it falls to Pete De Freitas and Les Pattinson to provide a lifeline back to reality, often employing a vaguely tribal pattern to underscore the urgency of whatever McCulloch is mumbling about at the moment. Echo fans won’t be scared off by Heaven’s dark designs, but newcomers attracted by the band’s more accessible work may find this unduly harsh.

SRK 3569 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. SHOW OF STRENGTH    4:50
2. WITH A HIP    4:15
3. OVER THE WALL    5:55
4. IT WAS A PLEASURE    3:10
5. A PROMISE    4:05
6. HEAVEN UP HERE    3:40
7. THE DISEASE    2:25
8. ALL MY COLOURS    4:05
9. NO DARK THINGS    4:25
10. TURQUOISE DAYS    3:50
11. ALL I WANT    4:05
    
    CD reissue bonus tracks
    
12. BROKE MY NECK
13. SHOW OF STRENGTH (LIVE)
14. THE DISEASE (LIVE)
15. ALL I WANT (LIVE)
16. ZIMBO (LIVE)
    
    All songs written by Will Sergeant/Ian McCulloch/Les Pattinson/Pete de Freitas

CREDITS

PETE DE FREITAS --
IAN McCULLOCH --
LES PATTINSON --
WILL SERGEANT --
Martyn Atkins -- design
Brian Griffin -- photography

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