SONG OF THE DAY [#383]

'black metallic' | catherine wheel

i love, love, love, love catherine wheel. if i could pick one band to get back together, i had have a hard time choosing between catherine wheel and pulp. can i choose both?

at any rate, i dated this girl many years ago who loved catherine wheel, and while i enjoyed several songs ['black metallic,' 'i want to touch you'], i couldn't, for reasons now unknown, fully embrace the band. it all seems silly now, but looking back most of 20's seem pretty silly.

it was their 4th l.p., 'adam & eve' that the lights went on and i began to fully understand and appreciate catherine wheel for what they really were: one helluva rock and roll band fronted by rob dickinson--easily one of the most dynamic frontmen in the history of rock. after three albums that ranged from fizzy shoegazing to 'siamese dream'-inspired rock, 'adam & eve' found catherine wheel finally comfortable in their own skins, delicately balancing chest-thumping power chords and a new-found inclination to the pastoral. from beginning to end, its consistency is almost alarming and it should have, by right, catapulted catherine wheel into the mainstream. alas, it was not be and after one more studio album, the unfairly maligned 'wishville,' catherine wheel disbanded in 2000. rob dickinson later released a solo album called 'fresh wine for the horses,' which is very mighty.

'adam & eve' is now out of print, unfortunately; but click here and you'll get a little treat. oh, the glory of the internet. i highly suggest you also seek out 'ferment,' 'chrome,' and 'happy days,' too. they rock so hard and whenever i want to listen to them i want to plug my guitar and turn up amp up to eleven.

and here's something for you gee whiz collection: rob dicknson is cousin to, yes, the bruce dickinson. rob did more than simply follow in his cousin's footprints. just like bruce's iron maiden, rob, too named his band after a medieval torture device. you just don't learn that kind of the stuff on the t.v.

→ catherine wheel: black metallic | video
→ catherine wheel: i want to touch you | video
→ catherine wheel: waydown | video
→ catherine wheel: judy staring at the sun | video
→ catherine wheel: sparks are gonna fly | video
→ catherine wheel: wish you were here [pink floyd cover]