Kilimanjaro

If you are only going to make two albums make them as good as the two released in the early 80's from The Teardrop Explodes. Last night I listened to Kilimanjaro for the first time in a while and it sounded every bit as vibrant and original as I remember it. Hard now to believe that both U2 and Duran Duran apparently considered The Teardrop Explodes as their own real competition. Cope wasn't even then your typical pop star but pop star he was briefly although if you delve into his lyrics they certainly weren't about Girls On Film or Karma Chameleons. 

Kilimanjaro was wildly ambitious, shiny and polished, choc full of unforgettable tunes including a certain track that catapulted them into the Top 10 and into our living rooms through TOTP. Reward sounded awesome then and still does so today, a stampede of Northern Soul energy that needs to be played at full volume.

The Teardrops had an innate gift for for a poppy hook and captivating melody that set them apart from some of their contemporaries. The genesis of Kilimanjaro was troubled with large amounts of LSD being consumed, making it all the more amazing that something as perfectly formed emerged from those recording sessions. It is an album that finds the band at the top of their game, a band that could have had it all which appears to be the last thing Cope wanted. 

You can hear the influence of The Teardrops on so many bands in recent years, from The Killers to Blur and The Libertines. Kilimanjaro remains timeless and listening to it again it's apparent why it spent 35 weeks on the charts.