Catherine Wheel

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melon

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Anyone remember this band? "Ferment" and "Chrome" are downright brilliant, and these albums definitely serve as the bridge between shoegazer and alternative rock. I think even Smashing Pumpkins gave a nod to Catherine Wheel in the liner notes of "Siamese Dream."

It's too bad that the group, like most of the original bands of the early 1990s, wandered into bland, mainstream rock as they approached the latter half of the decade onwards.

Anyway, anyone else remember this highly underrated band?

Melon
 
Hmm, I'll have to check them out. The description reminds me of Ride. Is that an accurate comparison?
 
u2popmofo said:
Hmm, I'll have to check them out. The description reminds me of Ride. Is that an accurate comparison?

No. They're really a league all their own, IMO. I think you'll like it. Try "Ferment" first.

Melon
 
I more than remember them. They remain in my pantheon of all-time favorite bands. I've never been more disappointed in a record than I was with Wishville, what a let down. But, Chrome and Ferment, and even Adam and Eve will always be favorites of mine. Like Cats and Dogs is one of the best collection of "B" sides and unreleased tunes you'll ever here. And, Happy Days is not too bad, though, it did mark the beginning of their attempt to be more mainstream.

Rob Dickinson, the lead singer, ended up singing on 2 tracks on Jimmy Chamberlain's solo CD, and I think he was also supposed to release a solo CD of his own.
 
I saw them live in 1992 as a fledgling band in the WHFS Festival here in the DC area. This was before they started holding it at RFK Stadium. The Soup Dragons headlined and They Might Be Giants were also in attendance.

The first song that I heard AND liked was Black Metallic . I never did buy anything else from them, but I think I still have one of those promotional squares with the Ferment Album cover on it. :lol:

Their website is still alive and well
http://www.catherinewheel.com/]Catherine Wheel's Website[/URL]
 
Cool band. I remember liking some songs off of Adam and Eve when I was in college, but I can't remember them now. I think one was called Delicious. I'd have to hear it again to say if I like it though.
 
I saw them open for the Charlatans UK back in April 1992. I have since bought all their albums, and while Chrome & Ferment are ace, Adam & Eve is brilliant as well. And their cover of "Spirit Of Radio" is GREAT!
 
Yeah, hearing someone of quality cover Rush made me happy.

I saw them live for the first time in 2000, I think, whenever their last tour was. Had been a fan since the beginning of their careers, just never managed to see them prior to....They played 2 nights at the El Rey theater here in LA, I went to the first night with a friend. The second night, I had a softball game at 7:30pm and was done at like 8:45. I knew CW did not go on until 9pm or so, raced to the venue, got there in time....got me a seat to the left of the stage, and was like 15 feet from the band...in my dirty sweats...it was perfect! That might have been their last ever live performance, as it was definitely the last night of their NA tour.

Wow, I agree with Brau. :)
 
I never go a week w/o hearing a few CW songs on my Ipod.

I think I might have to listen to a whole album all the way through, now. That damned Ipod sometimes draws me away from album listening.
 
No spoken words said:
I more than remember them. They remain in my pantheon of all-time favorite bands. I've never been more disappointed in a record than I was with Wishville, what a let down. But, Chrome and Ferment, and even Adam and Eve will always be favorites of mine. Like Cats and Dogs is one of the best collection of "B" sides and unreleased tunes you'll ever here. And, Happy Days is not too bad, though, it did mark the beginning of their attempt to be more mainstream.

Rob Dickinson, the lead singer, ended up singing on 2 tracks on Jimmy Chamberlain's solo CD, and I think he was also supposed to release a solo CD of his own.

Yeah, I saw the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex at the Knitting Factory, where Rob sang a song, and I had a smoke outside with Rob at Jimmy's show at the Troubadour a few months later. Rob didn't sing that night but Billy Corgan sang and played guitar. Baaaadaaaassssss!!!
 
u2popmofo said:
Hmm, I'll have to check them out. The description reminds me of Ride. Is that an accurate comparison?

No, like Melon said, but when they were around, you would often here the two bands mentioned in the same sentence. Ride is still in my top three.

On my way home from work tonight, the philly public radio station I listen to played "Black Metallic" - pretty cool station!
 
starsforu2 said:
I saw them live in 1992 as a fledgling band in the WHFS Festival here in the DC area. This was before they started holding it at RFK Stadium. The Soup Dragons headlined and They Might Be Giants were also in attendance.


I remember that year!

Yes, I use to be a fan of the Catherine Wheel
 
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chrome is one of my favorite albums ever, it never gets old. albums like this and happy days made me think of them as a sort of british smashing pumpkins (at that time) - teriffic amounts of guitars, aggressive, melodic songwriting. 'strange fruit' gets a play at my house on a weekly basis at least.
 
I done made me a Catherine Wheel "Best Of" disc.

Gonna enjoy bruising my car speakers with this.

1. I Want To Touch You
2. Judy Staring At The Sun
3. Strange Fruit
4. Here Comes The Fat Controller
5. Crank
6. What We Want To Believe In
7. The Nude
8. Delicious
9. Ursa Major Space Station
10.Heal
11.Shocking
12.Black Metallic
13.Kill Rhythm
14.Spirit of Radio
15.Phantom Of The American Mother
16.Show Me Mary
17.Creme Caramel

Also, a Rob Dickinson solo record came out last month. :up:
 
I just listened to Ferment this week for the first time in a while. A gorgeous album; one of a handful of albums that marks my musical bearing circa 1992, along with Ride's Nowhere/Going Blank. (Yes, those two bands are VERY much linked together in mind, if only because I loved them both). I didn't care as much for Chrome, though Strange Fruit is my favorite song of theirs. I lost touch with them after that album.

I don't think anyone mentioned it, but CW's frontman, Rob Dickinson, has released a solo album recently. I haven't heard anything from it, but I saw it in a record store. And guess who he was doing a couple of promo shows with, a few months ago? None other than Mark Gardiner of Ride! I got the Mark Gardiner show from San Diego from bit torrent (disappointing), but have not heard Rob's. Someone needs to check his album out and report back to us!
 
agentorange said:
I don't think anyone mentioned it, but CW's frontman, Rob Dickinson, has released a solo album recently. I haven't heard anything from it, but I saw it in a record store.

I just got the single from itunes: "My Name Is Love". It's gorgeous.
 
If anyone is interested, Rob Dickinson is supposed to be opening for The Church on their US tour in July and August. The official announcement should be made in a day or so.

Tickets are relatively cheap, so even if you only wanted to see him, it could be well worth it. :)
 
I am bumping this thread. All hail Catherine Wheel.

Not many posts, so, just read all of them and two things jump at me:

1) U2popmofo, did you end up giving them a listen, and if so, did you like?

2) I've been posting on this site for over three years. For some of the more veteran posters, that might not seem like a long time, but I just did not realize that I'd been roaming around here for that long.
 
Well, the thread has been dormant for two years, so, now Crank has been mentioned.

I'm a big "Strange Fruit" fan, love that song to death. The first time I saw them Live, they opened with that; great way to begin a concert, or so I think.

Diemen, I bow to your almost 8 years of experience here. :)
 
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