The Guide

A beginner's guide to Ed Kuepper

Hi and welcome to The Guide. This is something new for me. And if you're new to Ed Kuepper, this is for you. I guess you could call it a sort of FAQ. It's just two sections, as yet: some sort of album recommendations for beginners. (All in my humble opinion, of course). And then an overview of the different incarnations of band has had (and have) over the years.

Album recommendations | The different solo bands of Ed Kuepper

ALBUMS YOU SHOULD OWN...

I have made a short beginners guide to Ed Kuepper. Which albums you should buy if you want to get a good introduction to his music, which albums you should own if you are a connesieur, and then, something in between. Not necessarily my toplist, but an introduction that tries to cover much of the ground that Ed has covered... All in my humble opinion, of course.

Where to start

A Beginner's Choice. This is the 3 albums you should own if you, in my opinion, should get a good introduction to Ed Kuepper.

• Everybody's Got To - to get a taste of the perfect-pop Kuepper.
• Today Wonder - the "low key" album, just the singer and a drummer armed with a cardboard box. My personal favourite.
• Frontierland - a glimpe of the slightly newer Ed, in harmony with technology but still with a foot or two in old vinyl land.

Step two: Moving along

If you want to investigate further: this is a Handful Of Kuepper. Top 7, if you like.

• Rooms Of The Magnificent - second solo album, top songs like I Am Your Prince, Sea Air and Also Sprach The King Of Euro-Disco.
• Everybody's Got To
• Today Wonder
• Honey Steel's Gold - more or less his commercial breakthrough, including Everything I've Got Belongs To You
• Black Ticket Day - in the same vein as Honey Steel, but even better
• I Was A Mail Order Bridegroom - could be a little hard to get, but well worth it. Acoustic versions of some of his best songs plus the additional cover version. Very intense! (If you can't get hold of this, try Character Assassination!)
• Frontierland

Phase three: Knowing it all!

Last, but not least, the Connesieur Kuepper Collection. Which is the easiest... You should simply buy it all! :-)

But if you can't, here's a twelve album collection that covers pretty much of it.

• Rooms Of The Magnificent
• Everybody's Got To
• Today Wonder
• Honey Steel's Gold
• Black Ticket Day
• Character Assassination - more brilliant songs, and some haunting arrangements, just listen to So Close To Certainty or The Cockfighter
• I Was A Mail Order Bridegroom
• Frontierland
• Live! - The Oxley Creek Playboy at their best. Raw and powerful.
• Smile... Pacific - the long awaited return to "traditional" band form is not a let down!
• Outtakes, Cast-aways, Pirate Women and Takeaways - different versions, lost songs and some covers too. Lovely version of All Of These Things with female vocals!
• Reflections Of Ol' Golden Eye - just to got get a real taste of Ed's influences!

That's it. Now you're a connesieur! :-)

THE BANDS OF ED KUEPPER

Ed has done many albums and worked on many projects. Sometimes with different musicians and not seldom under different names... This is an attempt to straighten out some question marks.

The Yard Goes On Forever (1986 - ?)
Mark Dawson - drums
Paul Smith - bass
Rebecca Hancock - keyboards and backing vocals
Jim Bowman - guitar and keyboards
(Michael Couvrat and Lesley Brannigan also played bass after Paul Smith left)

Sample albums: Everybody's Got To, Happy As Hell, and a handful of singles

The Institute of Nude Wrestling
Mark Dawson - drums
Linda Neil - violin
and various bass players

Sample album: If I Had A Ticket

The Oxley Creek Playboys
Simon Cox - drums
Alex Compton - bass

Sample albums: Live!, Cloudland

The New Imperialists
Mark Dawson - drums
Louise Elliott - sax
Peter Buil - keyboards
and a changing array of bass players

The Exploding Universe (...-2002?)
Alex Compton - bass
Dave Astin - drums
John Gauci - keyboards

The Royal Sound Syndicate (...-2004?)

The Misery Needs Co (2005 - )