Echo & The Bunnymen aren’t innovators, They’re re-invigorators. When they started, a lot of critics compared them to the Doors, but one listen to Crocodiles revealed this link to be facile. Sure, Ian McCulloch’s voice vaguely echoed Morrison’s—and the band did recently cover “People Are Strange” with former Door Ray Manzarek producing, for the soundtrack of The Lost Boys—but McCulloch’s voice and guitar, along with the guitars of Will Sergeant, Les Pattinson’s bass and Pete DeFreitas’s drums often tap into a more primal vein of rock than even the Doors could muster.

The Bunnymen have taken psychedetia into the ’80s, stripping it of all kitsch and camp elements, making both wonder and awe th€|r aesthetic aims. They clearly show a respect for the past, but avoid a sychophancy for it And one of the greatest things about the band is the way each album bears a distinctive atmosphere. In this regard, they’re similar to the Velvet Underground and the ,13th Floor Elevators, two immortal ’60s bands that transcended their time and space.