Tim Buckley – Song To The Siren (1967)

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‘Song to the Siren’ was written and performed by Timothy Charles Buckley III (father of Jeff Buckley) and first released on his 1970 album Starsailor. However, the song had already become notable for Buckley’s performance as Micky Dolenz’s guest on the final episode of The Monkees in 1968. The song had been written a year earlier 1967 and Buckley was still singing it as a folk song. By 1970 and the Starsailor release, progressive reverb-filled guitars had entered stage left. But the song is probably better known nowadays for Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie’s 1983 cover in collaboration with This Mortal Coil. Take your choice – a great song is a great song.

Cocteau Twins – Iceblink Luck (1990)

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The Cocteau Twins were Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie and the signature vocals of Elizabeth Fraser. In 1990, they released the charming ‘Iceblink Luck’. As with Lush’s ‘De-Luxe‘, this was a full year before My Bloody Valentine released the shoegazing manual Loveless. Like Lush, the band was already combining distorted guitars with haunting vocals to great effect. Unlike The Twins, Fraser’s vocals were almost intelligible.