Favorite "State" Songs #5 - "Empire State Halo"

Tweet

And now for something completely beautiful. I am counting down my favorite songs with "Town," "City," "State," and "Country" in the title, and this represents the "State" portion. We are at #5: "Empire State Halo" by Echo and the Bunnymen. This was supposed to be a collaboration between Ian McCulloch and Johnny Marr. Interesting story. Vocalist Ian McCulloch left the legendary British alternative band, Echo and the Bunnymen, for a solo career in 1988. In 1993, he and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr recorded an album together, called Touch Down. The record company, WEA, felt that "something" was missing, and suggested that the pair bring in former Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant to add some "something." McCulloch and Sergeant then began recording together under the name "Electrafixion." Meanwhile, the tapes recorded by McCulloch and Johnny Marr mysteriously disappeared. As Ian and Will began working on a new album, they talked their former Bunnymen bassist, Les Pattinson, back into the fold, began calling themselves Echo and the Bunnymen again, and made a fantastic, underrated album, Evergreen, in 1997. And that's basically it. "Empire State Halo" was not released as a single, but damn, is it pretty. It's not shimmering like their classic, "The Killing Moon," not alternative pop like "Lips Like Sugar," and definitely not menacing like "Over the Wall." No, this one is really quite lovely. I love the hell out of this band. "Empire State Halo" is one of my favorite songs by them. Yes. It's that good! (Info verified by Wikipedia)