Classic Albums. Hosted by Stevie Nix

Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

Stevie Nix Season 5 Episode 6

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There are albums that capture a moment and albums that transcend it. Rattlesnakes, released in October 1984, manages to do both simultaneously — and that paradox sits at the very heart of why it endures. It is, on one hand, a record inseparable from the specific cultural coordinates of its time: the grey terraces of Glasgow, the post-punk indie ferment, the student bedsit lined with dog-eared paperbacks. On the other, it sounds as fresh and emotionally alive today as it did when it first turned heads on both sides of the Atlantic more than four decades ago.

Featured songs:

Perfect Skin
Rattlesnakes
Forest Fire
Charlotte Street
Patience
Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?