The first time I heard The Psychedelic Furs were planning on doing a new album was in 2016, when bassist Tim Butler mentioned it on an interview that he did. As the days, months, and years went by only little was revealed, but then in 2019 more news came. During that time I would update my blog about new information I heard for the album and posted links to interviews I would find. The anticipation was huge, and when I heard the forthcoming album would be released in 2020 I was excited. And on January 31st, 2020, the moment we had all been waiting for came. The first single of the new LP entered the scene and blessed our ears, and we got to hear the name for the album:
Made Of Rain.
I'll always remember the happiness I felt on that day and I wondered what The Psychedelic Furs were going to do for the Made Of Rain tour. I was looking forward to hear the new songs live and see my beloved band again.
However, I never knew that sadly, things would eventually get worse.
Since you-know-what happened The Psychedelic Furs had to postpone the Made Of Rain tour and even the album's release date got changed (It was supposed to be released on May 1st but it switched to July 31st). I feel heartbroken for The Furs, because I knew they were excited about the tour and wanted to sing the new songs. I don't understand why this has to happen now of all times but I hope everything will get back to normal again very quickly. Even though the tour got postponed we were thankfully treated to three more tracks from Made Of Rain and patiently waited for the arrival of the new album.
And finally, it is here at last...
Before I begin I'll tell you how I reacted when I listened to Made Of Rain in its entirety for the first time. As the first song was playing I suddenly started to cry and I couldn't believe I was listening to the new album, which I had been waiting for so long. Throughout Made Of Rain I was filled with awe and after it ended I was in a daze. Did that really happen? Did I actually hear a new album by The Psychedelic Furs? Their first in three decades? New music? I was speechless, emotional, and my body was shaking a little bit. It was an incredible feeling to experience.
And now I present to you all, my review of The Psychedelic Furs' eighth album, Made Of Rain!
The Songs
Made Of Rain begins with "The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll", and it is a great album opener. I can't believe it has been a year since The Psychedelic Furs debuted the song live for the first time at a concert in New York City while touring for the Summer. The footage of that performance appeared on YouTube and I remember listening to "The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll" a lot, just so I would become familiar with it when I went to see them. It was fantastic hearing "The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll" in person and it is awesome in studio form. I get nostalgic every time I listen to the song.
"The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll" ends with a calming, mellow sound but things kick up a notch with the next song "Don't Believe". This was the first single that came out and the combination of Rich Good's guitars and Mars Williams' saxophone are a match made in Heaven. After months of listening to "Don't Believe" I like to concentrate on the background music in the verses and it is interesting to discover certain details.
The third track "You'll Be Mine" is the second single of Made Of Rain and every time I listen to it I always get emotional and even teary eyed, too. The music is utterly gorgeous and if I hear "You'll Be Mine" live someday I would probably break down crying.
Fourth song is "Wrong Train" and it is one of the oldest songs The Psychedelic Furs ever wrote. It was most likely written in the late 1990s or early 2000s, and is the only song on Made Of Rain to have a songwriting credit from former guitarist John Ashton. Although "Wrong Train" was never recorded at the time it became a fan favorite whenever The Psychedelic Furs would play the song at their concerts. When I first saw The Furs back in 2015 they actually performed "Wrong Train" but I couldn't remember what it sounded like. I'm glad the song finally got recorded after all these years.
After "Wrong Train" are the next two songs "This'll Never Be Like Love" and "Ash Wednesday". The former has powerful saxophone and guitar solos, and the ending of the latter has this sort of a melancholic beauty to it. Then comes the seventh track and fourth single, "Come All Ye Faithful". This is the only song so far to have an official video and the music on the choruses is fun to listen to. I mentioned before how parts of it reminded me of Forever Now (1982) but after hearing it more, it sounds like it could be a song from Love Spit Love's second album Trysome Eatone (1997).
Next is the third single "No-One" and I absolutely love it! I get emotional and cry on this song too because the music is so amazing and there is just something about it. In fact, to me it is reminiscent of Book Of Days (1989). The awesome thing is Rich Good once told me on Twitter that "No-One" is one of his favorite songs on the album.
Ninth track "Tiny Hands" features Amanda Kramer's excellent keyboard playing, and later on "Hide The Medicine" you could feel the strong emotion pouring out. And finally we get to the last two songs, "Turn Your Back On Me" and "Stars". When I listened to them they totally reminded me of the music on vocalist Richard Butler's brilliant self-titled solo album from 2006. "Turn Your Back On Me" and "Stars" both have that same atmospheric sound as Richard Butler but different in their own way. The ending to "Stars" is grand and epic, and it is a perfect song to close the album.
For favorite songs, I have to say it's a tie between "You'll Be Mine" and "No-One". It's hard to choose which one I love more because I love those songs for different reasons. I don't know if my opinion will change later but right now I just love "You'll Be Mine" and "No-One".
 |
| Photo: Reed Davis |
The members of The Psychedelic Furs are very talented musicians and they definitely gave their all on Made Of Rain. It was nice to hear again Paul Garisto's fantastic drumming and Mars Williams' magical sound of his saxophone. Amanda Kramer is an amazing keyboardist, and Tim Butler is awesome as always with his bass guitar. Rich Good is an incredible guitarist and his work is phenomenal! He was so brilliant and performed beautifully on songs like "Ash Wednesday", "No-One", and "Hide The Medicine". One of the highlights of Made Of Rain is Richard Butler himself, and his vocals are lovely and a delight to hear! I can't get over how good Richard's voice is and his singing is so strong, powerful, and crystal clear. There's not a change in his vocals at all and he still sounds the same! I really wish I can find more words to describe his singing but all I can say Richard Butler's voice is absolutely wonderful. Even Richard Fortus (who produced Made Of Rain along with The Furs) played a few instruments and you can hear his influence on some of the songs.
Final Thoughts
Made Of Rain is truly a masterpiece and it is one of the most greatest albums The Psychedelic Furs ever made. I'm still in awe about it and the album is a work of art. The music is just perfect and full of beauty, magic, and emotion. I have to say Made Of Rain is, in my opinion, The Psychedelic Furs' best album since Book Of Days. Already Made Of Rain is one of my absolute favorite Psychedelic Furs albums and I'm looking forward to see where I will rank it when I do my top favorite PFurs albums list in the future.
The great thing about Made Of Rain is that it was made with a lot of love and care; and it shows. The Psychedelic Furs put all their heart and hard work into making this and Richard Fortus led the way. As a long-time Furs fan he knew what was best for the band and guided them throughout the recording process. I'm glad The Psychedelic Furs took their time on Made Of Rain and the wait was totally worth it.
To the Butler brothers, Rich Good, Paul Garisto, Mars Williams, Amanda Kramer, Richard Fortus, and everyone else who worked on Made Of Rain, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for giving us this gorgeous album. I'm really proud of you guys and I'm happy Made Of Rain is getting all the love right now. You did a fantastic job and congratulations to all of you. I can't believe how awesome Made Of Rain is and it is definitely album of the year!
After when "Don't Believe" was released Rich Good wrote this beautiful, heartfelt message about Made Of Rain on his Instagram:
"So proud of this record. I've been with The Furs for eleven years; in that time we've played countless shows, lived through everything imaginable and I now consider them family. Writing and recording music is a very personal journey. It takes time when you all live in different places and the pressure to deliver, both internal and external, was always present. In the end what I love about this album is that we made it for ourselves... if you create art solely for your audience you'll almost always lose your way and produce some pastiche born of expectation. I hope Made Of Rain challenges our fans and reminds them why they loved the band in the first place."
