Julian Cope - Floored Genius 2: The Best Of The BBC Sessions (marked/ltd stock) - CD

February 5, 1983 and June 17, 1989. Includes liner notes by Mike Houghton.

FLOORED GENIUS 2, covering sessions recorded for BBC Radio between 1983 and 1989, captures Cope's Syd Barrett-esque whimsy in full flower. These tracks strip the gloss from familiar songs, allowing listeners to hear what Cope must have heard in his head before producers attempted to turn his offbeat songs into hit singles. FLOORED GENIUS 2's key tracks are the six songs cut between 1983 and 1984. Still reeling from the split of The Teardrop Explodes, Cope recorded totally solo, backing himself with a solitary guitar, Casio keyboard, and a simple drum machine. Such desolate, soul-searching songs as "Head Hung Low" and "Me Singing" evoke Cope's '60s heroes Tim Buckley and Scott Walker. The versions found here easily surpass the more calculated studio recordings of these highly personal songs.

Later recordings such as "24a. Velocity Crescent" tend to focus on Cope's disconcerting penchant for stream-of-conscious lyrics and disjointed melodies. The previously unreleased "Christmas Mourning" and a stripped-down version of "Pulsar"-which Cope would later record on his hard rock ST. JULIAN album-illustrate the playful, adventurous style that Cope first explored with the Teardrop Explodes. FLOORED GENIUS 2 is one of the most consistent and enjoyable albums of Cope's career.