SPILL BOOK REVIEW: SIMON RAYMONDE – IN ONE EAR: COCTEAU TWINS, IVOR RAYMONDE AND ME

SIMON RAYMONDE – IN ONE EAR: COCTEAU TWINS, IVOR RAYMONDE AND ME

NINE EIGHT BOOKS

BOOK REVIEW BY AARON BADGLEY

Simon Raymonde joined the Cocteau Twins in 1983 and contributed to their classic album, Treasure in 1984. From that album forward, he is one third of the band. By 1996’s Milk and Kisses, the band was beginning to fall apart, and that became their last album. Raymonde carried on with a solo career and so much more following the split. This is one of the things that is so brilliant about In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor Raymonde and Me, the Cocteau Twins is just a part of Raymonde’s story. This book is a memoir, but it is also a book about discovery, searching, and relationships, both in bands and families. In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor Raymonde and Me is a fantastic book that tells several stories and yet it is really just one big story. Simon Raymonde’s story.

The title of the book, In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor Raymonde and Me, refers to the fact that Raymonde went deaf in one ear. Not the best thing to happen to a musician/producer but he has dealt with it, and he is not shy about discussing it in his book. And this becomes a recurring theme throughout his story. Life has a habit of throwing curveballs, but Raymonde does not strike out. He adjusts his stance and gets on with it.

At the core of the story is his relationship with his father. Not everything comes back to them, but a great deal of his life is trying to figure where they stood. His father, Ivor Raymonde, was an accomplished musician/composer/arranger and one feels, as the story unfolds, that Simon Raymonde never felt like he measured up. Ivor Raymonde works with many great artists, such as the Walker Brothers, who become quite important to the family and Simon Raymonde in the future. Raymonde gets to tell his dad’s story too throughout, which is not only interesting but integral to Raymonde in so many ways. It should be noted that Raymonde’s record label, Bella Union, has released two compilation albums highlighting the career of Ivor Raymonde over the years: Paradise: The Sound of Ivor Raymonde, Volumes I and II.

Raymonde writes so beautifully that it is a pleasure to read. He remembers minute details in some stories and sets the scene perfectly. It is a book that pulls the curtain back a little and allows readers to have access behind the scenes with Cocteau Twins, a record label (Bella Union), an artist, and a son/father/husband/brother. It is a remarkable and moving read.

ISBN: 978-1-78807-939-2

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