This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren

This Mortal Coil was a kind of indie supergroup, led by the founder of eclectic record label 4AD, Ivo Watts-Russell. The only two permanent members were Watts-Russell himself and John Fryer, and they utilized the talents of the label's acts such as people from Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Modern English as well as other invitees such as Howard Devoto and Alison Limerick. Their version of Tim Buckley's "Song To The Siren" was This Mortal Coil's first single, released in 1983 and sung by Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins. Her extraordinary singing voice and vocal abilities lifts the song to the heavens, and although it only peaked at number 66 on the UK singles chart, it's become a true classic and by far the most well-known version of the song, even eclipsing the original. This Mortal Coil released three albums in all, and "Song To The Siren" was included on the first of these, 1984's It'll End In Tears. (PS. There has just been released a limited edition luxurious box set featuring all three albums as well as a fourth album that compiles the singles, their b-sides and an unreleased version of Neil Young's "We Never Danced".)

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