01. She Saw Me Coming
02. Get Off Your Pretty Face
03. Pagan Dawn
04. Odin’s Gift to his Mother:
a. Theme from “Speed Kills”
b. Shamanic 4 a.m.
c. Consecrate the Fucker
d. Huntsabbers’ Ball
05. Lughnasad
06. U‑Know!
07. You Take The Credit
08. Hairy Music
09. She’s Gotta Have It

Kerrang’s review of this album says: “Cope’s new band pisses on those half his age by grunging up a raucous garage noise that makes The Stooges sound over-produced … more inventive than the slew of copycat stoners … and twice as exhilarating”
And here was I thinking they’d lost they’re cosmic marbles!
Why oh why oh why did those idiots walk out of that first Donor gig?!
As a great man would say, they just ain’t forward-thinking motherfuckers!
This first Donor album has caused a huge split among Cope fans. Half singing it’s praises, half giving it a ritual burning.
I personally am with the former. This album came as a huge shock to me (especially as I’d just revived my love for Fried at the time)
But as a friend was saying to me, Julian Cope has given so much to the music world and given so much happiness to us Cope-heads that he deserves this garage band to live out his KISS-esque make-up glam rock fantasy. The thing is, it’s actually rather good!
Opening the glossy gatefold sleeve to read “Brain Donor is a stuporgroup” I knew it was gonna be a bumpy ride! But never has one been so exhilirating and exciting as this! The glowing green double-vinyl is definitely something to look into, but if you buy the CD you can stick that on your mp3 and scare people at the bus stop! I opted for both…
The album starts with She Saw Me Coming and Get Off Your Pretty Face. These two are probably the easiest to take from out of the whole LP, which is presumably why they were released as singles. She Saw Me Coming immediately tells you what to expect from later tracks, as is the same with any opening track of a Cope LP. The guitar riffs and drumbeats sometimes lose control and get lost in theirselves, making it even better! The unpredictableness and aggresive spontanaeity add to the contagious charm of this LP. The opening line screaming “Look out the windoooooow NOW!” immediately swipes aside the psychedelic pop we’ve seen, and even the rock. This isn’t World Shut Your Mouth, this isn’t Treason or Reward, it isn’t even Reynard. As we’ve come to expect from one Cope album to the next, this is brand new, something we’ve never heard before, and are unlikely to hear repeated. The music throughout the LP eats your brain whole, spits out the chewy bits and leaves you with a ring in your ears that lingers for hours after. That’s the appeal of Donor to me. Something that you can hold as pure garage rock n roll and scream yourself silly to. Get Off Your Pretty Face is a brilliant boot stomper stirring up a whirlwind of a frenzy in the depths of your soul, to the point where you’ll find yourself telling strangers your favourite song is “GET AWF YO’ PRITTEH FAAACE!”
Pagan Dawn reeks of fury and aggression with a high pitched “PAGAN DAAAWN” finding its way through the raucous track. A true classic immediately! Odin’s Gift To His Mother, split into four parts, will undoubtedly mash your head to mulch, leaving you sat, boss-eyed and drooling like a gibbering wreck. But you’ll find yourself starting the track all over again. Hairy Music is a lot less heavy on your head. It still screeches through with the requisite sound Donor have sculpted around theirselves, but with less pounding inanity. Sounds like another great driving song to me as well!
Now here’s one you must hear. How many times have we heard Cope say “U‑Know!”? Now here it is in song form. A heavy garage guitar riff to a pounding drum beat with a cry of “U‑KNOW!!!” every couple of minutes. That alone makes it pure genius! Definitely one to blast out of the car on the motorway! U‑KNOW!
U‑Know (U‑KNOW!!!) fades into You Take The Credit, and continues as one fluid song, keeping up the velocity, pounding your heart, pumping your adrenaline. Another stomp-along that screams to be heard.
Lughnasad is the penultimate track on the LP. This is probably my favourite, or at least tied with U‑Know (U‑KNOW!!!!) Cope sings on this with all the ferocity of the previous tracks, but in a more garage rock style as opposed to ROCK N ROLL!!! A stand-out track for sure.
She’s Gotta Have It is a defining track of Brain Donor’s. This is the essence of their sound, one minute 200 mph, the next, so slow it’s almost going backwards. It’s almost a 20-minute reprise of what we’ve seen on the album, while being a completely new track all at the same time. When the track finally fades out, you’ll find yourself alone and wondering where the hell you are and what the hell you’ve just experienced. Best thing to do, is start it all over again! A complete head-fucker and a brain-masher. I love it! This music can definitely be good for your soul, but your ears’ll have a thing or two to say about it.
If you call yourself a Cope fan on any level, you need this album! It isn’t traditional Cope, but it sure is forward-thinking! I can dig it. No wait I can LOVE it, and my favourite Cope LP is World Shut Your Mouth. It’s different, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. This is a genuinely astonishing LP that deserves to be heard! Buy it now! U‑KNOW!!!