FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Roney/Getty Images
Part Fifty-One: Primal Scream
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HAVING passed the fifty mark…
I am continuing A Buyer’s Guide with legendary Primal Scream. 1991’s Screamadelica is one of my favourite albums of the 1990s and, since I experienced that album as a child, I have been following their work. For anyone new to the band, here is some biography that should help out:
“Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Martin Duffy (keyboards), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums). Barrie Cadogan has toured and recorded with the band since 2006 as a replacement after the departure of guitarist Robert "Throb" Young.
Primal Scream had been performing live from 1982 to 1984, but their career did not take off until Gillespie left his position as drummer of The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band were a key part of the mid-1980s indie pop scene, but eventually moved away from their jangly sound, taking on more psychedelic and garage rock influences, before incorporating a dance music element to their sound with their 1991 album Screamadelica, which broke them into the mainstream. Their latest album Chaosmosis was released on 18 March 2016”.
As their latest album was released just over five years ago, I was keen to include the Scottish band in A Buyer’s Guide. If you need to know which Primal Scream albums are worth getting then I have put together some suggestions. These are the excellent Primal Scream albums that…
YOU will want to own.
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The Four Essential Albums
Screamadelica
Release Date: 23rd September, 1991
Labels: Creation/Sire
Producers: Andrew Weatherall/Hugo Nicolson/The Orb/Hypnotone/Jimmy Miller
Standout Tracks: Movin' On Up/Higher Than the Sun/Come Together
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/primal-scream/screamadelica-45efb525-69b0-44ce-b27f-1ab4a95b4554
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5PORx6PL7CdOywSJuGVrnc?si=oU5-lgKnSsaRrLNLChdE4Q
Review:
“Wheeee! Here come three new releases from the teen technodance bin (Jesus Jones division), all of them combining scintillating rhythm tracks with a kaleidoscope of hooky musical styles — dabbles of house music, rap, synth-pop, and for the old folks, good ol’ rock & roll. Blur’s Leisure is the standout here, plastering a Carnaby Street drawl and psychedelic guitars over some very modern, man-and-machine backing tracks. Don’t miss the throbbing chorus to ”She’s So High” or the acid-house-meets-British-Invasion beats of ”Fool” or ”There’s No Other Way.”…The musical palette is a bit broader on Screamadelica, the first full U.S. release from Primal Scream. My personal favorite is the band’s cover of Roky Erickson’s ”Slip Inside This House”; with their wound-up house-music version, they pull off a nice aural pun. Elsewhere you get everything from thoroughly modernized Stones (”Movin’ On Up”) to a thoroughly rocked-up take on the percolating black pop of Soul II Soul (”Don’t Fight It, Feel It”). Ultimately, though, the pastiches backfire a bit; the dizzying array of styles keeps the band from developing a consistent personality…. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, believe it or not, is aptly named: Stylistically, God Fodder contains everything but the kitchen sink, all done nuclear strength. The music is dancified, but there’s some punk here as well — the guitars attack your speakers (and ears). ”Kill your television,” they holler in one song, and there’s even a nicely sarcastic look at what used to be called the generation gap. The guys in Ned’s actually seem to have something to say. Leisure: A-; Screamadelica: B+; God Fodder: B+” – Entertainment Weekly
Choice Cut: Loaded
Give Out But Don't Give Up
Release Date: 28th March, 1994
Labels: Creation/Sire
Producers: David Bianco/George Clinton/Tom Dowd/George Drakoulias
Standout Tracks: Jailbird/(I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind/Give Out But Don't Give Up
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/1648942
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0j2jLKMZRXxh43wpcm9Ua9?si=PPggraCHT66_zUbAf-Am5w
Review:
“Glasgow, Scotland's Primal Scream does the '70s better than just about anyone in the '90s. The band's second U.S. album is littered with '70s influences-from the "Wild Horses"-style acoustic ballads "Everybody Needs Somebody" and "Cry Myself Blind" to the T. Rex-inspired "Rocks" and the P-Funkish "Funky Jam." What elevates the band led by vocalist Bobby Gillespie above mere mimicry is their solid songcraft and musicianship, aided by guest appearances by George Clinton, the Memphis Horns and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The band also has a secret weapon in second lead vocalist Denise Johnson, who duets with Clinton on "Give Out." If you want to hear some '90s-style "classic rock," this is it” – Chicago Tribune
Choice Cut: Rocks
Vanishing Point
Release Date: 7th July, 1997
Labels: Creation/Reprise
Producers: Primal Scream/Brendan Lynch/Andrew Weatherall
Standout Tracks: Burning Wheel/Star/Motörhead
Buy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanishing-Point-VINYL-Primal-Scream/dp/B0058NXVD2
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4VhBLFWE273FyI3rDeNx0A?si=P-X-N3kCQWOyJjIbE1CF0A
Review:
“Primal Scream found themselves in danger of losing their hip audience in the wake of their misconceived trad-rock record, Give Out But Don't Give Up. As a reaction, they returned to the genre-bending, electronic dance-rock of the seminal Screamadelica for Give Out's follow-up, Vanishing Point. Instead of recycling the dazzlingly bright neo-psychedelia of Screamadelica, Primal Scream reaches deep into cavernous dub and '60s pop. Vanishing Point is a dark, trippy album, filled with mind-bending rhythms and cinematic flourishes. The addition of former Stone Roses bassist Mani to the Scream gives their music an organically funky foundation that had been lacking. Over those rhythms are samples, reverbed guitars, and synthesizers that echo spy movies, Southern soul, and the Stones. Above anything else, Vanishing Point is about sound and groove. Words remain a weak point for Bobby Gillespie, who only manages cohesive lyrics on the swirling "Burning Wheel" and "Star," but that is a secondary concern, since Primal Scream is at its best when working the rhythms. Songs like "Kowalski" and, in particular, the extended instrumentals of "Get Duffy" and "Trainspotting" illustrate that the group is still capable of creating exotic, thoroughly entrancing sounds, which is what makes Vanishing Point a remarkable comeback” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Kowalski
XTRMNTR
Release Date: 31st January, 2000
Labels: Creation/Astralwerks
Producers: Brendan Lynch/Primal Scream/Jagz Kooner/David Holmes/Hugo Nicolson/The Chemical Brothers/Kevin Shields/Tim Holmes
Standout Tracks: Accelerator/Swastika Eyes/Pills
Buy: https://www.lostinvinyl.org/new-products-3/primal-scream-xtrmntr-2lp-reissue
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/6IpWFkYgfNoH4aAgCfySgL?si=RDJWvMHKTcqcpU7STcV5cA Review:
“Typically, electronic-rock fusion falls flat for smelling too much like silicon and solder. XTRMNTR defies such classification thanks to the brilliance of Kevin Shields. This is the man who crafted one of the most sonically incredible records of all time, and his work here proves his skills have not diminished. "MBV Arkestra" drifts in hypnotic rhythms. Shields mixes countless tracks of accelerated drums into a thick snakecharm. Layer upon layer of sandstorm guitars and horns sweep over the shifting dunes of beats. The song feels like a drugged-up rush through a packed Punjabi streetmarket. People, it's My Bloody Valentine! On "Accelerator" Shields pushes the volume to an exploding point like gravity pulling an MC5 song back into the atmosphere. White flames flare off charred drums as strings turn to magma. Elsewhere, his influence is felt, like on the wargame instrumentals of "Blood Money" and "Shoot Speed/Kill Light".
The album has its shortcomings. "Keep Your Faith" and "Insect Royalty" dip a bit too much into the more sentimental song-based style of the last record, Vanishing Point, and "Swastika Eyes" needs no reprise. But the fighting spirit keeps Primal Scream ahead of the pack. Gillespie now sports post-lice hair and mysterious face scratches. He's a battered veteran who's making up for some horrible moments in the past. Rest assured, Rod Stewart will not be able to cover anything from XTRMNTR.
Some still sadly associate Primal Scream with their baggy rock days. Yet few other bands evolve this deep into their career, let alone care. At some point in the mid-90s, Primal Scream woke up and realized they'd made a mistake. Their new political agenda digests much easier than bands like Rage Against the Machine who market their entire career off such stances. In the end, Primal Scream understood that under all of the rants there has to lie a steady throb of rump-shaking war” – Pitchfork
Choice Cut: Kill All Hippies
The Underrated Gem
Beautiful Future
Release Date: 21st July, 2008
Label: B-Unique
Producers: Björn Yttling/Paul Epworth
Standout Tracks: Beautiful Future/Uptown/Necro Hex Blues (ft. Josh Homme)
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=28069&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/313B3JiySwgy0ZBpZC4vIV?si=1qi8aDbwT0iencRpNl-Dng
Review:
“Not many bands with 26 years of history can claim consistent self-reinvention album after album; unless of course you’re Primal Scream. A band that have seen multiple line-up changes, battled drug addiction, courted political controversy and dabbled in everything from acid house psychedelics, complex dance, euphoric rock, dark-electro and a whole lot more besides. OK, so it hasn’t always worked in their favour, but nine albums later and ‘Beautiful Future’ is one that further vindicates Gillespie & Co’s autonomous worth. Reinvention in this case is the Scream’s stab at pop, but as you’d expect, there’s a lot more to it than that and any pop content is left solely at the bands discretion.
Complimented by a heady genre crunching mix of signature electro fuzz and accelerated rock n roll, the angular guitars and electro splashed charm of ‘Beautiful Future’, ‘The Glory Of Love’ and ‘Uptown’ juxtaposed with Gillespie’s intoxicating vocal haze and inscrutable lyrics fuel a double edged euphoria. And while the Riot City Blues familier ‘Zombie Man’ placed alongside the vast snatches of smeared emptiness in ‘Beautiful Summer’ reassures, Mooney and Mounfield’s precise percussion-bass partnership keeps the breakneck electro-rock of ‘Cant Go Back’ and ‘Suicide Bomb’ from mutating into serotonin shifting paranoia.
Primal Scream are no strangers to collaboration (previous guest appearances include Kate Moss and Robert Plant to name a few) and ‘Beautiful Future’ is no exception. CSS’s Lovefoxx gets in on the act with the claustrophobic MDMA shadow throb of ‘I Love To Hurt (You Love To Be Hurt)’ as does British folk-rock legend Linda Thompson who features on the simple, stunning and beautiful cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ballad ‘Over & Over’, before Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme’s lip-smacking guitar skills shatter the illusion with ‘Necro Hex Blues’, the end result of a Thin Lizzy tribute jam between Homme and the Scream’s very own Andrew Innes.
So the all important question; is it any good? Of course it is and although it won’t rank alongside their best, its appeal is unquestionable and the merits of album number nine can only be measured by three decades of incredibly high self set standards” – Gigwise
Choice Cut: Can’t Go Back
The Latest Album
Chaosmosis
Release Date: 18th March, 2016
Labels: First International/Ignition
Producers: Bobby Gillespie/Andrew Innes/Björn Yttling
Standout Tracks: Trippin' on Your Love/100% or Nothing/Where the Light Gets In
Buy: https://assai.co.uk/collections/vinyl-offers/products/primal-scream-chaosmosis-lp-vinyl-new-33rpm
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/6y9cSoZ4ZCiRIGWjvbUhPL?si=rz-o6raHSt-GVcoJeaZNVQ
Review:
“Autumn In Paradise’ abandons any attempt at subtlety when it comes to gently borrowing aspects of New Order’s sound, shuffling along with a Factory catalogue number only just out of sight. ‘When The Blackout Meets The Fallout’ feels like their ‘XTRMNTR’ incarnation popping back for a sub-two minute disco reboot and, while a little diverting in such company, it’s all a rather glorious folly.
‘Carnival Of Fools’ is built around a naggingly insistent piano line and a simplistic synth stomp, but its real strength is a some neat double-tracking of the vocal. A lop-sided, bleary-eyed nugget, it feels like new ground for a band who have famously been pretty much everywhere. The same could be said of ‘I Can Change’, on which Gillespie near-whispers an account of detachment from the depths atop a reedier synth line that belongs in the early hours.
The album’s centre features an odd couple. Firstly, the gloriously delicate ‘Private Wars’, a brief and sparse acoustic piece with more talk of change and then early single ‘Where The Light Gets In’, a duet with Sky Ferreira that never quite manages to sound as effortless as one suspects it should. Still, it has a fairly enormous chorus and it serves as quite a neat summary of where Primal Scream are in 2016. They’re still pushing on, still evolving their sound despite having at least one foot in the past and still obsessed with finding decent melodies. As a result, they make missteps - some more catastrophic than others - but they would seemingly always rather try it and see than worry what anyone might think.
‘Chaosmosis’ from its title onwards is endearingly flawed, but the sense of communal enjoyment with which they are synonymous radiates from a large swathe of this material and it remains pretty addictive” – CLASH
Choice Cut: I Can Change
The Primal Scream Book
The Scream: The Music, Myths and Misbehaviour of "Primal Scream"
Author: Kris Needs
Publication Date: 20th November, 2003
Publisher: Plexus
Synopsis:
“This biography of Primal Scream, by legendary rock journalist Kris Needs, tells the real story of one of the few remaining bands genuinely devoted to the rock n roll lifestyle. At its peak on the road, Primal Scream s special brand of chaos has been witnessed by the author, who has accompanied them on most of their major tours. He has incorporated his experiences with the band into a fly-on-the-wall testimony for the book, resulting in much more than a conventional biography. Alongside this, Needs lays bare the band s raison d ªtre the music exploring their influences and roots via a series of exclusive interviews with the band members themselves” – Amazon.co.uk