Primal Scream | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Primal Screams career could in many ways be read as a microcosm of British indie rock in the 80s and 90s. Bobby Gillespie formed the band in the mid-80s while drumming for noise-pop pioneers the Jesus and Mary Chain. Primal Scream pursued a different kind of indie pop -- one that was sweet and jangly, not dark and menacing -- and while these early records were quite influential on the C-86 indie scene in the U.K. in the mid-80s, Gillespie abandoned the sound at the close of the 80s after being introduced to acid house by Alan McGee, the head of Creation Records. Scream signed with Creation and cut Screamadelica with producers Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicholson. Screamadelicas fusion of indie pop and dance broke down musical boundaries and changed the face of British pop music in the 90s, helping to make dance and techno acceptable to the rock mainstream. Primal Scream confounded expectations with Give Out But Dont Give Up, the 1994 sequel to Screamadelica which abandoned dance for classic rock boogie. This abrupt switch in sound established a pattern the band would follow for the rest of their career, where theyd pursue a different direction from a subsequent album, but the twin releases of 1997s heady dance album Vanishing Point and its experimental successor XTRMNTR pushed the group back into the underground, where theyd concentrate on making art-pop on such albums as 2006s Riot City Blues and 2013s More Light. On its initial releases, Primal Scream were a group of 60s revivalists crafting hooky, guitar-driven pop songs. The band signed to Creation in 1985, and over the next year they released a pair of singles. However, the band didnt really take off until the middle of 1986, when Gillespie left the Mary Chain and guitarists Andrew Innes and Robert Young joined the band. "Velocity Girl," a rush of jangly guitars, was a B-side that wound up on NMEs C-86 cassette compilation, a collection of underground pop groups that defined the U.K.s mid-80s indie pop scene. The bands debut, Sonic Flower Groove, fit into the C-86 sound. After the band rejected the initial version recorded with Stephen Street, they re-recorded it with Mayo Thompson, and the record was finally released in 1987 on Creation subsidiary Elevation. The album was well-received in the British indie community, as was its 1989 follow-up, Primal Scream, which demonstrated hard rock influences from the Rolling Stones and New York Dolls to the Stooges and the MC5. As the 80s drew to a close, Britains underground music scene was dominated by the burgeoning acid house scene. Primal Scream became fascinated with the new dance music, and they asked a friend, a DJ named Andrew Weatherall, to remix a track from Primal Scream, "Im Losing More Than Ill Ever Have." Weatherall completely reworked the song, adding a heavy bass groove echoing dub reggae, deleting most of the original instrumentation (even the layers of guitars), and interjecting layers of samples, including lines of Peter Fondas dialogue from The Wild; Angels. The new mix was titled "Loaded," and it became a sensation, bringing rock & roll to the dancefloor and dance to rock & rollers. "Come Together," the first single from their forthcoming third album, was in much the same vein, and was similarly praised. For their third album, Screamadelica, Primal Scream not only worked with Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicholson, the pair who essentially designed the sound of the album, but also the Orb and former Stones producer Jimmy Miller. The resulting album was a kaleidoscopic, neo-psychedelic fusion of dance, dub, techno, acid house, pop, and rock, and it was greeted with rapturous reviews in the U.K. Released in the spring of 1991, Screamadelica also marked an important moment in British pop in the 90s, helping to bring techno and house into the mainstream. The album was a massive success, winning the first Mercury Music Prize in 1992. In the wake of the groundbreaking Screamadelica, most observers wondered what Primal Scream would do next, yet few would have predicted their retreat to 70s hard rock for Give Out But Dont Give Up. Released in 1994, the album was eagerly awaited, but its Stones-y hard rock was not well-received, and it was a relative commercial failure. More importantly, it hurt the groups reputation as innovators, a situation they reacted to with the title track to the hit 1996 film Trainspotting. The bands contribution to the soundtrack was a return to the dance stylings of Screamadelica, only darker. They continued to work on their next album, titled Vanishing Point, over the course of 1996, finally releasing it to enthusiastic reviews in the summer of 1997. The ultra-aggressive XTRMNTR followed in the spring of 2000. Two years later, Primal Scream released Evil Heat, a guest-laden (even supermodel Kate Moss makes an appearance) album in line and on par with XTRMNTR, and in 2006, Riot City Blues came out. Festival shows and gigs with My Bloody Valentines Kevin Shields filled out the following year, capped off with the release of the single "Cant Go Back." That single reappeared on the 2008 Suicide- and Alan Vega-informed full-length Beautiful Future. In 2011, the band toured in support of the 20th anniversary of Screamadelica, which resulted in a live DVD. The following year, Mani left to focus on a reunion of the Stone Roses, whom Primal Scream went on to support with Deb Googe from My Bloody Valentine on bass. 2013 began with news that the band were working on their tenth album with producer David Holmes. The resulting More Light was released in the U.K. in May 2013, appearing in the U.S. a month later. Sporadic touring followed in support for More Light, and the group spent 2015 recording their next album, Chaosmosis, which appeared in March of 2016. Primal Scream dug out their original version of the 1994 album Give Out But Dont Give Up for an archival release in October 2018. Not long afterward, the compilation Maximum Rock n Roll: The Singles -- a double-disc set covering the bands entire career -- appeared in May 2019. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 25 Title: Sonic Flower Groove Released: 1987-09 Tracks: 10 Duration: 34:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Gentle Tuesday (03:47) 2 Treasure Trip (03:15) 3 May the Sun Shine Bright for You (02:41) 4 Sonic Sister Love (02:36) 5 Silent Spring (03:52) 6 Imperial (03:38) 7 Love You (04:45) 8 Leaves (03:32) 9 Aftermath (02:47) 10 We Go Down Slowly Rising (03:23) |
| Sonic Flower Groove : Allmusic album Review : Complaining about this album being an obvious photocopy of its influences is a bit like cursing the sky for being blue. Reworking past inspirations into something else has always been the raison dêtre of Bobby Gillespie and company, after all. But that said, theres no question that Sonic Flower Groove is one goofy headscratcher of a release, the sound of a band that didnt quite know exactly what to do yet trying to record a big-budget (of sorts) debut album and ending up with little more than a pristine but dull photocopy of Turn! Turn! Turn! While not intrinsically horrible, its not intrinsically much of anything else either, and certainly in light of everything the band did in the following years, its the most wistful, fragile, and ultimately boring of its releases. The Byrds worship evident in earlier songs like "Velocity Girl" was here taken to ridiculous extremes, and if Jim Beattie wasnt trying to hide his love for chiming guitars, he wasnt trying to do anything with it either. Songs like "Gentle Tuesday" and "Imperial" (which benefits from strings and a more direct vocal) are so obviously straight from the early Roger McGuinn and company model that one might as well just pretend thats whats being heard. Its also a bit of a bemusing shock to hear Gillespie trying to politely and gently sing as opposed to his later dripping of attitude in every borrowed Jagger sneer, but such are the ways. This all said, theres a weird way Sonic Flower Groove was prescient -- if the Stone Roses loved the Byrds too, they loved this phase of Primal Scream just as much, while jaunty songs like "Treasure Trip" slightly forecast bits of Brit-pop almost ten years down the line. If theres a secret highlight, "Love You," with its moody ghost-of-Jesus & Mary Chain drums underpinning the slow chime, is it. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 25 Title: Primal Scream Released: 1989-09 Tracks: 10 Duration: 32:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Ivy Ivy Ivy (03:06) 2 You’re Just Dead Skin to Me (04:21) 3 She Power (03:31) 4 You’re Just Too Dark to Care (03:10) 5 I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have (05:10) 6 Gimme Gimme Teenage Head (02:30) 7 Lone Star Girl (03:14) 8 Kill the King (03:30) 9 Sweet Pretty Thing (02:20) 10 Jesus Can’t Save Me (01:45) |
| Primal Scream : Allmusic album Review : Primal Scream, in 1989, confounded their fans and foes alike by growing their hair past their shoulders, buying Marshall amps and turning them up to 11, and by showing an alarming tendency to appear in public shirtless. Previously the Scream had been the most precious of indie poppers, Byrds fans down to their fringed jackets and freshly-combed bowl haircuts. However, their major-label debut, a pristine pop record, was a big flop, and after they booted out co-founder Jim Beattie, they were ready to fully embrace rock & roll and all the attitude and noise that came with it. Out went the Byrds, in came the MC5, and Primal Scream was ready to rock. Unfortunately, while the group was capable of whipping up a credible approximation of thuggish hard rock, Bobby Gillespies fragile wisp of a voice is rather ill-suited to kicking out the jams. The lyrics, while never a strong point for Primal Scream, are pretty embarrassing, too. The song titles alone sound like they were borrowed from Jesse Camps LP: "Gimme Gimme Teenage Head," "She Power," "Lone Star Girl"! What saves the record are the handful of slow torch songs. Gillespies shaky vocals are affecting and powerful, the band plays with a dramatically light touch, and Martin Duffys piano work is stellar. The best song here is "Im Losing More Than I Ever Had," which is a soul-searching mid-tempo song with a great arrangement filled with slide guitar, horns, and gospel backing singers. It also served as the basis for Andrew Weatheralls mix of "Loaded," the song that really made Primal Scream an important band and helped change the history of indie rock. So get this record for the history and try not to laugh too hard at the lyrics | ||
 | Album: 3 of 25 Title: Movin’ On Up Released: 1991 Tracks: 6 Duration: 31:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Movin’ On Up (03:50) 2 Don’t Fight It, Feel It (single mix) (04:09) 3 Don’t Fight It, Feel It (whistling mix) (07:09) 4 You’re Just Too Dark to Care (03:10) 5 Don’t Fight It, Feel It (scat mix) (07:57) 6 Don’t Fight It, Feel It (remix) (04:53) |
 | Album: 4 of 25 Title: Screamadelica Released: 1991-09-23 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:05:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Movin’ On Up (03:50) 2 Slip Inside This House (05:16) 3 Don’t Fight It, Feel It (06:53) 4 Higher Than the Sun (03:38) 5 Inner Flight (05:01) 6 Come Together (10:21) 7 Loaded (07:02) 8 Damaged (05:39) 9 I’m Comin’ Down (06:00) 10 Higher Than the Sun (A Dub Symphony in Two Parts) (07:38) 11 Shine Like Stars (03:44) |
| Screamadelica : Allmusic album Review : Theres no overestimating the importance of Screamadelica, the record that brought acid house, techno, and rave culture crashing into the British mainstream -- an impact that rivaled that of Nirvanas Nevermind, the other 1991 release that changed rock. Prior to Screamadelica, Primal Scream were Stonesy classic rock revivalists with a penchant for Detroit rock. They retained those fascinations on Screamadelica -- one listen to the Jimmy Miller-produced, Stephen Stills-rip "Movin on Up" proves that -- but they burst everything wide open here, turning rock inside out by marrying it to a gleeful rainbow of modern dance textures. This is such a brilliant, gutsy innovative record, so unlike anything the Scream did before, that its little wonder that theres been much debate behind who is actually responsible for its grooves, especially since Andrew Weatherall is credited with production with eight of the tracks, and its clearly in line with his work. Even if Primal Scream took credit for Weatheralls endeavors, that doesnt erase the fact that they shepherded this album, providing the ideas and impetus for this dubtastic, elastic, psychedelic exercise in deep house and neo-psychedelic. Like any dance music, this is tied to its era to a certain extent, but it transcends it due to its fierce imagination and how it doubles back on rock history, making the past present and vice versa. It was such a monumental step forward that Primal Scream stumbled before regaining their footing, but by that point, the innovations of Screamadelica had been absorbed by everyone from the underground to mainstream. Theres little chance that this record will be as revolutionary to first-time listeners, but after its initial spin, the genius in its construction will become apparent -- and its that attention to detail that makes Screamadelica an album that transcends its time and influence. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 25 Title: Dixie-Narco EP Released: 1992-01-27 Tracks: 4 Duration: 22:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Movin’ On Up (03:50) 2 Stone My Soul (03:01) 3 Carry Me Home (05:16) 4 Screamadelica (10:42) |
 | Album: 6 of 25 Title: Give Out But Don’t Give Up Released: 1994-03 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:01:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Jailbird (03:47) 2 Rocks (03:35) 3 (I’m Gonna) Cry Myself Blind (04:30) 4 Funky Jam (05:24) 5 Big Jet Plane (04:15) 6 Free (05:30) 7 Call on Me (03:50) 8 Struttin’ (08:29) 9 Sad and Blue (03:27) 10 Give Out But Don’t Give Up (06:16) 11 I’ll Be There for You (06:33) 12 Everybody Needs Somebody (05:22) |
| Give Out But Don’t Give Up : Allmusic album Review : The rock undercurrents that ran throughout Screamadelica come to the forefront on the tired Give Out but Dont Give Up. While Primal Scream turn out a couple of good songs, "Jailbird" and "(Im Gonna) Cry Myself Blind," the band sounds too mannered to be a truly successful rip-off of the Stones and Faces. And the colorful, reckless experimentation of their previous album is sorely missed. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 25 Title: Vanishing Point Released: 1997-06-25 Tracks: 11 Duration: 53:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Burning Wheel (07:06) 2 Get Duffy (04:09) 3 Kowalski (05:50) 4 Star (04:24) 5 If They Move, Kill em (03:01) 6 Out of the Void (03:59) 7 Stuka (05:36) 8 Medication (03:52) 9 Motörhead (03:38) 10 Trainspotting (08:07) 11 Long Life (03:49) |
| Vanishing Point : Allmusic album Review : Primal Scream found themselves in danger of losing their hip audience in the wake of their misconceived trad-rock record, Give Out But Dont Give Up. As a reaction, they returned to the genre-bending, electronic dance-rock of the seminal Screamadelica for Give Outs 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. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 25 Title: Echo Dek Released: 1997-10-27 Tracks: 9 Duration: 44:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Living Dub (05:30) 2 Duffed Up (03:09) 3 Revolutionary (05:19) 4 JU-87 (05:46) 5 First Name Unknown (05:01) 6 Vanishing Dub (04:51) 7 Last Train (06:21) 8 Wise Blood (05:14) 9 Dub in Vain (03:10) |
| Echo Dek : Allmusic album Review : Released a mere three months after Vanishing Point, Echo Dek finds Primal Scream turning over the master tapes for the record to Adrian Sherwood, who remixes eight of the songs ("Stuka" is done twice) and takes them farther out into left-field territory. Vanishing Point was already quite adventurous, sinking deep into dub and ambient cocktail territory, but Sherwood confirms the experimental bent of the record with Echo Dek. Only a few songs are twisted beyond recognition, the rest simply follow the original versions to their logical conclusion, offering elastic grooves, disembodied vocals, and bottomless bass. Most remix albums are only of interest to hardcore fans, but Sherwoods clever, dynamic work makes Echo Dek of interest to anyone curious about contemporary late-90s dance. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 25 Title: XTRMNTR Released: 2000-01-19 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:00:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Kill All Hippies (04:57) 2 Accelerator (03:41) 3 Exterminator (05:49) 4 Swastika Eyes (Jagz Kooner mix) (07:05) 5 Pills (04:17) 6 Blood Money (07:03) 7 Keep Your Dreams (05:24) 8 Insect Royalty (03:35) 9 MBV Arkestra (If They Move Kill ’em) (06:41) 10 Swastika Eyes (Chemical Brothers mix) (06:33) 11 Shoot Speed/Kill Light (05:19) |
| XTRMNTR : Allmusic album Review : Whenever indie music seems lost in its own self-righteous, unchallenging, inoffensive fundament, Primal Scream rides in to try and save it all. So just as Screamadelica tried to encapsulate the importance of ecstasy culture, or Vanishing Point tried to exorcise their own insanity, here XTRMNTR is a nasty, fierce realization of an entire world that has also lost the plot. The album starts with a gloriously vindictive sample of a kid commanding "Kill All Hippies," and this roughly states the albums modus operandi. There are songs shouting with furious, feedback-splayed anger ("Blood Money," "Exterminator"), songs of club-based revolt (both house-influenced versions of "Swastika Eyes"), and songs of utterly manic desperation ("Accelerator"). The album only lurches when lead singer Bobby Gillespies weedy vocals cant keep up with the black noise of the music. "Insect Royalty" meanders and mumbles with a blank approach. "Pills" is a half-realized hip-hop song, with Gillespie diminishing its power on every verse (it only saves itself when it caps the song off with the albums central theme: "Sick f*ck f*ck sick f*ck f*ck sick f*ck"). Thankfully, Screams highs, such as the gentleness of "Keep Your Dreams" (sounding like the third sibling to 1991s "Im Coming Down" or 1997s "Star"), as well as the inversely monstrous and apocalyptic "MBV Arkestra (If They Move, Kill Em)," shower down with purely visceral poise. The album is not the flawless statement against complacency the band seemed to strive for, but it succeeds at tearing heads off, shooting fascists, and quickly asking questions later with unbelievable fury. For these reasons alone, it easily serves as one of the bands highest marks. These arent the aggro-simpleton maneuvers of bands like Rage Against the Machine or Korn; the implosive production and sheer political belief prove that ingenuity must come hand in hand with "statement" if an idea is to come across effectively. XTRMNTR is simply a protest -- sonically as well as lyrically -- and maybe this would be a fine time to once again rally behind something worthwhile. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 25 Title: Evil Heat Released: 2002-06-30 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:38:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Deep Hit of Morning Sun (03:44) 2 Miss Lucifer (02:28) 3 Autobahn 66 (06:15) 4 Detroit (03:03) 5 Rise (04:21) 6 The Lord Is My Shotgun (03:56) 7 City (03:22) 8 Some Velvet Morning (03:40) 9 Skull X (03:52) 10 A Scanner Darkly (04:30) 11 Space Blues #2 (02:31) 12 Substance D (03:44) 13 Country Blues #1 (04:54) 14 Accelerator (Live 2002) (03:15) 15 Shoot Speed / Kill Light (Live 2002) (04:40) 16 Jailbird (live, 1994-07-15: Osaka, Japan) (03:56) 17 Rocks (live) (03:38) 1 Miss Lucifer (Panther Girl) (03:01) 2 Miss Lucifer (Hip to Hip) (07:06) 3 Miss Lucifer (Bone to Bone) (03:24) 4 Autobahn 66 (Alter Ego remix) (06:40) 5 Some Velvet Morning (extended mix) (05:20) 6 Some Velvet Morning (Disco Heater dub) (06:56) |
| Evil Heat : Allmusic album Review : It was pretty hard to guess what Primal Scream would do with a follow-up to their bombastic 2000 release, XTRMNTR. That record broke all kinds of ground for a group that had consistently shifted with popular culture since their Madchester/acid house success of Screamadelica. XTRMNTR offered up a maddening scope of aggressive beats and screaming politics that the group had not previously tackled. Jarring and off-putting at times (albeit a stroke of brilliance), the record is a tad difficult to sit all the way through. Evil Heat seems to attempt to bridge together the two worlds of their past club psychedelia and the blastings of XTRMNTR. In all, they succeed: theres some pounding and grinding for the club, and then some all-out cries and rockers to fill out the set. However, at times the dance stuff hits a lull, and they dont really take it anywhere. Such is the case with "Autobahn 66." Sure, club music is at times seemingly unchanging, but Primal Scream can take it to other places (and they have in the past). The transcendental moves of Vanishing Point or the spiritual grooves apparent on Screamadelica had taken surface repetition and opened it up to new interpretation. Thankfully, Kevin Shields puts together some great guitarscapes in Evil Heat -- maybe the best work hes done post-Loveless. Its what saves this record, since Bobby Gillespie (as usual) tries to ruin some of these tracks with some pretty silly lyrics. The other saving grace here is a rework of Lee Hazlewoods "Some Velvet Morning," which features model Kate Moss singing some rather appropriate lyrics ("Look at us but do not touch" repeated and repeated). In the end, its as if they just dont seem to mean it as much as they did with XTRMNTR, and they just dont seem to not care enough as the drug-fueled early days. Still, Evil Heat delivers. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 25 Title: Live in Japan Released: 2003 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:09:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Accelerator (03:19) 2 Miss Lucifer (02:36) 3 Rise (04:24) 4 Shoot Speed/Kill Light (04:43) 5 Pills (03:58) 6 Autobahn 66 (05:40) 7 City (03:18) 8 Rocks (03:31) 9 Kowalski (05:16) 10 Swastika Eyes (06:01) 11 Skull X (04:18) 12 Higher Than the Sun (06:53) 13 Jailbird (03:43) 14 Movin on Up (05:00) 15 Medication (03:41) 16 Born to Lose (03:14) |
 | Album: 12 of 25 Title: Dirty Hits Released: 2003-11-03 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:14:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Loaded (04:32) 2 Movin’ On Up (03:45) 3 Come Together (04:53) 4 Higher Than the Sun (03:38) 5 Rocks (03:35) 6 Jailbird (03:35) 7 (I’m Gonna) Cry Myself Blind (04:26) 8 Burning Wheel (04:34) 9 Kowalski (04:31) 10 Long Life (03:49) 11 Swastika Eyes (03:52) 12 Kill All Hippies (04:07) 13 Accelerator (03:41) 14 Shoot Speed / Kill Light (05:15) 15 Miss Lucifer (02:28) 16 Deep Hit of Morning Sun (03:44) 17 Some Velvet Morning (03:50) 18 Autobahn 66 (06:15) |
| Dirty Hits : Allmusic album Review : Scotlands Primal Scream provided the Brit-pop movement of the early 90s with one of its most revered albums, Screamadelica. The groups trippy blend of electronica, bluesy Stones-kissed alternative rock, and acid house fueled a lot of weekend benders, but they were never a singles band, which makes this first collection of "hits" both glorious and problematic. Beloved Primal Scream epics like "Loaded," "Swastika Eyes," and "Kill All Hippies" appear here in their edited versions along with familiar 120 Minutes staples like "Higher Than the Sun" and "Movin on Up," giving the novice a decent outline of the bands seven albums, but longtime fans would probably trade Dirty Hits penchant for brevity for remastered versions of the original LPs. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 25 Title: Shoot Speed (More Dirty Hits) Released: 2004-03-24 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:19:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 When the Kingdom Comes (04:22) 2 Star (04:24) 3 Velocity Girl (01:21) 4 Ivy Ivy Ivy (03:06) 5 City (03:22) 6 Dont Fight It, Feel It (7" edit) (04:06) 7 Medication (03:52) 8 All Fall Down (02:10) 9 Come Together (Terry Farley mix) (04:22) 10 Screamadelica (10:42) 11 So Sad About Us (04:10) 12 Revenge of the Hammond Connection (03:35) 13 Im Losing More Than Ill Ever Have (05:09) 14 Gentle Tuesday (03:46) 15 MBV Arkestra (If They Move Kill em) (06:42) 16 Darklands (06:10) 17 Imperial (03:36) 18 Jesus (04:29) |
 | Album: 14 of 25 Title: Riot City Blues Released: 2006-05-31 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:31:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Country Girl (04:33) 2 Nitty Gritty (03:39) 3 Suicide Sally & Johnny Guitar (03:16) 4 When the Bomb Drops (04:36) 5 Little Death (06:23) 6 The 99th Floor (03:52) 7 We’re Gonna Boogie (02:54) 8 Dolls (Sweet Rock and Roll) (04:00) 9 Hells Comin’ Down (03:29) 10 Sometimes I Feel So Lonely (05:07) 11 Stone Ya to the Bone (02:37) 12 To Live Is to Fly (03:41) 13 Gimme Some Truth (02:30) 14 Its Not Enough (03:32) 15 Zeppelin Blues While Thinking of Robert Parker (03:24) 16 Gamblin Bar Room Blues (05:17) 1 Country Girl (Beans & Fatback mix) (04:30) 2 Suicide Sally & Johnny Guitar (live) (03:04) 3 Bloods (2 Lone Swordsmen mix) (03:38) 4 Dolls (Some Spiders White Light Returned with Thanks) (demo mix) (04:19) 5 Sometimes I Feel So Lonely (Bomb the Bass mix) (04:35) 6 Stone My Soul (03:01) 7 Carry Me Home (05:16) |
| Riot City Blues : Allmusic album Review : If at first you dont succeed, try again. Riot City Blues is another attempt at straight-up trad rock where the ghosts of the Faces, the Rolling Stones, and others come traipsing into Bobby Gillespies scope and he goes for it. Some heard an overly strenuous attempt at this on 1994s Give Out But Dont Give Up, where it worked not at all due to the bands attempt at literally mimicking the sounds of the aforementioned bands without adding anything else to the mix. Riot City Blues is a much more relaxed effort, and benefits significantly from that stance. Yeah, its true that on first listen "Country Girl," the albums opener, sounds like an in-the-studio gathering of the Stones and the Faces riotously attempting a country gospel song -- but on deeper observation, it feels more like Delaney & Bonnie & Friends on Motel Shot. The straight-up raw boogie rock of "Nitty Gritty" takes the Delaney & Bonnie move even deeper and brings elements of R&B into the equation. This is late-night drunken rockism. Its not carefully crafted; its throwing something at the wall because its there to throw. Riot City Blues is not an "album as event" as many past Primal Scream records were; this is an "album for its own sake" recording. Its an offering where it really seems that Gillespie doesnt care if he loses his hipster following -- all that matters is that Riot City Blues rocks. One can hear traces of not only the Faces but everything from early Alice Cooper (à la Killer) to Mott the Hoople, David Bowie, the Kinks, the New York Dolls, and a whole lot of other rock & roll bands. Looser than the Black Crowes, thinner than even the Black Keys; its simply shambolic from top to bottom. This is trashy, nasty rock music that doesnt feel modern but it does feel timeless. The songs are riff-centric, some of them joyous, others darkly freaky -- "When the Bomb Drops" is a fine example, and the complete dope and guitar orgy of "Suicide Sally & Johnny Guitar" is in the red zone in the same way "Suffragette City" is. (One can feel the gigantic pub-crawling smile of Mick Ronson from some strange Valhalla.) Most of the tracks here were produced by ex-Killing Joke bassist/Orb collaborator Youth, with a pair recorded and produced by the rather less intense Andrew Innes. Whether "Were Gonna Boogie," with its bluesy harmonica and slide guitar -- with Bobby Gillespie sounding like Donovan singing the Stones "Country Honk" -- is taking the piss or not is debatable, but its a gas to listen to, as is the down-home "Hells Comin Down," with its fiddle (courtesy of the Dirty Three and Bad Seeds Warren Ellis), high-strung guitars, 12-strings, and mandolins. The 12-bar blues formula used on the latter cut is particularly refreshing. "Dolls" is such a raucous joy that its infectious. Its a given that Riot City Blues, issued in 2006, is easily the most unhip record Primal Scream have ever issued. The songs are little more than dressing for the riffs, but they have lots of humor and cleverness and they lack the snide hipsterism of the times. It doesnt matter. Listened to with an open mind, its a refreshingly retro rock & roll album that uses its waste-oid imagination in capturing every fantasy that entered Bobby Gillespies teenage mind. Get it. [The U.S. edition of the album includes three bonus tracks (including a cover of John Lennons "Gimme Some Truth") and the "non censored" version of the "Country Girl" video.] | ||
 | Album: 15 of 25 Title: Screamadelica / Give Out but Dont Give Up Released: 2007-09-17 Tracks: 23 Duration: 2:06:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Movin’ On Up (03:50) 2 Slip Inside This House (05:16) 3 Don’t Fight It, Feel It (06:53) 4 Higher Than the Sun (03:38) 5 Inner Flight (05:01) 6 Come Together (10:21) 7 Loaded (07:02) 8 Damaged (05:39) 9 I’m Comin’ Down (06:00) 10 Higher Than the Sun (A Dub Symphony in Two Parts) (07:38) 11 Shine Like Stars (03:44) 1 Jailbird (03:47) 2 Rocks (03:35) 3 (I’m Gonna) Cry Myself Blind (04:30) 4 Funky Jam (05:24) 5 Big Jet Plane (04:15) 6 Free (05:30) 7 Call on Me (03:50) 8 Struttin’ (08:29) 9 Sad and Blue (03:27) 10 Give Out But Don’t Give Up (06:16) 11 I’ll Be There for You (06:33) 12 Everybody Needs Somebody (05:22) |
 | Album: 16 of 25 Title: Beautiful Future Released: 2008-07-21 Tracks: 13 Duration: 54:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Beautiful Future (05:09) 2 Can’t Go Back (03:44) 3 Uptown (04:50) 4 The Glory of Love (03:11) 5 Suicide Bomb (05:51) 6 Zombie Man (03:37) 7 Beautiful Summer (04:43) 8 I Love to Hurt (You Love to Be Hurt) (04:32) 9 Over & Over (04:33) 10 Necro Hex Blues (03:34) 11 The Glory of Love (single version) (03:13) 12 Urban Guerrilla (03:25) 13 Time of the Assassins (03:36) |
| Beautiful Future : Allmusic album Review : Misdirection and sudden turns are Primal Screams raison d’être. Longtime fans know this well and are armed against swift changes in fashion -- but even so, the hazy, unformed Beautiful Future may seem like a smack upside the head after the retro-raunch of Riot City Blues, let alone the densely coiled anarchic rock of their turn of the millennium pair of XTRMNTR and Evil Heat. Despite the presence of Josh Hommes desert muscle, this isnt a rock album, not really: its an odd fusion of Bobby Gillespies sugary C-86 beginnings and the pulsating colors of Screamadelica, heavy in its rhythms and light in its melody. Reduced to a mere description, Beautiful Future seems pretty intriguing, even enticing, but the album is a clumsy, ungainly Frankenstein, constructed out of pop thats never quite hooky enough and beats that bob along on an endless 4/4 loop. Unlike much post-millennial Scream, the best moments on Beautiful Future are neither noisy (only "Necro Hex Blues," the song graced by Homme, clicks) nor experimental (none of the dance cuts click) but rather the unexpected pop, whether its the bubblegum snap of the chorus of the title track, the sugar rush of "Cant Go Back," or the gloriously dumb homage to Ringo Starrs "Back Off Boogaloo" in "Zombie Man." During these tracks, its possible to hear what Primal Scream were attempting to do with Beautiful Future, but too often the album sacrifices simple sonic pleasures in favor of stylized meandering. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 25 Title: Black to Comm Released: 2011 Tracks: 28 Duration: 2:23:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Accelerator (03:29) 2 Miss Lucifer (02:48) 3 Beautiful Future (05:13) 4 Suicide Bomb (07:01) 5 Kowalski (05:28) 6 Uptown (05:14) 7 Beautiful Summer (05:12) 8 Shoot Speed Kill Light (04:52) 9 Swastika Eyes (06:08) 10 Rocks (03:48) 11 Can’t Go Back (04:50) 12 Ramblin’ Rose (03:26) 13 Kick Out the Jams (04:07) 14 Come Together (05:02) 15 Motor City Is Burning (04:20) 1 Call Me Animal (03:03) 2 Sister Anne (06:43) 3 I Want You Right Now (04:26) 4 Over & Over (05:37) 5 Looking at You (05:48) 6 I Believe to My Soul (06:02) 7 Human Being Lawnmower (05:00) 8 The American Ruse (05:24) 9 I Can Only Give You Everything (03:38) 10 Movin’ on Up (05:16) 11 Skull X (03:51) 12 Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa (Rocket Reducer No. 62) (03:17) 13 Black to Comm (14:08) |
 | Album: 18 of 25 Title: Screamadelica Live Released: 2011-05-31 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:57:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Movin on Up (05:19) 2 Slip Inside This House (06:01) 3 Dont Fight It, Feel It (07:17) 4 Damaged (06:58) 5 Im Comin Down (06:09) 6 Shine Like Stars (03:38) 7 Inner Flight (05:25) 8 Higher Than the Sun (13:26) 9 Loaded (09:16) 10 Come Together (14:08) 1 Accelerator (03:33) 2 Country Girl (04:39) 3 Jailbird (03:59) 4 Burning Wheel (05:20) 5 Suicide Bomb (06:58) 6 Shoot Speed / Kill Light (04:50) 7 Swastika Eyes (05:46) 8 Rocks (04:50) |
 | Album: 19 of 25 Title: Autonomia EP Released: 2012-02-19 Tracks: 5 Duration: 25:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Autonomia (radio mix) (02:47) 2 Autonomia (Pinchs Apocalyptic rework) (04:15) 3 Autonomia (Pinchs dub version) (04:13) 4 Autonomia (A JD Twitch Optimo Total Destruction) (07:12) 5 Autonomia (A JD Twitch Optimo instrumental) (06:35) |
 | Album: 20 of 25 Title: More Light - Live Released: 2013-04-15 Tracks: 3 Duration: 13:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 2013 (03:49) 2 It’s Alright, It’s OK (04:35) 3 Culturecide (05:03) |
 | Album: 21 of 25 Title: More Light Released: 2013-05-08 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:45:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 2013 (09:01) 2 River of Pain (07:00) 3 Culturecide (04:37) 4 Hit Void (04:14) 5 Tenement Kid (04:48) 6 Invisible City (04:43) 7 Goodbye Johnny (03:32) 8 Sideman (03:56) 9 Elimination Blues (05:48) 10 Turn Each Other Inside Out (04:38) 11 Relativity (07:31) 12 Walking With the Beast (04:00) 13 It’s Alright, It’s OK (05:10) 14 I Want You (03:44) 15 City Slang (05:10) 1 Nothing Is Real / Nothing Is Unreal (05:07) 2 Requiem for the Russian Tea Rooms (03:14) 3 Running Out of Time (02:37) 4 Worm Tamer (05:37) 5 Theme from More Light (02:29) 6 2013 (Weatherall remix) (08:20) |
| More Light : Allmusic album Review : Primal Scream always refracted the past through the prism of the present, turning hero worship into something resembling high art. It wasnt always this way, not at the start, when they were part of the delicate, brittle C86 scene, nor was it true when they exploded in a brilliant blast of acid house on Screamadelica. The art came later, after they halted their ascendency via the Stones-aping Give Out But Dont Give Up, a move that in retrospect seems to be an important final foundation within the construction of Primal Scream but at the time seemed odd, halting, flying in the face of Cool Britannia. Bobby Gillespie and crew rubbed shoulders with the fellow Creation labelmates Oasis but Primal Scream never belonged to Brit-pop; they dropped out and tuned in, dabbling with radical politics, dub, and free jazz, pursuing that path until they once again acted like a rock band on Riot City Blues, an album, like Give Out, that seems like a waystation that, along with 2008s rangier Beautiful Future, feels like a necessary detour for the group to refuel. More Light flaunts all of the benefits of their recharging. It is one of those odd Primal Scream albums where they pull it all together -- roping in the hard rock, free jazz, club beats, flowery psychedelia, the worship of the Stooges, and a devotion to avant-garde cinema -- building upon the past in an attempt to get closer to the future. Their own history is not exempt from examination: they flirt with the aggro aggression of XTRMNTR and Screamadelicas "Movin on Up" is explicitly quoted on the closer, "Its Alright, Its OK." That tune is placed at the end of the album, concluding the album on a bit of a triumphant note, a tone thats rather appropriate for More Light. Primal Scream never shy away from darkness here, either in their lyrics or music, but More Light percolates with bright, incessant inventiveness, as if they are gripped by the tantalizing possibilities of their creations, and have yet to give up on the future, despite all the bleakness that surrounds them. Occasionally, that darkness creeps into view -- "Elimination Blues," with vocals from Robert Plant, churns its groove until there seems to be no escape; "Relativity" reaches a cacophonous crescendo, never slipping back to a comfort zone -- but what sticks with More Light is that sense of adventure, how it wrestles with the future by using the rules of the past. Maybe its a losing game -- as the years slip by, situationist politics, avant-garde art, and psychedelic pop all fade from popular consciousness -- but the brilliant thing about More Light is how it suggests that the struggle itself is empowering. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 25 Title: Chaosmosis Released: 2016-03-18 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:15:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Trippin’ on Your Love (03:30) 2 (Feeling Like a) Demon Again (04:35) 3 I Can Change (03:17) 4 100% or Nothing (03:54) 5 Private Wars (02:30) 6 Where the Light Gets In (03:47) 7 When the Blackout Meets the Fallout (01:48) 8 Carnival of Fools (03:41) 9 Golden Rope (05:37) 10 Autumn in Paradise (05:04) 1 Trippin’ on Your Love (03:30) 2 (Feeling Like a) Demon Again (04:35) 3 I Can Change (03:17) 4 100% or Nothing (03:54) 5 Private Wars (02:30) 6 Where the Light Gets In (03:47) 7 When the Blackout Meets the Fallout (01:48) 8 Carnival of Fools (03:41) 9 Golden Rope (05:37) 10 Autumn in Paradise (05:04) |
| Chaosmosis : Allmusic album Review : From the outside, Primal Scream seem suitably chaotic, flitting between noise-skronk explorations and dub operas, but theres one truism that applies to the bulk of their career: if they delivered a good album last time around, theyll stumble on the next. More Light, the messy, candy-colored, psychedelic opus they delivered in 2013, found the band at something near their best, so it only follows that 2016s Chaosmosis would be something of a mess -- and it is, only in an unexpected fashion. Similar to how Evil Heat represented a diminishment of XTRMNTR -- the back-to-back highlights Vanishing Point and XTRMNTR being the exceptions that proves the Primal Scream rule -- Chaosmosis finds the band scaling back its predecessor, narrowing its vistas so drastically it often seems as if the group cobbled it together on an old Casio. Often, theres a hint of something intriguing here -- a rhythm that starts to kick, a texture that seduces -- but these elements arent developed; they simply lie there, pulsating in neon. Primal Scream can summon enough skill to turn this kaleidoscope of color into something resembling pleasing background music, but the cloistered aggression of "When the Blackout Meets the Fallout" and jazz overtones of "Golden Rope" make it clear that electronic easy listening was never Primal Screams intention. Thats just where Chaosmosis happened to end up. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 25 Title: Mixomatosis Released: 2017-04 Tracks: 5 Duration: 31:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Golden Rope (Lynchmob remix) (04:22) 2 Big Belly Nothing 100% Dub (Bobby Selassie and Primal Jah) (Anton Newcome dub mix) (09:29) 3 (Feeling Like a) Demon Again (Wrangler remix) (04:15) 4 Golden Rope (Lynchmob instrumental remix) (04:21) 5 Where the Light Gets In (U-Bahn zum Hansaplatz remix) (08:55) |
 | Album: 24 of 25 Title: Give Out But Dont Give Up: The Original Memphis Recordings Released: 2018-10-12 Tracks: 25 Duration: 1:50:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Jailbird (The Original Memphis Recordings) (03:53) 2 Rocks (The Original Memphis Recordings) (03:50) 3 Call on Me (The Original Memphis Recordings) (03:26) 4 Everybody Needs Somebody (The Original Memphis Recordings) (06:06) 5 Sad and Blue (The Original Memphis Recordings) (03:49) 6 Big Jet Plane (The Original Memphis Recordings) (05:32) 7 Free (The Original Memphis Recordings) (06:55) 8 Jesus (The Original Memphis Recordings) (06:41) 9 (Im Gonna) Cry Myself Blind (The Original Memphis Recordings) (04:50) 1 Billy / To Love Somebody (04:46) 2 Memphis Groove (Improvised Song Jam) (05:12) 3 Sad & Blue (Early Rehearsal Jam) (02:30) 4 Blue Moon of Kentucky / Trying to Get to You (01:22) 5 Big Jet Plane (Early Rehearsal Jam / Tom Dowd Instructions) (05:15) 6 Free (Bobby Vocal / Full Band Rehearsal Jam) (05:46) 7 Everybody Needs Somebody (Alternative Recording) (05:54) 8 Country Guitar (01:29) 9 Jailbird Guitar (01:08) 10 Jesus (Monitor Mix) (07:14) 11 Funky Jam (04:50) 12 Free (Early Rehearsal Sitar / Piano / Bobby Vocal) (04:57) 13 Call On Me (Monitor Mix) (03:26) 14 Cry Myself Blind (Monitor Mix) (04:56) 15 Big Jet Plane (Sitar Version) (04:46) 16 All I Have to Do Is Dream (01:36) |
 | Album: 25 of 25 Title: Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll: The Singles Released: 2019-05-24 Tracks: 31 Duration: 1:57:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Velocity Girl (01:21) 2 Gentle Tuesday (03:47) 3 Imperial (03:38) 4 Ivy Ivy Ivy (03:06) 5 Loaded (04:22) 6 Come Together (04:14) 7 Higher Than the Sun (03:38) 8 Don’t Fight It, Feel It (03:55) 9 Movin’ On Up (03:45) 10 Rocks (03:35) 11 Jailbird (03:35) 12 (I’m Gonna) Cry Myself Blind (04:30) 13 Kowalski (04:19) 14 Star (04:25) 15 Burning Wheel (03:53) 16 Swastika Eyes (03:55) 17 Kill All Hippies (04:07) 1 Accelerator (03:41) 2 Miss Lucifer (02:28) 3 Autobahn 66 (03:46) 4 Some Velvet Morning (03:50) 5 Country Girl (04:33) 6 Dolls (03:58) 7 Sometimes I Feel So Lonely (04:12) 8 Can’t Go Back (03:44) 9 Uptown (03:54) 10 2013 (03:27) 11 It’s Alright, It’s OK (04:10) 12 Goodbye Johnny (03:32) 13 Where the Light Gets In (03:47) 14 100% or Nothing (03:54) |