Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past and present), playlists and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you have never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite.
Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me.
Insta - @everythingflowsglasgow
Primal Scream blew my mind on Saturday night at the Manchester Apollo on Saturday night as they revisited their seminal album ‘Screamadelica’ to mark the 20th anniversary of its release.
Primal Scream are one of a handful of bands that I have seen that make a gig more like an occasion, a cup final if you will and on Saturday night there was no doubt that they were ‘up for it’.
In many ways it was the perfect day for me. A sunshine drive down to Manchester with my good friend Phil and my wife Lynn, blasting out a stupendous Radio 1 essential mix by the DJ Greg Wilson. We arrived at my brothers in Sale for 11.30am and celebrated with a morning beer before Kirsty and Lynn drove us to Old Trafford. Ross had wangled hospitality for himself, while Phil and I went to the pub to pick up our tickets from the Glasgow Supporters Club and catch up with some friends over a few more beers. United won 1-0, only really starting to play in the last 20-minutes after being reduced to 10 men after Evans had been sent off. Berbatov scored the winner right in front of us at the Scoreboard End.
We hooked back up with Ross, Kirsty and Lynn along with Phil’s mate Josh and got the tram into town, heading to an excellent bar in the Northern Quarter called; The Northern. Lynn and Kirsty headed back to Sale while the lads stayed out and moved on to another pub that I forget the name of, meeting Josh’s brother Zak who seemed to know absolutely everyone in the place. He had been hoping to get a guest pass for the gig as he is friends with Mani but told us in his broad Mancunian accent; ‘Mani wasn’t allowed any guest passes as if he was allowed one he’s need a thousand.’
At 9pm we bid farewell to Josh and Zak and hailed a cab to get to the Apollo. It was already pretty busy when we arrived, with DJ Andrew Weatherall playing some reggae and dub, heavy on the bass. A 5-piece support band came on and nobody seemed to know who they were, they blasted out some American Radio friendly garage-pop, with the three guitars sounding fantastic and then left Weatherall to get the crowd in the mood.
Primal Scream bounded on to the stage shortly after 11pm, Bobby Gillespie looked ‘up for it’, skipping to the front of the stage;
‘Hello Manchester, we’re Primal Scream and we’re gonna play Screamadelica, this is Movin’ on Up.’
The band slipped effortlessly into gear, with Innes stage right and Mani skulking about by his bass stage left. The presence of a backing singer for the ‘gospel’ sections lifted the song and Gillespie looked like he was having the time of his life, playing to the crowd by dancing along the front of the stage and encouraging them to join in at the end.
It was straight into ‘Slip Inside This House’, swiftly followed by an immense ‘Don’t Fight It Feel It’. There were certainly plenty of people ‘feeling it’ in the audience. The large screen at the back of the stage featured artwork from the Glasgow artist Jim Lambie that captured the feel of the songs tremendously and as the night went on it felt like the music, band and artwork all became one.
Gillespie slowed it down with a gorgeous ‘Damaged’ before a beautifully trippy ‘I’m Coming Down’ and the psychedelic nursery rhyme ‘Shine Like Stars’, changing the order of the album to suit the live set.
The instrumental‘Inner Flight’ was another moment of sheer beauty, but the closing section was quite simply mind blowing.
‘Higher Than The Sun’ segued into ‘the dub symphony’ and it seemed to go on for ages, the band and audience lost in the music. It was unbelievable, difficult to describe how amazing it was.
‘Loaded’ was next, Gillespie conducting the crowd to jump, dance and clap along.
It got better with an epic closing version of ‘Come Together’ with Gillespie singing my favourite Farley mix; ‘Kiss me, won’t you won’t you kiss me.....’ ending with the album version and everyone’s hands in the air in moment of euphoric bliss.
The band went off stage to regroup and give the audience time to get their breath, everyone around me was gasping in disbelief at the performance.
Gillespie bounded back on; ‘d’ye wanna hear some rock’n’roll, d’ye wanna hear some rock’n’roll?’ The Scream Team kicked back into action, charging through ‘Country Girl’, ‘Jailbird’ and ‘Rocks’, finally leaving the stage just after 1am. I wanted them to keep on going.
WOW.
I’ve been to some special gigs in my time and experienced some genuinely amazing moments and this is up there. Screamadelica is one of those landmark albums and for the band to revisit it in such an epic manner was just mind blowing. The version of ‘Higher Than The Sun’ was utterly magical and the closing double blow of ‘Loaded’ and ‘Come Together’ just about took the roof off the place.
The band were on fire throughout, the horn section in ‘I’m Coming Down’, the gospel singer generating love and soul, Mani creating good vibrations and Andrew Innes and Bobby Gillespie charging about lost in the music they created 20-years previously.
Stunnning, if I go to a better gig this year I will be pleasantly surprised.
Last night I ventured through to Stirling to catch Nevada Base playing the regular BULGE night at Cape in Stirling alongside their friends and very special guests from Berline, Elster Club.
Elster Club were over to record at Nevada Base's studio in the East End of Glasgow, with Johanas, their keyboard/synth player being an original founding member of Nevada Base before he returned to Germany. Such is the friendship between them that Nevada Base still name him as a member of the band.
It was great of Tommy, the promoter and organiser of the BULGE nights to include Elster Club on the line-up and to say that they were excited about playing in Scotland with their friends would be an understatement. Their excitement was only topped up with Jager Bombs (Jagermeister and Red Bull). There was also the added bonus of some German friends who are touring round the UK making the time to come to Stirling to see them...and the castle of course!
With a 'thanks for having us' Elster Club kicked off, getting into the groove pretty quickly. By the second song in, the infectious 'Forty Days' people were coming through to the 'gig' area from the bar to check out the electro-pop coming from the stage.
The 3 band members were having a great time on stage, bouncing, dancing, clicking fingers, punching the air and playing with huge smiles on their faces; always nice to see. This spread to the crowd and dancing started, with their German friends leading the way.
It was clear to see how Johanas had helped to shape the early Nevada Base sound as he coaxed all kinds of beats and sounds out of his bank of electronic equipment, helped by funky house bass, new wave guitar riffs and shouty hooks from his mates.
The band only got better as they went on, they would go down a storm at the Sub Club in Glasgow! I enjoyed their set so much that I bought their mini-album 'Club Your Hands' and got a signed copy! The geek that I am!
The band were elated when they left the stage and celebrated by ordering a couple of rounds of Jagermeister for them and their friends in Nevada Base. Well they hadn't seen each other in a while.
Nevada Base took to the stage around 10.45pm and after a few early technical hitches with Gus' keyboard they hit their stride. Elster Club and their German mates were dancing like they were in the Hacienda and their enthusiasm spread to the balcony upstairs and to the girls down the front who appeared fascinated by frontman Albert's afro.
Nevada Base have been hard at work in the studio and have just finished recording an album and are set to release their debut single 'Love In My Mind'. They are clearly happy with what they are doing and looked confident and at ease on stage.
'Electric Touch' was euphoric and 'Pronoid' was stretched out into a jam at the end, lost in the music. Their cover of the Italo disco classic 'Spacer Woman' saw them finish that and go straight into an epic track that had a refrain that went something like;
we have the tunes and the gadgets, if we want we could play all night
'Love In My Mind' caused the guys on the balcony to come downstairs for a dance before the set ended with the pulsating 'If I'm Late'. It was a cracking night and pleasing to see such quality music played by bands with smiles on their faces and genuine affection for each other.
Nevada Base play;
March 26th, Taylors, Kilwinning
April 12th, Bull and Gate, London
April 14th, Nice'n'Sleazys, Glasgow
Last night the Vigo Thieves were all set to celebrate the launch of their latest single ‘Love is Dead’ with a sold out show at Captain’s Rest. To say the night took a few twists and turns along the way is a bit of an understatement!
Everything started well, load-in, Vigo Thieves soundcheck, OK Social Club soundcheck and then it was the turn of the band Jane Bolts to soundcheck at their second ever gig....the power went downstairs in the venue.
Upstairs everything was fine, the busy crowd were in good form, keeping the bar staff busy and many were settling down to watch the first half of the Spurs v Milan game. Thankfully the Vigo’s booking agent is Craig McGee, the owner of www.glasgowmusic.co.uk and someone very capable of thinking quickly on their feet and also someone with a very useful address book in his mobile.Publish Post A quick call to Scottish Power established that there was a problem with the supply to some homes and businesses in the area and power would likely be back on at 10pm. Of course this couldn’t be guaranteed. Popping next door to the Liquid Ship to see if they fancied 100 thirsty Vigo Thieves fans coming over to boost their Wednesday night takings and cram into an even smaller venue than the Captain’s, Craig and the band were met with the reply; ‘ermmm, we couldn’t do that, we have our open mic on.’ Mmmmm 100 people for a Vigo Thieves gig, or a dozen for the open mic night? No contest in a recession, but the Ship turned it down.
Craig then earned his stripes as a booker/promoter/agent by phoning the owner of the Black Sparrow, who also happens to own the Admiral in Waterloo Street and he very kindly said that they could use the basement venue in the Admiral. This all happened in the space of 30-40 minutes and the good old Dunkirk spirit came into play as bands, fans, equipment and sound engineer all made their way to the Admiral. What a shame for the Vigo Thieves on their triumphant night that they had all this stress and couldn’t simply enjoy a few beers with their mates and fans before playing a storming gig and as Craig is a big Spurs fan he couldn’t watch the game!
Everything came together and the Liquid Ships loss was The Admiral’s gain as everyone watched the football upstairs before heading down just shortly after 10pm to catch the Jane Bolts. As it was only their second gig I can’t be too harsh, on the plus side they had a couple of decent guitar riffs and they covered a Pixies song. On the minus they murdered the Pixies song and I wasn’t sure if the singer had a cold or if he was trying to (badly) impersonate Julian Casablancas, or both. So I was harsh. On another plus side the young crowd they brought with them seemed to enjoy it. Maybe I am just getting old!
Things picked up as the OK Social Club strode confidently on to the stage and bashed out an energetic set of catchy guitar pop song after catchy guitar pop song. Riffs, refrains, hooks and choruses were all clearly evident in a very tight set that was quite literally music to my ears after the Jane Bolts. A few people I know have said that I should catch them live and on the evidence of last night I would certainly do so again.
It was nearing 11 o’clock before the headliners finally took to the stage to chants of ‘Viiiiigo’ and with the guitarist Barry Galbraith seeming to have his own personal fanclub in. Clearly relieved that their launch night had been saved from ruin the band thanked everyone and launched straight into their debut single ‘Won’t You Be Mine’, wasting no time before hurtling straight into ‘Sound of Summer’, surely an anthem in the making. Bassist Gordon Phipps was bouncing around, punching the sky and slapping his bass like a cross between Peter Hook and Animal from the Muppets.
‘Steal Your Heart’ provoked some good old fashioned pogo-ing from the young lads at the front before the single ‘Love Is Dead’ got its first live outing. The band ended with ‘Blood Red’ prompting a mini stage invasion, the gig ending with singer Stevie Jukes being hugged by 3 fans at once while still attempting to sing the final line.
It was a short set from the Vigo Thieves (and indeed the other acts) due to the time restraints that were placed on the night due to the last minute change of venue, however in the brief set they showed that they have the songs to generate some love and affection. Hopefully their next gig in Glasgow will go to plan and allow them the chance to enjoy it properly as it must have been a stressful night for them.
Charlie Sheen is everywhere just now; you can’t read a newspaper or browse online without learning about his latest drug fuelled rant or adventure.
Well Sheen’s crazy antics have inspired Sonny Marvello to write a song in tribute to him, entitled ‘Charlie Sheen (You’re Living My Dream)’.
The band immediately recorded a video demo of the song, posting it online on the night of Wednesday 2nd March and it is already approaching 1,000 plays on YouTube.
It is an acoustic ditty with Sonny Marvello showing off how easily they can write hooks and harmonies, using Sheen’s film career to inspire the lyrics.
The best and perhaps the most poignant line has to be; ‘I saw you once in my home town, scoring some charlie’. Recalling the time when Sheen recorded a straight-to-dvd film in Glasgow and went out to Easterhouse looking to score some drugs.
Other lyrics include ‘Ferris Bueller, had a day off, but Charlie gets off every day’.
With the chorus; ‘Charlie Sheen, (Sheen, Sheen) you’re living my dream’
I gave into temptation earlier this week and bought the debut album by Beady Eye. As someone who was a mad keen Oasis fan in the 90's, particularly that amazing 94-96 period, I still have a huge soft spot for the Gallagher brothers, I know what they can be capable of, although I live more in hope than in expectation that they will ever reproduce the thrills I get from listening to the likes of Slide Away or Live Forever.
The album is pretty much as I expected, with only a few surprises. There are a couple of cracking tunes, some alright, some that I am unlikely to listen to again.
As an opener Four Letter Word falls into my 'alright' category. It could easily be an Oasis tune, but then what can we expect from a band that counts 4 ex members of Oasis as their personnel. It drives along and the hook 'nothing ever lasts forever' could easily be a message to the millions of Oasis fans out there.
Millionaire is quite jaunty but doesn't really do anything for me, while single The Roller is a blatant rip off of Instant Karma without a memorable chorus like 'we all shine on'. That said, there are certainly a lot worse songs to rip off. After his brother Noel plurged through The Beatles back catalogue, it could be that Liam is starting on Lennon's solo stuff.
Beatles and Stones is awful and Wind Up Dream is pretty forgettable. So we're not off to the best of starts!
Things pick up with the debut single, Bring The Light. A piano based boogie with simple catchy lyrics and a 'baby hold on' hook complete with gospel singers.
For Anyone is beautiful though. I played it 3 times in a row after first listen, not only through relief at finally finding a tune I liked! It is an acoustic based number with a quick beat and shock horror, a bit of a melody! There are handclaps and the song is only just over 2 minutes long. After some of the horrific songs earlier on the album it is pleasing to hear Liam actually singing again, he does have a great voice after all, when he isn't being a caricature of himself.
I know it's gonna be alright
Forever I'll be by your side
For anyone you love
For everyone you feel
I'm never giving up
Until the dream is real
Until the dream is real
Kill For A Dream is is another more mellow effort, I'd love to find out who wrote what song for the album. I suspect this might be Andy Bell, although this effort smacks of Oasis using 'car' to rhyme with 'are'. Not bad.
Standing On The Edge Of Noise actually contains the lyric 'Your brother don't know cause he ain't been listening'. On the evidence of this track, Noel isn't missing much! Like a number of the songs on the album this is a 'paint by numbers' attempt at Oasis, only they seem to have got the colours badly mixed up.
There is a bit of a tune to Wigwam. Another welcome relief. At over 6 and a half minutes it is the longest track on the album, with the band clearly trying for something epic. There is a huge break in the song before the refrain 'I'm Coming Up' kicks in and keeps the song going for another 3-minutes. A little too long for my liking but this is not a bad tune.
Three Ring Circus isn't worth the listen, save yourself some time. Not that this review will really be encouraging anyone to buy the album!
The Beat Goes On is another catchy, melodic number, it reminds me of an old song but I can't quite place it. The lyrics highlight that Liam dreams of writing a song that will be sung like those written by his brother.
So long, so long, some day all the world will sing my song
Still life remains, somewhere in my heart the beat goes on
The Morning Sun contains the lyric 'you're blinded by what you idolise'. This could easily be applied by the thousands who rushed to buy tickets to see Beady Eye in concert, blinded by past memories. It's not a bad tune, yet it's not exactly memorable either.
So why did I buy the album? Well Liam Gallagher has something that others don't, character and personality. And when he puts his mind to it he has a cracking soulful voice. I'm sure he will produce moments of brilliance at some point in time, perhaps Liam should look to collaborate with people rather than surround himself with 'yes' men. Can anyone imagine Andy Bell or Gem Archer turning round to Liam and saying; 'do you know what Liam, that song Beatles & Stones is f**king sh*te and as for Three Ring Circus...'?
I'm sure Liam wouldn't be short of people who would work with him. His performance with Death In Vegas on their single Scorpio Rising is an example of what he could so with the right writers and producers.
Beady Eye may claim to be in Different Gear, Still Speeding; if they are in a different gear it is dangerously close to reverse.
I think the music you discover in your mid-teens is of vital importance and it can really shape your musical taste for the rest of your life.
Some of the albums I bought back in 1991 at the age of fifteen are still albums that I hold close to my heart and my turntable twenty years down the line. Thinking back to that time, I was like a musical sponge, soaking in all kinds of stuff. I religiously bought the NME and Melody Maker every Wednesday on the way to school and I would pour over them at lunchtime and when I got home. Tuning into the Radio 1 session at night and taping stuff off the radio.There was a real cassette culture going on back in 1991, with lots of people bringing in mix tapes to school to play in the common room and all of a sudden there seemed to be a load of bands to talk about, dress like and aspire to be like.
The reason for me reminiscing about 1991 (and all that) is that on March 19th I am travelling down to Manchester to catch Primal Scream playing their seminal album Screamadelica, originally released in 1991, from start to finish. Although according to reports from their two Brixton shows late last year, they do change the running order.
Screamadelica is an album that still sounds incredibly fresh, ahead of its time and on occasions, like something from another planet. Yet looking through my CD and record collection there are a whole host of albums from that year that I still enjoy playing, many of which could be deemed ‘classics’s or certainly ‘cult classics’.
Nevermind – Nirvana, Achtung Baby – U2, Loveless – My Bloody Valentine, Blue Lines – Massive Attack, Out of Time – REM , Woodface – Crowded House, Gish – Smashing Pumpkins, Bandwagonesque – Teenage Fanclub, Foxbase Alpha – St Etienne, Lesiure – Blur and Electronic – Electronic
I was introduced to Screamadelica through the single Movin’ On Up, with Bobby Gillespie looking cool as f**k and bopping about like a young Mick Jagger in the video. It was the first 7-inch single that I ever bought, along with Born of Frustration by James which must have been released on the same date, or certainly around that time. I bought Screamdelica expecting more of the same, loose rock’n’roll. Little did I know that I would be opening my mind to an extraordinary album that pushed musical boundaries to their limit.
Before Screamadelica Primal Scream had produced moments of beauty, such asVelocity Girl, Gentle Tuesday and the ballad I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have(later remixed into Loaded) although they seemed a band that talked the talk more than they walked the walk, in terms of producing something that could live up to their own high expectations and dreams, yet with Bobby Gillespe’s taste and knowledge of music, he seemed destined to produce something momentous.
Bobby Gillespie, 1991 (blissed out)
The summers of 89 and 90 saw a large percentage of the nation ‘turned on’ to ecstasy and with the Scream being well known to be willing participants in drug culture, it was only a matter of time before they discovered it. Ecstasy went hand in hand with dance culture and ‘Acid House’ which was exploding in clubs, warehouses and indeed in fields with giant word-of-mouth raves across the country. From interviews and books I have read it would appear that the Scream were initially very sceptical about ecstasy and Acid House, being the speed-freaks that they were. Curiosity killed the cat though and Primal Scream fell head on into Acid House and head over heels for Ecstasy.
Andrew Weatherall was a DJ and fanzine writer at that time. Back then the speed driven, leather trouser wearing Scream, were completely out of touch with what was going on, yet the instrumental outro to the Scream’s ballad I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have prompted Weatherall to remix it into Loaded. The result was phenomenal, with white label test pressings in clubs causing the crowds to go crazy.
The creative trio of Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes and Robert ‘Throb’ Young set up a home made studio and set about creating a masterpiece, often writing and recording on the spot when they come in from clubs, still high on E.
Loadedwas rush released as a single by Creation Records, reaching number 16 in the charts. Primal Scream had never gone top 80 before, never mind top 40!
It was swiftly followed by the stunning Come Together with a blessed out Gillespe perfectly capturing the loved up rush of E that tens of thousands were experiencing across the UK.
Kiss me, won’t you won’t you kiss me
Won’t you won’t you kiss me
Lift me right out of this world
Trip me, won’t you won’t you trip me
Won’t you won’t you trip me
Lift me ride me to the stars
I’m free you’re free
I want you to touch me
Come touch me
Now it’s all too much
All too much
All too much
Come together oh oh
Come together oh oh
Come together as one
Come together as one
Up and away
Come together oh yeah
Up and away
The single was remixed again by Weatherall, causing concern from Gillespie as like Loaded it removed all of his vocals. The Weatherall version sits perfectly on Screamadelica, yet true Scream enthusiasts will talk of the Farley single mix with a sense of awe. Primal Scream were a band embracing the times, energised by the reaction to their single and stimulated by the industrial quantities of MDMA they were digesting, all washed down with some LSD.
The astonishing Higher Than The Sun was the next single to be released. This time Gillespe was all over it;
My brightest star's my inner light let it guide me
Experience and innocence bleed inside me
Hallucinogens can open me or untie me
I drift in inner space, free of time
I find a higher state of grace, in my mind
I'm beautiful, I wasn't born to follow
I live just for today, don't care about tomorrow
What i've got in my head you can't buy, steal or borrow
I believe in live and let live
I believe you get what you give
I've glimpsed, I have tasted, fantastical places
My soul's an oasis, higher than the sun
I'm higher than the sun
The singles kept on coming, with Don’t Fight It, Feel It (another single with no Gillespie vocals) and Movin’ On Up coming out before the release of the album. For a full Primal Scream discography visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primal_Scream_discography
Lets move on to the album. Picking up my double vinyl edition of Primal Scream to play is a joy before the needle even hits the record, as you get to handle and gaze at the stunning artwork that adorns the cover. The red background with a psychedelic sun splahed across the middle. It has become iconic and rightly so. In the modern age, artwork doesn’t quite have the same level of importance as it once did. When was the last iconic album cover? However back in the early 90’s album bands and labels took great care with their album artwork.
We’ll go track by track, Gillespie has said on more than one occasion that great care was placed over the tracklisting in order for the album to flow like a trip...and it is a good one!
Movin’ On Upbursts into life, all warm acoustic guitars, honky tonk piano, soaring gospel vocals and Gillespie half-inching the lyrics to ‘Amazing Grace’ at times. It is a love song, yet it can also clearly be linked to the drug that was taking over a nation;
I’m movin’ on up now, getting out of the darkness,
my light shines on, my light shines on, my light shines on
Gillespe also emplores that ‘I was lost, now I’m found, I believe in you, I’ve got no bounds’. This was an album with no boundaries, encompassing the Scream’s beloved rock’n’roll alongside dub, jazz and acid house. And Gillespie was flying, creatively and through the use of drugs, no bounds indeed.
Bobby Gillespie, November 2010, London
Slip Inside This Houseis a cover of the psychedelic garage band 13th Floor Elevators classic. Yet to call it a cover is to do it an injustice as Primal Scream completely transform the song, bringing it out of the lysergic tinged 60's slap band into 1991, the bass grooves, sitar, and acid house sounds with Gillespie allowed to express his love for West Coast American garage psychedelia. I used to think the hook 'trip inside this house, as you pass by' was actually 'trip inside this house and you can fly', maybe Gillespie does sing that at one point, it would be apt.
You think you can't you wish you could I know you can, I wish you would
Trip inside this house as you pass by
Trip inside this house as you pass by
Don’t Fight It, Feel It
Good advice to anyone taking 'e' at the time. This is just pure acid house, squelchy synth sounds, the beats and high-hat action of an 808, and the lyrics are just perfect to soundtrack the time, with the old soul/James Brown lyric fitting in with the hedonistic lifestyle of 1991.
Gonna dance to the music all night long
Gettin' high, gettin' happy, gettin' gone
Gonna dance to the music all night long
Gettin' up , gettin' down, gonna get it on
I'm gonna live the life I love
I'm gonna love the life I live
There is a piano break at 3 minutes 25 seconds in that just lifts the song, before the closing refrain/mantra keeps the groove going for another few minutes.
Rama lama lama fa fa fa
Gonna get high 'til the day I die
Higher Than The Sun
Is this Primal Scream's masterpiece? This is a special, special song. I always find it remarkable that it is only 3 minutes and 38 seconds long, as there is so much going on musically, lyrically and with the production. Everything Bobby G and his partners and crime were aiming for seems to have come together in this song. I've written about it earlier in this blog and to be honest it is a song that I find indescribable, it is that good, so just press play and enjoy...
Inner Flight
The trip continues with a beautiful, gentle riff carrying us off somewhere nice. All of the song titles on Screamadelica fit with the music and this is no exception.
Come Together
This is just euphoric, immediately lifting the listener from the blissed out instrumental Inner Flight to a hands-in-the-air type moment where you just want to hug everyone around you.
Come Together is 10 and a half minutes of ecstasy on vinyl. Weatherall remixes the original version, removing Gillespie's vocals completely and including an inspired sample, with someone preaching;
This is a beautiful day
It is a new day
We are together, we are unified
And all for the cause
Because together we got power
Apart we got power
Today on this program you will hear gospel,
And rhythm and blues, and jazz
All those are just labels
We know that music is music
Today on this program you will hear gospel,
And rhythm and blues, and jazz
All those are just labels
We know that music is music
The intro is stretched out to over 2 minutes with a hammond riff played continuously before the beat kicks in at just under 2 minutes 30 seconds and then comes the groove, all the time being underpinned by the hammond riff that kicked it all off. Weatherall's importance to Primal Scream, their sound and Screamadelica cannot be under stated.
The band knew what they were striving for (track down the original demo of Higher Than The Sun for an example) but Weatherall helped them to another level. It was meant to be.
Denise Johnson also deserves credit for her soaring and soulful vocals throughout and when she comes in before 5 minutes urging everyone to 'Come together as one' it just sounds so right.
The original version of Come Together is one of my all time favourite songs, yet this Weatherall version is just perfect for Screamadelica and Gillespie's vision of the track listing soundtracking a trip of the rush of ecstasy.
House piano kicks in, a simple yet funky bass holding it all together, trumpets blast off, the sample kicks back in, Denise Johnson is still singing, there are bongo drums......it is a phenomenal song.
Loaded
And so we come to Loaded. An indie club anthem, a rock/dance crossover...the song that kick started the change in musical taste and the change in drugs in Primal Scream.
It starts with the famous sample from the film Wild Angels;
Just what is it that you want to do?
We wanna be free
We wanna be free to do what we wanna do
And we wanna get loaded
And we wanna have a good time
That's what we're gonna do
No way baby lets go
We're gonna have a good time
We're gonna have a party
And this song is one big party with Weatherall working magic by using the guitar and trumpet riffs from the closing section of the Screams I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have into a monster groove.
Denise Johnson's huge gospel vocals come in immediately, urging 'I don't wanna before the beat drops and things kick off. The bass is deep and funky, there is house piano, slide guitar and soaring trumpets over a 4/4 dance beat.
Weatherall's production and the way he builds the tune up, drops it, only to build it up again is like something he would do on the decks in a club.
It is a sensational 7-minutes that transformed Primal Scream from a cult indie guitar band into the band Bobby Gillespie always believed they could be.
Damaged
One song that I have never heard Primal Scream perform live before is the utterly gorgeous heart aching ballad Damaged. That will all change in Manchester. Damaged is hardly ever mentioned when people talk about Screamadelica, with the singles being celebrated with great acclaim. Yet this is just beautiful.
The playing is slow and soulful and Gillespie sings his heart out;
Sweet summer days when I was feeling so fine
Just you and me girl was a beautiful time oh yeah
Said I felt so happy, my, my, my
I was through with doubt and pain
All the love I felt hadn't been in vain
Got damaged, I got damaged
I got damaged, I lost myself in you
Weatherall's production is all over Screamadelica, other than this stunning ballad. It is a cracker.
I’m Comin’ Down
This is also gorgeous, another slow number that has 1991 all over it.
Highs and pills won't heal my ills
But they make me feel better for a little while
I'm coming down
I can't face the dawn
I'm coming down
I feel too far gone
At 3 minutes 30 seconds the song just goes off into space, there are echoes of Gillespie's jazz heroes like Coltrane and Davis in the trumpet/clarinet solo.
I still love the cheeky wee sample/dialogue at the end - 'Yep I know that feeling.'
Higher Than The Sun – a dub symphony in two parts
If Bobby G was inspired by some of his heroes on other tracks, on this one he gets to work with one of them as PiL's Jah Wobble supplies the bass on the dub symphony of Higher Than The Sun.
The reintroduction of this song is extremely clever and it again fits in with the old DJ trick of mixing in a tune he played earlier in his set.
The second part of the symphony has Wobble's bass to the fore and it keeps things grounded, allowing all kinds of things to go on elsewhere. The short break just before 5 minutes just lifts the song even higher (than the sun), before Wobble brings it all back down with his bass.
Shine Like Stars And so we come to the end, with the almost childlike trippy nursery rhyme Shine Like Stars. Yet again Gillespie's lyrics capture the hedonism of 1991;
I watch you dance you look so happy
Lost in the moment of abandon you're set free
To me you're precious may you always
Shine like stars
Shine like stars
Shine like stars
There we have it, Screamadelica, 20 years on, still remarkably fresh. I've been writing this blog over the weekend and I must have listened to the album 5 times, yet I could easily go back to the start and listen to it all over again.
There is so much going on, so much care and love has gone into it. The band knew they were on to something, they had a great team working with them, from Alan McGee and Creation Records, through to the undeniable talents of Andy Weatherall. Yet the band and the trio of Gillespie, Innes and Young always believed in themselves and Primal Scream as a band, an idea.
With Screamadelica they realised what they were capable of and thankfully they went on to make a number of other stunning albums through the 90's.
