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Primal Scream
by Jason Cohen
Bobby Gillespie can't stop being a fan. His band Primal Scream has just
released a new EP that recorded in Memphis, and is about to begin a U.S
tour. The band's third album, Screamadelica has received "Album
of the Year" accolades all over england. But Gillespie wants to talk
about other people's music. Though his thick scottish accent is
difficult to understand, his enthusiasm is unmistakable - "Big Star, do
you know them?" - As he raves on about the recently issued lost solo
album by Big Star's late guitarist, Chris Bell.
In the sapce of a mere half an hour, Gillespie also mentions The
Spinners, The Velvet Underground, Chic, Bob Marley, Ornette Coleman,
Curtis Mayfield, Roky Erickson, Pharoah Sanders, Sister Sledge, Scott
Walker, Cecil, Taylor, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Parliament-Funkadelic,
Hank Williams, Love, Kris Kristofferson, Sun Ra, Gram Parsons, Nation of
Ulysses, Al Green, Suicide, and The Jim Dickinson piano part on an
unreleased, Leon Russell-mixed take of "Wild Horses" by the Rolling
Stones. It'd make a great home cassette, huh?
Primal Scream's music didn't always reflect all those influences. Their
first singles, released while Gillespie was still drumming for the Jesus
and Mary Chain, were glorius but forgetable pop in the Big Star/Bryds
vein. The two albums that followed showcase Gillespie's undeniable
sonwriting flair, but little else.spie's iable songwriting but little
else. But there were some spacy country-blues ballads on the group's
second, self-titled album that hinted at things to come.
Then Gillespie immersed himself in the dance music/drug culture that
swept England in the late '8os, and started working with producers like
The Orb, Rolling Stones vet Jimmy Miller, and Andy Weatherall (who, with
the help of a sample from the movie 'Wild Angels' metamorphized an old
Primal Scream tune into the dance hit "Loaded"). "It helps if the record
producer is as much of a freak as the band," he says of the three
producers, who truly collaborate with Primal Scream on the music.
"Production is a forgotten art form, man. If we had had a good producer,
our old records would have been a little better."
In addition to getting some production guidance, Gillespie says the band
finally got enough chops to expand and explore musically. "When we
started I had a lot of ideas, but we could never carry them out because
our musicians were not good enough. There's loads of things I wanted to
do with our music that I never got the chance to do. Back then we
were almost too precious, it was almost too studied. These days I know
how to achieve the right feel - we go into the studio, we jam, we play,
and that's the record. What you've got to remember is at the moment the
band is able to absolutely anything."
Screamadelica provides fairly ample evidence of that. Over eleven
songs, Primal Scream touches on exurberant Gospel-flaored pop, fuzzy
journey-to the-center-of-a-groove soundscapes, straightout disco,
psychedelic house, and heart-breaking blues balladtry. Meldoy Maker said
the album sounds like an entire record collection, though Gillespie
claims the "Legendary Status" of his record collection "is all lies;
it's that big." Screamadelica is derivitive at times, but
Gillespie recombines all his favorite records into something personal,
unique, and seemless, with songwriting skill that matches his eclectic
tastes. His fragile voice floats over rainbow-taffy ambience, while
backup singers, horns, and rythem keeps things moving. The guy is so in
love with pop music both his own ("It's a great record, a beautiful
song," he says of one track) and other people's that one cannot help but
be swept away by his exuberance. For all its looseness,
Screamadelica is definitely a studio concoction. Onstage with a
full complement of musicians and two DJ's in tow, Primal Scream is a
real live rock'n'roll band, playing versions of songs from
Screamadelica that are decidedly guitar-damaged and nearly
unrecognizable compared to the record. They also cover The Stooges, John
Lennon, and Roky Erickson, with snippets of "Don't call me Whitey
Nigga," "Whole Lotta Love" and "A Love Supreme" thrown in. "It's
natural, it's sensual, Zeppelinesgue in bits," Gillespie says. "It's
hairy. it's groovy as well. It's rock."
The music of his heroes is not Gillespie's only muse: his drug use is
somewhat notorious as well. since the press has sometimes emphasized
primal scream's drug habits over their music making, Gillespie is a bit
weary of the subject, but just a bit. "I only speak for myself but after
really good drugs, whether it be speed or ecstasy or mushrooms, there's
this feeling sometimes when everything collides and everything is
perfect; you're in a great environment, you're listening to some great
music and you're dancing - right? - and it's just this fantastic
feeling," he says. "you'd like to feel like this forever. you wish your
life could always be as good as that."
Originally Appeared in Option no. 44 May/June 1992
Copyright © Option.
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