Peel Sessions
Andrew Perry / Select
11.1991
11.1991
THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
Peel Sessions
Strange Fruit SFPMA 210/MC/CD
Ah, historic stuff. There are occasions when these archival Peel Sessions take you back into the thick of a thrilling band's genesis. Drop the needle, or hit "Play," and you're there, listening to them grope through their earliest, bemused visit to a hi-tech studio. For groups like The Jesus And Mary Chain, who approached the event through the post-punk indie sector, it was something to take as seriously as a record.
A shame, then, that the JAMC's very first session isn't included here, at the band's discretion. Aired in October '84 at the time of 'Upside Down' and much bootlegged, it caused as much of a ripple as the debut single. Still, as the Mary Chain bandwagon began to roll early in '85 and 'Never Understand' was released on WEA to equal measures of shock and acclaim, a second 'Peel Session' was laid down and circulated around black-market stalls.
Now that guitar-noise has become as much part of the pop vocabulary as a drum-beat and it's possible to lie in quiet repose to the strains of Ride, Chapterhouse, et al, it's hard to convey the excitement generated by such full-throttle bursts of aural mayhem as 'Inside Me' and 'The Living End.'
Though gloriously blanketed throughout with amp interference, these aren't a patch on the 'Psychocandy' LP versions, especially 'Inside Me,' with its overly morose vocal by Jim Reid. They were startling at the time, though, and Jim and brother William were already hatching ideas beyond their trademark racket. The session's stunner was 'Just Like Honey,' a sparkling slowie of the gentlest melody, which gave the first inkling that there were perhaps tunes underneath the rowdy ones too. With this song, the momentous 'Psychocandy' and 'Some Candy Talking' (a Top 20 hit), the JAMC were established and, by late '86, under pressure to keep up the momentum.
And so to post-Punk-use-of-Peel-Sessions-Part 2--Work In Progress, and the second three-song batch here: pre-'Darklands' stabs at 'Fall','Happy Place' and a gorgeous 'About You,' provisionally entitled 'In The Rain.' The latter forewarned of the album's melancholy tenor, but itself proved far more uplifting.
'Peel Sessions' is just six short songs, but it's a breath-taking reminder of the Reid Brothers' dramatic inception and their toon-penning prowess.
4 (out of 5) stars
Peel Sessions
Strange Fruit SFPMA 210/MC/CD
Ah, historic stuff. There are occasions when these archival Peel Sessions take you back into the thick of a thrilling band's genesis. Drop the needle, or hit "Play," and you're there, listening to them grope through their earliest, bemused visit to a hi-tech studio. For groups like The Jesus And Mary Chain, who approached the event through the post-punk indie sector, it was something to take as seriously as a record.
A shame, then, that the JAMC's very first session isn't included here, at the band's discretion. Aired in October '84 at the time of 'Upside Down' and much bootlegged, it caused as much of a ripple as the debut single. Still, as the Mary Chain bandwagon began to roll early in '85 and 'Never Understand' was released on WEA to equal measures of shock and acclaim, a second 'Peel Session' was laid down and circulated around black-market stalls.
Now that guitar-noise has become as much part of the pop vocabulary as a drum-beat and it's possible to lie in quiet repose to the strains of Ride, Chapterhouse, et al, it's hard to convey the excitement generated by such full-throttle bursts of aural mayhem as 'Inside Me' and 'The Living End.'
Though gloriously blanketed throughout with amp interference, these aren't a patch on the 'Psychocandy' LP versions, especially 'Inside Me,' with its overly morose vocal by Jim Reid. They were startling at the time, though, and Jim and brother William were already hatching ideas beyond their trademark racket. The session's stunner was 'Just Like Honey,' a sparkling slowie of the gentlest melody, which gave the first inkling that there were perhaps tunes underneath the rowdy ones too. With this song, the momentous 'Psychocandy' and 'Some Candy Talking' (a Top 20 hit), the JAMC were established and, by late '86, under pressure to keep up the momentum.
And so to post-Punk-use-of-Peel-Sessions-Part 2--Work In Progress, and the second three-song batch here: pre-'Darklands' stabs at 'Fall','Happy Place' and a gorgeous 'About You,' provisionally entitled 'In The Rain.' The latter forewarned of the album's melancholy tenor, but itself proved far more uplifting.
'Peel Sessions' is just six short songs, but it's a breath-taking reminder of the Reid Brothers' dramatic inception and their toon-penning prowess.
4 (out of 5) stars
