Uses all original packaging
NO digital version included
Audio Quality: 4/5
Song Quality: 4/5
Packaging: 3.5/5
Some albums are absolutely timeless. Decades after their release, they can still resonate powerfully with whole new generations of listeners. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan... these artists arguably are just as important today as they were in their prime. Though their albums might sound old, they definitely don't sound dated or stale. On the other hand, there are some undeniably great records that now function as period pieces. Unless you were there first-hand to experience the importance of these records musically and culturally, you're never going to get the full experience retrospectively. Examples of this include The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, etc. I think I can now safely add The Jesus and Mary Chain to this list. Listening for the first time over twenty years after the original release, I can definitely appreciate that this is a unique effort, so much so that it still does sound unique, even after two decades. It also includes some great songs.
I can clearly see how groundbreaking and, for lack of a better term, just plain cool this record must have been in 1985. But as I listen today, I know I'm missing something.Yes, it's true. I had never heard this record until just a few days ago when I bought it. In fact, I had never heard anything from
The Jesus and Mary Chain before this. This potentially damages my indie cred even more than reviewing the Fall Out Boy LP. I accept this. I knew of the band, but I simply never bothered to listen. What got my curiosity up was when The Magnetic Fields, one of my absolute favorite bands, released their album Distortion last year. A lot of comparisons were drawn between that record and this one, and rightfully so. Stephin Merritt admittedly modeled the sound and vibe of his album off of this landmark release. I love Distortion, so I thought that, by simple logic, this was a record I would really enjoy. And I do. And I know that if I heard this album as a teenager when it first came out, it would have absolutely blown me away. But I didn't, and my review reads accordingly.I was a little surprised by the songs on this record. They're so poppy. I don't know exactly what I expected the album to sound like, but the unabashedly pop melodies I heard were quite disarming. There are some tracks reminiscent of The Beach Boys ("The Hardest Walk," "Never Understand"), others that remind me of The Ramones ("Taste of Cindy," "The Living End"), and still others that sound more like The Cure ("Just Like Honey," "My Little Underground"). As you probably know, those bands sound pretty much nothing alike. Yet they are all represented here, and Psychocandy remains an extremely cohesive effort. They accomplish this through their now legendary noise-production aesthetic, which features every track soaked in loud, angry distortion. Written down like that, it sounds like a completely unpleasant and generally terrible idea, but the raw noise is much more welcoming than offputting. You get a visual of a band playing in a big abandoned warehouse with their amps all turned up to 11. It's a powerful presentation. As a full album, it gets a little redundant at times, not just based on production but also the songs themselves (Tracks 1 and 11 start with a blatantly identical drum arrangement). However, for the most part, it's a unique and enjoyable collection.
The sound on this record makes it what it is, so the vinyl audio quality is of the utmost importance here. The verdict? It's a noisy mess, and at times it sounds like my speakers are about to explode. Yet I can't really imagine it sounding any other way. The sometimes warm and other times chainsaw-esque fuzz tends to perfectly sit all around the instruments, so you can hear all the parts while still basking in the wash of noise. The voice sits clearly in the center, soaked in reverb, acting as a grand centerpiece to this sonic mess. After listening to the record, I downloaded a digital copy to compare sound, and on some of the MP3s, the distortion was so immense it made the song underneath almost impossible to hear (see "In A Hole"). The increased warmth, width, and depth of the vinyl mix make it vastly superior. Overall, I'd like to hear some more low end in the mixes, as a bit of relief from the endless mid-range onslaught.
However, I'd guess that keeping the bass a bit lower really just accentuates that fuzz in the mids even more, so I can't complain too much. If you're a fan of this record, know that this, the current Rhino re-issue, sounds great and is apparently a very faithful reproduction of the original product.This re-issue features a replication of all the original packaging.
This, apparently, consists of the LP, contained in a paper sleeve featuring photography and album credits, sitting in a slipcase package. I've reported before on re-issues featuring all original artwork and how that can be cool sometimes and un-cool other times. This definitely fits into the good category, but I still wish that these vinyl re-issues would include a CD or download code to appeal to people looking to pick up albums like this for the first time.Though this record doesn't fit into that "timeless classic" category I described at the beginning of the review, it is still a classic, and it definitely should be heard. Though I certainly won't drop the needle on this album as often as my copy of Sgt. Pepper, or even as often as my copy of The Magnetic Fields' Distortion (review coming soon), I'm glad I took the time to give it a listen and I'll definitely be doing more listening in the future. It's reasonably priced for new and old fans alike, so pick up a copy and treat yourself to a different kind of listen.
Buy the LP at ElusiveDisc.com
Buy the LP at Amazon.com
Tomorrow: Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin'
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