Automatic | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 9 October 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Studio | Sam Therapy (West London) | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 43:26 | |||
Label | Blanco y Negro | |||
Producer | ||||
The Jesus and Mary Chain chronology | ||||
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Singles from Automatic | ||||
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Automatic is the third studio album by Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 9 October 1989 by Blanco y Negro Records. The group on this record consists of the core duo of brothers William and Jim Reid, with a drum machine providing percussion and synthesised bass. The only other credited musician was Richard Thomas, who joined the touring version of the Jesus and Mary Chain as a drummer. Thomas drummed on "Gimme Hell" and was a former member of Dif Juz. He also made appearances on Cocteau Twins' 1986 album Victorialand and This Mortal Coil's 1986 album Filigree & Shadow .
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Chicago Tribune | [2] |
Los Angeles Times | [3] |
Mojo | [4] |
NME | 8/10 [5] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10 [6] |
Q | [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Select | 5/5 [9] |
The Village Voice | B− [10] |
Although released to generally mixed reviews at the time (with the aforementioned synthesised drums and bass being the biggest point of contention), Automatic contains "Blues from a Gun", their most successful single in America up to that point, and "Head On" (later covered by Pixies). Critical and fan reception has improved with time. Pitchfork wrote in 2006 that "conventional wisdom wrongly calls [Automatic] the dud" of the band's discography, but that in hindsight the album "feels like a career peak". [6]
The last two tracks, "Drop" and "Sunray", do not appear on vinyl LP versions of the album.
All tracks written by Jim Reid and William Reid.
LP (BYN 20), limited gatefold LP (BYN 20W) and cassette (BYNC 20)
Side one
Side two
CD (BYNCD 20)
Chart (1989–1990) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [11] | 89 |
European Albums ( Music & Media ) [12] | 47 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [13] | 48 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [14] | 42 |
UK Albums (OCC) [15] | 11 |
US Billboard 200 [16] | 105 |
As of May 1998, the album had sold 60,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [17]
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the band since its formation. They are recognized as key figures in the development of the shoegaze and noise pop subgenres. The band have had twelve top 40 entries and two top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart in the course of their career.
21 Singles is a compilation album by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, released in the United Kingdom on 27 May 2002 by Warner Strategic Marketing, and in the United States on 2 July 2002 by Rhino Records. As the title proclaims, it contains 21 of the band's singles in chronological order from their 15-year career.
Psychocandy is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released in November 1985 on Blanco y Negro Records. The album is considered a landmark recording: its combination of guitar feedback and noise with traditional pop melody and structure proved influential on the forthcoming shoegaze genre and alternative rock in general.
Barbed Wire Kisses is a compilation album by Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released on 18 April 1988 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album contains singles, B-sides and rare tracks. Throughout the 1980s the band was known for their prodigious output in these formats, often in limited editions which quickly went out of print. This album collects many of those releases spanning the band's career up to that point.
Honey's Dead is the fourth studio album by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, released in 1992 on Blanco y Negro Records. It marked a return to a more abrasive sound for the group, as well as incorporating elements of alternative dance.
Munki is the sixth studio album released by Scottish rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. After leaving Blanco y Negro, the Reid brothers signed to Sub Pop in the U.S. and Creation, who had released their debut single "Upside Down" in 1984, in the UK. Munki peaked at No. 47 in the UK album charts, the band's first studio album not to make the Top 40. It would also be the band's last album for 19 years, as they would release their next studio album Damage and Joy in 2017.
Darklands is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 31 August 1987 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album is the band's first to use drum machines, replacing live drummer Bobby Gillespie, who had left to pursue a career as the frontman of Scottish rock band Primal Scream. Lead vocals are performed by Jim Reid, with the exception of "Darklands", "Nine Million Rainy Days" and "On the Wall", which are sung by William Reid.
Stoned & Dethroned is the fifth studio album by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. After spending most of 1992 touring, including a slot on that year's Lollapalooza tour, the band went into the studio during January 1993 with the notion of recording an acoustic album. For the first time since Psychocandy, JAMC recorded with a full band with Steve Monti from Curve playing drums and touring bassist Ben Lurie. The recording took longer than planned, lasting the better part of a year. The album also features lead vocals from guests Shane MacGowan from The Pogues on "God Help Me" and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, singing a duet with Jim Reid on "Sometimes Always", which was the album's first single.
The Complete John Peel Sessions is an album released by Scottish alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain.
"Blues from a Gun" is a Modern Rock number-one hit from The Jesus and Mary Chain's album Automatic from 1989. It was released in four different formats, including a 3" Mini CD single in a paper gatefold sleeve. It is one of the few singles by the band featuring lead vocals from William, as opposed to Jim Reid.
"Just Like Honey" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the third and final single from the album through Blanco y Negro Records in September 1985. An important milestone in the development of the alternative rock subgenre of noise pop, the song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid. Drummer Bobby Gillespie quotes Hal Blaine's opening drum riff from The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" in the song's intro.
Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain have released eight studio albums, two live albums, eight compilation albums, two video albums, six extended plays and 21 singles.
Some Candy Talking is an extended play (EP) by Scottish rock band the Jesus and Mary Chain, released on 14 July 1986 by Blanco y Negro Records. The EP includes an acoustic version of "Taste of Cindy", originally taken from the band's debut studio album, Psychocandy, and a song titled "Psychocandy", which did not appear on that album. The titular song did not appear on the original pressing of Psychocandy, but was featured when the album was released on CD in 1986.
"Darklands" is a song by Scottish rock band the Jesus & Mary Chain and the third single from their album of the same name. The single was released in October 1987 by Blanco y Negro Records on 7-inch vinyl, 10-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl and as a CD single. The 10-inch and the CD were entitled Darklands E.P.
"Never Understand" is the first single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album Psychocandy. It was the band's first release on Blanco y Negro Records and was released through them in February 1985. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was produced by The Jesus and Mary Chain. It is considered influential for its use of guitar feedback.
"You Trip Me Up" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the second single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in May 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid.
"Sometimes Always" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain and the first single from the group's album Stoned & Dethroned. Written by William Reid, the song is a duet between Jim Reid and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. The song was a moderate commercial hit in the UK while also making some noise on the alternative circuit in the US. It has since seen critical acclaim as one of the best songs from the Stoned & Dethroned album.
"Come On" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock group The Jesus and Mary Chain and the second single from the group's album Stoned & Dethroned. It was released by Blanco y Negro Records in October 1994 and reached #52 in the UK single charts.
Ben Lurie is a British musician, best known as a member of the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from 1989 to 1998.
The Complete Vinyl Collection is a box set release by Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain. It was released on 12 December 2013 via Demon Music Group, marking the band's 30th anniversary.