Automatic (The Jesus and Mary Chain album)

Last updated

Automatic
Jesus and Mary Chain Automatic.jpg
Studio album by
the Jesus and Mary Chain
Released9 October 1989
Recorded1989
StudioSam Therapy (West London)
Genre Alternative rock
Length43:26
Label Blanco y Negro
Producer
The Jesus and Mary Chain chronology
Barbed Wire Kisses
(1988)		Automatic
(1989)		 Honey's Dead
(1992)
Singles from Automatic
  1. "Blues from a Gun"
    Released: September 1989
  2. "Head On"
    Released: November 1989

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 .

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
NME 8/10 [5]
Pitchfork 7.8/10 [6]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Select 5/5 [9]
The Village Voice B− [10]

Although released to generally poor 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.

Track listing

All tracks written by Jim Reid and William Reid.

LP (BYN 20), limited gatefold LP (BYN 20W) and cassette (BYNC 20)

Side one

  1. "Here Comes Alice" – 3:53
  2. "Coast to Coast" – 4:13
  3. "Blues from a Gun" – 4:44
  4. "Between Planets" – 3:27
  5. "UV Ray" – 4:06

Side two

  1. "Her Way of Praying" – 3:46
  2. "Head On" – 4:11
  3. "Take It" – 4:34
  4. "Halfway to Crazy" – 3:40
  5. "Gimme Hell" – 3:20

CD (BYNCD 20)

  1. "Here Comes Alice" – 3:53
  2. "Coast to Coast" – 4:13
  3. "Blues from a Gun" – 4:44
  4. "Between Planets" – 3:27
  5. "UV Ray" – 4:06
  6. "Her Way of Praying" – 3:46
  7. "Head On" – 4:11
  8. "Take It" – 4:34
  9. "Halfway to Crazy" – 3:40
  10. "Gimme Hell" – 3:20
  11. "Drop" – 1:58
  12. "Sunray" – 1:34

Personnel

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Automatic
Chart (1989–1990)Peak
position
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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jesus and Mary Chain</span> Scottish alternative rock band

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 recorded twelve top 40 singles and two top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart throughout their career.

<i>21 Singles</i> 2002 compilation album by The Jesus and Mary Chain

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.

<i>Psychocandy</i> 1985 studio album by the Jesus and Mary Chain

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 shoegazing genre and alternative rock in general.

<i>Barbed Wire Kisses</i> 1988 compilation album by The Jesus and Mary Chain

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.

<i>Honeys Dead</i> 1992 studio album by The Jesus and Mary Chain

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. The title refers to one of the band's early hits, "Just Like Honey", and is intended to demonstrate a complete departure from their earlier musical style.

<i>Darklands</i> (album) 1987 studio album by the Jesus and Mary Chain

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 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.

<i>Stoned & Dethroned</i> 1994 studio album by The Jesus and Mary Chain

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.

<i>The Complete John Peel Sessions</i> (The Jesus and Mary Chain album) 2000 compilation album by The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Complete John Peel Sessions is an album released by Scottish alternative band The Jesus and Mary Chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blues from a Gun</span> 1989 single by 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just Like Honey</span> 1985 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain

"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 single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in September 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jesus and Mary Chain discography</span>

Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain have released seven studio albums, two live albums, eight compilation albums, two video albums, six extended plays and 21 singles.

<i>Some Candy Talking</i> 1986 EP by the Jesus and Mary Chain

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.

<i>Darklands</i> (song) 1987 single by the Jesus and Mary Chain

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Understand</span> 1985 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Trip Me Up</span> 1985 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sometimes Always</span> 1994 single by the Jesus and Mary Chain

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upside Down (The Jesus and Mary Chain song)</span> 1984 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain

"Upside Down" is the debut single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was produced by The Jesus and Mary Chain. The b-side is a cover of a Syd Barrett song and was produced by Joe Foster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come On (The Jesus and Mary Chain song)</span> 1994 single by The Jesus and Mary Chain

"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.

References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Automatic – The Jesus and Mary Chain". AllMusic . Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  2. ↑ Kot, Greg (7 December 1989). "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Automatic (Warner)". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (12 November 1989). "The Jesus And Mary Chain 'Automatic,' Warner Bros". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Segal, Victoria (August 2006). "Hissy fits". Mojo . No. 153. p. 111.
  5. ↑ Quantick, David (14 October 1989). "Auto Pirates". NME . p. 38.
  6. 1 2 Abebe, Nitsuh (4 August 2006). "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Automatic / Honey's Dead / Stoned & Dethroned". Pitchfork . Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Automatic". Q . No. 38. November 1989.
  8. ↑ Sisario, Ben (2004). "The Jesus and Mary Chain". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  429–430. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ↑ Manning, Sarra (April 1997). "The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Barbed Wire Kisses / Automatic / Honey's Dead / The Sound of Speed / Stoned and Dethroned". Select . No. 82. p. 112.
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert (6 February 1990). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 144.
  12. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 6, no. 43. 21 October 1989. p. VIII. OCLC   29800226 – via World Radio History.
  13. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Jesus and Mary Chain – Automatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Jesus and Mary Chain – Automatic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  15. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  16. ↑ "The Jesus and Mary Chain Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  17. ↑ Bell, Carrie (9 May 1998). "Sub Pop's Jesus & Mary Chain Returns Head On With 'Munki'". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 19. p. 18. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.