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The impression that enormous potential resided within the Jesus & Mary Chain—albeit partially unexpressed—is an opinion that, I suppose, was not confined solely to my own quarters. The half-masterpiece debut "Psychocandy" was followed by a good post-dark-wave album like "Darklands," but the Reid brothers gradually lost their way, squandering their talent on records that were far from transcendent. What a pity!
Bobby Gillespie, their part-time drummer, essentially left the ship right after "Psychocandy" when the sailing waters were still somewhat safe. In truth, his Primal Scream project in 1987 didn't start off well, focused on a sort of 60s/70s revivalist psych-pop-rock, only to then veer toward a dance-electronic crossover with the 1991 masterpiece "Screamadelica." Since then, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, so much so that today Bobby Gillespie, with eight albums under his belt and increasingly lanky, is heading towards fifty. Unlike the defunct J & MC, however, his Primal Scream are still in the game, capable of constantly renewing themselves and embarking on eclectic and original paths and, why not, sometimes disorienting as in the case of the controversial "Give Out But Don't Give Up" and the recent "Riot City Blues."
The fundamental issue in evaluating an album like "Beautiful Future" can be likened to having to weigh the work of any other substantial band that's been around for over twenty years. What can one expect, and more importantly, what should one expect? No revolution at hand, but neither just a routine album. The whole thing could be tersely summarized as a kind of compendium of the twenty-year history of Primal Scream.
It ranges from the joyful and lively opening of the title track to rock abrasions like new (not really) 21st-century Rolling Stones in "Can't Go Bainck" and "Necro Hex Blues", from the danceable and radio-friendly "Uptown" to the dandy groove in Pulp style of "Glory Of Love" (offered in two versions, no less), from the relentless darkness of "Suicide Bomb" (Oasis would spill blood to write such a track) to a "Beautiful Summer" that follows in the Stone Roses' footsteps (did bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield bring it as a dowry?), ending with the electronic regurgitation of "I Love To Hurt (You Love To Be Hurt)" more akin to Dave Gahan than to "Screamadelica." By the way: there was talk of a return to certain post-dance-electronic sounds of their acclaimed masterpiece, but personally, I found very few points of contact.
The inspiration, indeed, is not always that of the best days, just listen to the rather inconclusive black-boogie "Zombie Man", not to mention the slow-motion cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Over & Over", which is outside their target, but these are almost inevitable mannerist sins for someone like Bobby who boasts a career spanning over twenty years. Lastly, note the contributions from Josh Homme, Lovefoxx, and the dispensable one from Linda Thompson.
Paraphrasing the title, the future may not be wonderful (in this regard, listen to the lyrics that are inversely proportional to the optimistic omen of the title track), but the present, if not astounding, for now, is quite reassuring. On Primal Scream's musical side, obviously.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Beautiful Future (05:09)
Take a ride around your city
Tell me what do you see
Empty houses
Burning cars
naked bodies hanging from the tree
Don’t say what you’re thinking
Just think before you say
If you say the wrong thing
the man is gonna come and take you away
Oh you've got a beautiful future
A beautiful future
Oh you've got a beautiful future
A beautiful future
You tell me baby it’s good to be free
Can’t you see you’ll never be free
You live by the sword
You die by the sword
You’re only free to buy the things you can’t afford
A flash car
The house in the country
a sexy wife, beautiful children
Congratulations you live in a dream
With a dead heart at the control of the machine
Oh you've got a beautiful future
A beautiful future
Oh you've got a beautiful future
A beautiful future
Are you heading for the gas chamber
Do you wanna sit in the electric chair?
We’ve got a noose if you wanna hang around
Maybe a little torture to tousle up your hair
You've got a beautiful future
Take a ride around your city
tell me what do you see?
Pretty houses, expensive cars
Golden apples hanging from the trees
Oh you’ve got a beautiful future
Oh you've got a beautiful future
A beautiful future
Oh you've got a beautiful future
A beautiful future
Oh oh you live in a dream
With a dead heart at the control of the machine...
02 Can't Go Back (03:44)
I looked into my baby's eyes
I tried so hard to find some light
When I looked there was no one there
No one there at all
I walked on down a crowded street
I heard somebody talk to me
When I turned around to speak
There was no one there at all
Can't go back I can't go back
Can't go back I can't go back
Can't go back I can't go back
To the place I was before
I stuck a needle in my arm
I stuck it in my baby's heart
She looked so hot & sexy
She wasn't there at all
I heard some one break in my house
They had a gun they had a knife
But it was all behind my eyes
There was no one there at all
Can't go back I can't go back
Can't go back I can't go back
Can't go back I can't go back
To the place I was before
My baby looked into my eyes
She tried so hard to find some light
When She looked there was no one there
No one there at all
Can't go back I can't go back
Can't go back I can't go back
Can't go back I can't go back
To the place I was before
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Other reviews
By darkHaem
"'Can't Go Back' is a splendid example of rock’n’roll covered by kinetic and messy rhythms and technical guitar riffs."
"'Beautiful Summer' is perhaps the most imposing episode of the record, demonstrating how Primal Scream still have something unique to deliver."
By breakerfall
Beautiful Future is not the only Primal album that tells you everything right from the first time you listen to it.
The Primal Scream are certainly not activists... however, they seem more aligned with their time than anyone else.
