Primal Scream download & asking for advice

Primal Scream = frustrating.

For every moment of genius there's at least two where you'd like to kick Bobby Gillespie right in the eye.

If you skip their early work* and get hold of the albums Screamadelica (post rave, blissed out) and Vanishing Point (dub gone crazy) you'll have probably 90% of everything you'll need from them. Both are - for the most part - excellent.

If you really enjoy those albums and want to dig deeper, there's fine moments among the rest of their discography. Give Out, But Don't Give Up is "Exile on Main Street" meets P-Funk with a few George Clinton-produced gems. XTRMNTR is mostly great and features a big contribution from My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, most notably in the "MBV Arkestra", which is an amazing piece of work. The outro track, "Shoot Speed, Kill Light" features New Order's Barney Sumner and is possibly the Scream's finest moment.

Avoid Evil Heat and Riot City Blues like the plague.

*In which they rip from firstly The Byrds and then The MC5 with varying success.

ETA: Just listened to that preview. It's pretty mediocre. A rehash of "Rocks" with slightly embarrassing political lyrics from Bobby G, which is the (very) bad side of Primal Scream. Compared to Higher Than The Sun or Shoot Speed, Kill Light it's sorely lacking.

My sentiments are pretty close to Signpost's. I'd categorize XTRMNTR as essential Scream, though. A couple years ago I created a thread titled "The best albums of the decade so far", or something of that nature, and XTRMNTR made my list. I love the production and mixing on that album. They bring so much life and nuance to the music.

The new tune available for download is pretty underwhelming. Slightly embarrassing political lyrics? No, they're awfully embarrassing.

Thanks for the welcome!

If you do enjoy XTRMNTR, I'd try Vanishing Point before I went for Give Out..., as VP is more similar in style.

You're right of course, I was being way too kind to it. It is a cover, which I didn't initially realise, but they've updated the lyrics to include a line about being a Suicide Bomber. Classy! And topical!

Primal Scream are never worse than when Bobby G tries being Political. Which seems to be all the time these days. He should have stuck to singing about drugs.

Primal Scream is a band that needs to get depressed. They are a very talented group of individuals, but their cockiness betrays them. Maybe in ten years when their genitals turn flaccid, we'll hear the measured, nuanced music capable of them.

But that said, XTRMNTR and Vanishing Point are pretty good.

Glad you liked them. I'm not sure XTRMNTR is supposed to be relaxing but I'm glad you can chill to it!

As for the Beasties, for me the best is Paul's Boutique by miles, then Check Your Head.

i have to completely disagree. yeah, evil heat blew but i love riot city blues. it's the best stones album since brown sugar and best thing to a new faces album we're ever gonna get. i liked the kevin shields one (xtrmntr, or whatever the hell it's spelt) when it first came out but it dated rather quickly and i think i only dug it 'cause of shields. it was the phantom menace of primal scream records.