Primal Scream - Screamadelica (1991) 20th Anniversary Japan 2CD Edition 2011

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Primal Scream - Screamadelica (1991) 20th Anniversary Japan 2CD Edition 2011

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Two CD edition contains the original 11 track album remastered by Primal Scream and Kevin Shields, plus a bonus CD containing the four track Dixie Narco EP. Digitally remastered 20th Anniversary edition of this classic 1991 album. The first signs of the genesis of Screamadelica came in Spring 1990 when they released 'Loaded'. Initially a throwaway Dance/Rock excursion, Andrew Weatherall took a sample from I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have from their previous album, slipped in some acid-fried funk and threw on a Peter Fonda sample and transformed it into a masterpiece of the era. 'Loaded' was the Primal's passport to Top Of The Pops and elevated Bobby Gillespie to Smash Hits poster-boy status. Subsequent singles were equally potent: 'Come Together', 'Higher Than The Sun' and the MC5-meets-Rave-Italo sensation 'Don't Fight It Feel It'. The album was released to widespread critical acclaim, and is still today frequently acknowledged as one of, if not THE, best albums of the 1990s.

There's no overestimating the importance of Screamadelica, the record that brought acid house, techno, and rave culture crashing into the British mainstream – an impact that rivaled that of Nirvana's Nevermind, the other 1991 release that changed rock. Prior to Screamadelica, Primal Scream were Stonesy classic rock revivalists with a penchant for Detroit rock. They retained those fascinations on Screamadelica – one listen to the Jimmy Miller-produced, Stephen Stills-rip "Movin' on Up" proves that – but they burst everything wide open here, turning rock inside out by marrying it to a gleeful rainbow of modern dance textures. This is such a brilliant, gutsy innovative record, so unlike anything the Scream did before, that it's little wonder that there's been much debate behind who is actually responsible for its grooves, especially since Andrew Weatherall is credited with production with eight of the tracks, and it's clearly in line with his work. Even if Primal Scream took credit for Weatherall's endeavors, that doesn't erase the fact that they shepherded this album, providing the ideas and impetus for this dubtastic, elastic, psychedelic exercise in deep house and neo-psychedelic. Like any dance music, this is tied to its era to a certain extent, but it transcends it due to its fierce imagination and how it doubles back on rock history, making the past present and vice versa. It was such a monumental step forward that Primal Scream stumbled before regaining their footing, but by that point, the innovations of Screamadelica had been absorbed by everyone from the underground to mainstream. There's little chance that this record will be as revolutionary to first-time listeners, but after its initial spin, the genius in its construction will become apparent – and it's that attention to detail that makes Screamadelica an album that transcends its time and influence.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Primal Scream - Screamadelica (1991) 20th Anniversary Japan 2CD Edition 2011

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Primal Scream - Screamadelica (1991) 20th Anniversary Japan 2CD Edition 2011

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Primal Scream - Screamadelica (1991) 20th Anniversary Japan 2CD Edition 2011

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