Primal Scream Album: “Riot City Blues”

the scream is a bizarre creature. a Byrds-esque band that reinvented itself as dance acid-house (practically creating the genre with Screamadelica), then nearly ruined their careers after trying out the Rolling Stones - bare bones, rock 'n roll thing with Give Out. then of course they rebounded with the tripped out Vanishing Point, and the skull-crushing club monsterpiece XTRMNTR.

now they're trying the Rolling Stones thing again. are the results different? yes, mainly this disc is much more raw, and less produced than it's glossy predecessor. also, the songs are more focused, and less jangly - thanks to producer Youth, of Killing Joke fame. but at the same time they still manage to crossover into their acid-dub ways with "little death", a hornier version of XTRMNTR's "keep your dreams". "suicide sally" must be an amazing experience live, if it's as good as they played on zane lowe's bbc show. and the album closes with the true stunner, "sometimes i feel so lonely". think Death In Vegas' "23 Lies" as done by Lee Hazlewood.

the scream have proved they can pull of just about anything. so what's next?

The negatives that dog this band always amaze me. (See the 'official' Amazon review on this page, for an example.) Anything but the most casual listen would confirm that Primal Scream are without doubt THE hottest, most butt-kicking rock band in the world today. And Riot City Blues is possibly their strongest effort to date.

Perception is everything. Some people still think PS sold out when they stopped being punk. Or that they were too laid-back in their Screamadelica psychedelic period. Or that they cloned the Stones with Give Out But Don't Give Up. Cloned??? They made those aging gasbags look like the pathetic has-beens they really are. The Stones only WISH they could sound this fresh, hot and downright clever.

When it comes to Riot City Blues, many listeners will be deceived by the extra-loud heavy-metal sound. But just stop and read through all the lyrics. These are amazingly intelligent songs. Some, like the deceptively bouncy Country Girl and the more overt 99th Floor tend towards the cynical. But this isn't just nihilism; it's intelligent comment. Poetry, even. And always redeemed by incredibly soulful singing from Gillespie and infectiously melodic composition. Not to mention a deep-down integrity; these guys are singing to please themselves, not to net a bigger paycheck, or to please some music-industry dweeb.

If I had to list the most important albums of the 21st Century so far, Riot City Blues would be very high on the list. And if I were listing the most important bands (not to mention the most under-appreciated by snooty, pretentious critics, who can't really remember what rock 'n' roll was all about), Primal Scream would be a strong contender for top spot.

Primal Scream came up with an interesting idea to mix a bit of their "Give Out But Don't Give Up" album with some of their newer material and then try to make it sound a little like "Exile On Main Street" by the Rolling Stones. Sounds like a great idea seeing that both the Stones and Primal are two of my favorite bands. And I like both Primal's older and newer stuff (Give Out But Don't Give Up probably being their best album to date). But what sounds like a good idea and looks great on paper somehow just didn't come out right with this album. Overall not a bad album (I give it 3.5 stars) but it just doesn't have that mystique, edge, catchiness, or whatever you want to call it to make it a great or classic album. Quite boring at times and even a little cheesy in some parts (look at the song titles). "Country Girl" is one of the highlights of the album.

The below reviewer, "svgtom", is correct, the track listing is incorrect. The song "Stone Ya To The Bone" is not on the album.

forget about any negative reviews on this album. this is a great guitar-based rawk'n'roll album. i too like the scream in their psychedelic versions but this is a pleasant twist in their catalogue. i wish the stones can put out albums like this nowadays.

I am a fan of Give Out but Don't Give Up, so I enjoyed this album. Primal Scream is one of the most interesting bands around today. From their trippy earlier albums to their turn at Industrial/ Dance, they are constantly open to creating new sounds, instead of recreating their "hits" as so many other bands do nowadays. While this album is nothing radically new, I did enjoy it much more than say, XTRMNTR or Evil Heat. The first track "Country Girl" seems to have gotten the most airplay, but think that my favorite track is "Sometimes I Feel So Lonely," a slower, more soulful track. This album is very "country rock," but it's also very accessible to both new Primal Scream listeners and long-term fans. Enjoy!