Psychocandy
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Psychocandy
| type = studio
| artist = the Jesus and Mary Chain
| cover = Psychocandy.jpg
| alt =
| released = 18 November 1985
| recorded = March–April 1985
| studio = Southern Studios, Wood Green, London
| genre = *Noise pop{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/noise-pop-ma0000012156|title=Noise Pop: Significant Albums, Artists and Songs, Most Viewed: AllMusic|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=17 July 2012}}
- alternative rock
- post-punk{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/07/the-50-best-post-punk-albums.html|title=The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums|last=Jackson|first=Josh|date=13 July 2016|website=Paste|access-date=26 August 2016}}
- indie rock{{cite web|url=https://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/the_jesus_and_mary_chain_-_jim_reid_on_touring_psychocandy|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain - Jim Reid on Touring "Psychocandy"|website=Under the Radar|author=Michael Wojtas|date=11 September 2015|access-date=22 December 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/the-jesus-and-mary-chain-live-at-barrowlands-album-review-10413638.html|title=The Jesus And Mary Chain, Live at Barrowlands - album review|website=The Independent|author=Andy Gill|date=24 July 2015|access-date=22 December 2022}}
| length = 38:55
| label = Blanco y Negro
| producer = The Jesus and Mary Chain
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Darklands
| next_year = 1987
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Psychocandy
| type = studio
| single1 = Never Understand
| single1date = February 1985
| single2 = You Trip Me Up
| single2date = May 1985
| single3 = Just Like Honey
| single3date = September 1985
}}
}}
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 shoegaze genre and alternative rock in general.
The album reached No. 31 on the UK Albums Chart and was preceded by three charting 1985 singles: "Never Understand", "You Trip Me Up", and "Just Like Honey". The band moved away from its abrasive sound with their follow-up album, 1987's Darklands.
Background and recording
After quitting their jobs in 1980, brothers Jim and William Reid formed The Jesus and Mary Chain with bass player Douglas Hart. Taking inspiration from German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, girl group the Shangri-Las and The Velvet Underground & Nico, they bought a Portastudio in 1983 when their father lost his job in a local factory and gave the brothers £300 from his redundancy money. The band recorded a demo tape containing the songs "Upside Down" and "Never Understand" which was heard by Glaswegian musician Bobby Gillespie, who in turn passed it on to his friend Alan McGee of Creation Records.{{cite web|last=Lynskey|first=Dorian|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain on Psychocandy: 'It was a little miracle'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/26/jesus-and-mary-chain-psychocandy-live-interview|website=The Observer|publisher=Guardian News and Media|access-date=23 November 2014|date=26 October 2014}} McGee was impressed with the tape and invited the band to play at a Creation Records showcase event in London, becoming the band's manager shortly afterwards.{{cite web|last=Marszalek|first=Julian|title=Brown Acid Black Leather: The Story Of The Jesus And Mary Chain's Psychocandy|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/07301-jesus-and-mary-chain-psychocandy|website=The Quietus|access-date=24 November 2014|date=8 November 2011}}
Following more London concerts, the Jesus and Mary Chain entered Alaska Studios in Waterloo, South London and recorded their debut single, "Upside Down". Released by Creation Records in November 1984 and featuring a B-side produced by Slaughter Joe, "Upside Down" sold out its initial pressing and ended the year by being placed at number 37 in John Peel's Festive Fifty. After recruiting Gillespie as their drummer in late 1984, the Jesus and Mary Chain signed to the WEA subsidiary label Blanco y Negro, which had been established by Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis. The band entered Island Studios to record with engineer Stephen Street but the sessions proved to be fruitless and the band returned to Alaska Studios for the recording of their second single, "Never Understand". The single was released by Blanco y Negro in February 1985, and in March that year they began recording their debut album with engineer John Loder at Southern Studios in Wood Green, North London. Psychocandy was recorded in six weeks and totalled £17,000 in recording and production costs.
Music and lyrics
Psychocandy contains fourteen tracks with a total running time of thirty-nine minutes. The music has been described as "bubblegum pop drowned in feedback", that fused "melody with obnoxious bursts of white noise."{{cite web|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16544/reviews/4143612|title=Jesus and Mary Chain – Deluxe Reissues|website=Drowned in Sound|date=30 September 2011|access-date=14 July 2012|last=Gourlay|first=Dom|archive-date=14 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714052521/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16544/reviews/4143612|url-status=dead}} Critics have noted the influence of classic '60s pop groups{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/xh25|title=Review of The Jesus And Mary Chain – Psychocandy|publisher=BBC Music|date=1 August 2007|access-date=14 July 2012|last=Jones|first=Chris}} such as the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones alongside the work of rock bands the Velvet Underground, the Stooges and Suicide on the album.
Lead vocals are handled by Jim Reid on this album, with the exception of "It's So Hard", sung by William Reid.
Release
The album includes the singles "Never Understand", "You Trip Me Up" and "Just Like Honey". Following reissue on CD in August 1986, the bonus track "Some Candy Talking", which was originally released on the namesake EP, was included on the album, only on the UK Blanco y Negro CDs released in 1986 and 1997; in the US, it was released on CD by Reprise in 1986 and American Recordings in 1993 without the bonus track. In 2006, the album was remastered and released in DualDisc format without "Some Candy Talking" to conform with the original playlist. In 2011, it was re-released (along with the other five studio albums) by Edsel in collaboration with Rhino as a two-CD set with extra tracks (singles, B-sides, demos and John Peel Sessions) and a DVD (NTSC, all-region).
Reception and legacy
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/psychocandy-mw0000652509|title=Psychocandy – The Jesus and Mary Chain|website=AllMusic|access-date=14 July 2012|last=Raggett|first=Ned}}
| rev2 = Mojo
| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Hissy fits|magazine=Mojo|issue=153|date=August 2006|last=Segal|first=Victoria|page=111}}
| rev3 = Pitchfork
| rev3score = 9.6/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11882-psychocandy-darklands-automatic-honeys-dead-stoned-dethroned/|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Automatic / Honey's Dead / Stoned & Dethroned|website=Pitchfork|date=4 August 2006|access-date=14 July 2012|last=Abebe|first=Nitsuh}}
| rev4 = Q
| rev4score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Automatic / Honey's Dead / Stoned & Dethroned|magazine=Q|issue=240|date=July 2006|last=Cameron|first=Keith|page=122}}
| rev5 = Record Collector
| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy|magazine=Record Collector|issue=394|date=November 2011|page=87}}
| rev6 = Rolling Stone
| rev6score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy|magazine=Rolling Stone|issue=1003|date=29 June 2006|last=Edwards|first=Gavin|author-link=Gavin Edwards (writer)|page=74}}
| rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book|chapter=The Jesus and Mary Chain|last=Sisario|first=Ben|author-link=Ben Sisario|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-link=Christian Hoard|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/429 429–430]}}
| rev8 = Select
| rev8score = 5/5{{cite magazine|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy / Darklands / Barbed Wire Kisses / Automatic / Honey's Dead / The Sound of Speed / Stoned and Dethroned|magazine=Select|issue=82|date=April 1997|last=Manning|first=Sarra|author-link=Sarra Manning|page=112}}
| rev9 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
| rev9score = 9/10{{cite book|chapter=Jesus and Mary Chain|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|publisher=Vintage Books|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=197–198}}
| rev10 = The Village Voice
| rev10score = A−{{cite news|url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv4-86.php|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide|newspaper=The Village Voice|date=1 April 1986|access-date=22 January 2016|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau}}
}}
On release Psychocandy received favourable reviews. Writing for NME, Andy Gill described the album as "a great searing citadel of beauty whose wall of noise, once scaled, offers access to endless vistas of melody and emotion",{{cite magazine|title='Candy' Is Dandy!|magazine=NME|date=23 November 1985|last=Gill|first=Andy|page=35}} while William Shaw of Smash Hits called it "a wonderful LP which should bring the Scottish brats the success they've missed out on so far".{{cite magazine|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psycho Candy|magazine=Smash Hits|volume=6|issue=23|date=20 November – 3 December 1985|last=Shaw|first=William|author-link=William Shaw (writer)|page=80}} Tim Holmes of Rolling Stone praised the band as "a perfect recombinant of every Edge City outlaw ethic ever espoused in rock."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thejesusandmarychain/albums/album/193252/review/6068217/psychocandy|title=The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=27 March 1986|access-date=14 July 2012|last=Holmes|first=Tim|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622010350/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thejesusandmarychain/albums/album/193252/review/6068217/psychocandy|archive-date=22 June 2008|url-status=dead}} In the end of year-roundups, the album placed at number two in NME
Subsequently, the album has frequently appeared in "best ever" album lists, such as Q magazine's "100 Greatest British Albums Ever", where it placed at number 88 in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104040314/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=4 January 2006|title=Rocklist.net ... Q magazine Recordings Of The Year|website=rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=14 July 2012}} In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at number 23 in its "40 Best Albums of the '80s" list.{{cite journal|journal=Q|issue=241|date=August 2006}} In 2003, the album was ranked number 268 on Rolling Stone magazine's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list,{{cite book| editor-last=Levy| editor-first=Joe| editor2-last=Van Zandt| editor2-first=Steven| editor2-link=Steven Van Zandt|title=Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|orig-year=2005|edition=3rd|year=2006|publisher=Turnaround|location=London|isbn=1-932958-61-4|oclc=70672814|ref=RS500}} and 269 in a 2012 revised list.{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/the-jesus-and-mary-chain-psychocandy-172546/| year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| publisher=Rolling Stone| access-date= September 10, 2019}} The magazine also ranked the album number 45 on its list of the 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time.{{Cite magazine |date=22 March 2013 |title=100 Best Debut Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-debut-albums-of-all-time-20130322/psychocandy-19691231 |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325071642/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-debut-albums-of-all-time-20130322/psychocandy-19691231 |archive-date=25 March 2013 |access-date=8 September 2017 }} AllMusic described the album as one that "created a movement without meaning to."
In 2002 Pitchfork listed Psychocandy as the 23rd best album of the 1980s.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5882-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s/8/|title=Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1980s|date=20 November 2002|website=Pitchfork|access-date=14 July 2012|archive-date=27 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227215721/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5882-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s/8/|url-status=dead}} In their 2018 update of the list, the album was listed at number 40.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s/?page=9|title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s|date=10 September 2018|website=Pitchfork|access-date=23 September 2018}} Slant Magazine listed the album at number 38 in its "Best Albums of the 1980s" list, saying, "Shaping fuzz into a potent, tactile instrument, The Jesus and Mary Chain helped establish the style of distortion-laden fogginess that would eventually become the foundation for shoegaze."{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/best-albums-of-the-1980s/P7|title=Best Albums of the 1980s|date=5 March 2012|website=Slant Magazine|access-date=14 July 2012}} The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=23 March 2010|publisher=Universe|isbn=978-0-7893-2074-2}} PopMatters included Psychocandy in their list of the "12 Essential 1980s Alternative Rock Albums" saying, "it may still be the only noise pop LP anyone ever really needs to own".{{cite web |last=Ramirez |first=AJ |url=https://www.popmatters.com/184696-184696-hope-despite-the-times-12-essential-alternative-rock-albums-f-2495629508.html?rebelltpage=2 |title=Hope Despite the Times: 12 Essential Alternative Rock Albums from the 1980s |website=PopMatters |date=11 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122054617/https://www.popmatters.com/184696-184696-hope-despite-the-times-12-essential-alternative-rock-albums-f-2495629508.html?rebelltpage=2 |access-date=11 February 2020|archive-date=22 January 2018 }}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = Jim Reid and William Reid, except where noted
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Just Like Honey
| length1 = 3:03
| title2 = The Living End
| length2 = 2:16
| title3 = Taste the Floor
| length3 = 2:56
| title4 = The Hardest Walk
| length4 = 2:40
| title5 = Cut Dead
| length5 = 2:47
| title6 = In a Hole
| length6 = 3:02
| title7 = Taste of Cindy
| length7 = 1:42
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = Never Understand
| length1 = 2:57
| title2 = Inside Me
| length2 = 3:09
| title3 = Sowing Seeds
| length3 = 2:50
| title4 = My Little Underground
| length4 = 2:31
| title5 = You Trip Me Up
| length5 = 2:26
| title6 = Something's Wrong
| length6 = 4:01
| title7 = It's So Hard
| length7 = 2:37
}}
Note: the 1986 CD release contains the extra track "Some Candy Talking", between "Taste of Cindy" and "Never Understand".
{{Track listing
| headline = 2011 2CD/1DVD reissue bonus tracks
| title15 = Suck
| length15 = 2:08
| title16 = Ambition
| writer16 = Vic Godard
| length16 = 3:31
| title17 = Just Out of Reach
| length17 = 2:09
| title18 = Boyfriend's Dead
| length18 = 1:43
| title19 = Head
| length19 = 3:53
| title20 = Cracked
| length20 = 3:48
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2011 reissue disc two
| title1 = Upside Down
| length1 = 3:00
| title2 = Vegetable Man
| writer2 = Syd Barrett
| length2 = 3:35
| title3 = In a Hole
| length3 = 2:41
| note3 = John Peel radio session, 23 October 1984
| title4 = You Trip Me Up
| length4 = 2:07
| note4 = John Peel radio session, 23 October 1984
| title5 = Never Understand
| length5 = 3:08
| note5 = John Peel radio session, 23 October 1984
| title6 = Taste the Floor
| length6 = 3:08
| note6 = John Peel radio session, 23 October 1984
| title7 = The Living End
| length7 = 2:15
| note7 = John Peel radio session, 3 February 1985
| title8 = Inside Me
| length8 = 3:01
| note8 = John Peel radio session, 3 February 1985
| title9 = Just Like Honey
| length9 = 2:49
| note9 = John Peel radio session, 3 February 1985
| title10 = Some Candy Talking
| length10 = 3:13
| note10 = John Peel radio session, 29 October 1985
| title11 = Psychocandy
| length11 = 2:01
| note11 = John Peel radio session, 29 October 1985
| title12 = You Trip Me Up
| length12 = 2:41
| note12 = John Peel radio session, 29 October 1985
| title13 = Cut Dead
| length13 = 2:47
| note13 = John Peel radio session, 29 October 1985
| title14 = Up Too High
| length14 = 3:44
| note14 = Portastudio demo, 1984/85
| title15 = Upside Down
| length15 = 3:10
| note15 = Portastudio demo, 1984/85
| title16 = Never Understand
| length16 = 3:18
| note16 = Portastudio demo, 1984/85
| title17 = Taste the Floor
| length17 = 3:06
| note17 = Portastudio demo, 1984/85
| title18 = In a Hole
| length18 = 2:42
| note18 = Portastudio demo, 1984/85
| title19 = Something's Wrong
| length19 = 3:27
| note19 = Portastudio demo, 1984/85
| title20 = Just Like Honey
| length20 = 2:58
| note20 = Alaska Studios demo, June 1985
| title21 = The Living End
| length21 = 2:16
| note21 = Alaska Studios demo, June 1985
| title22 = My Little Underground
| length22 = 2:33
| note22 = Alaska Studios demo, June 1985
| title23 = Never Understand
| length23 = 3:25
| note23 = alternate version
| title24 = Jesus Fuck
| length24 = 2:30
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2011 reissue bonus DVD
| title1 = Never Understand
| note1 = music video
| length1 = 3:02
| title2 = You Trip Me Up
| note2 = music video
| length2 = 2:27
| title3 = Just Like Honey
| note3 = music video
| length3 = 3:02
| title4 = In a Hole
| note4 = The Old Grey Whistle Test, 12 March 1985
| length4 = 3:40
| title5 = Riot at North London Polytechnic – interview and live clips
| note5 = The NewMusic, 15 March 1985
| length5 = 6:46
| title6 = Interview
| note6 = VRT, Belgium, 17 March 1985
| length6 = 2:29
| title7 = Never Understand
| note7 = VRT, Belgium, 17 March 1985
| length7 = 2:54
| title8 = Just Like Honey
| note8 = The Tube, 11 November 1985
| length8 = 3:08
| title9 = Inside Me
| note9 = The Tube, 11 November 1985
| length9 = 2:44
| title10 = Upside Down: The Creation Records Story
| note10 = film trailer
| length10 = 2:21
}}
Personnel
All personnel credits adapted from Psychocandy{{'}}s liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=Psychocandy|others=The Jesus and Mary Chain|year=1985|type=CD|publisher=Blanco y Negro Records|id=242 000-2}}
The Jesus and Mary Chain
- Jim Reid – vocals, guitar
- William Reid – vocals, guitar
- Douglas Hart – bass
- Bobby Gillespie – drums
Additional musicians
- Karen Parker – backing vocals {{small|(1)}}
- Laurence Verfaillie – backing vocals {{small|(7)}}{{cite web|url=http://aprilskies.amniisia.com/jamc/members_of_the_mary_chain.php|title=april skies - the jesus and mary chain|last=niina|website=aprilskies.amniisia.com}}
Technical
- The Jesus and Mary Chain – production
- John Loder – engineering
- Flood – engineer {{small|(8)}}
- Alan Moulder – assistant engineer {{small|(8)}}
Design
- Greg Allen – art direction
- Alastair Indge – sleeve photography
- Bleddyn Butcher – sleeve photography
- Chris Clown – sleeve photography
- Mike Laye – sleeve photography
- Rona McIntosh – sleeve photography
- Stuart Cassidy – sleeve photography
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for Psychocandy |
| scope="col"| Chart (1985–1986)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St. Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|edition=illustrated|page=154|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}
| 87 |
| {{album chart|Canada|92|chartid=0651|rowheader=true|access-date=10 February 2022}} |
| {{album chart|Netherlands|47|artist=The Jesus and Mary Chain|album=Psychocandy|rowheader=true|access-date=19 September 2021}} |
| scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media){{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/85/M&M-1985-12-02-OCR-Page-0007.pdf |title=European Hot 100 Albums |magazine=Eurotipsheet |volume=2 |issue=48 |date=2 December 1985 |page=15 |oclc=29800226 |via=World Radio History}}
| 81 |
| {{album chart|New Zealand|35|artist=The Jesus and Mary Chain|album=Psychocandy|rowheader=true|access-date=30 August 2019}} |
| {{album chart|UK2|31|date=19851124|rowheader=true|access-date=19 September 2021}} |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|188|artist=The Jesus and Mary Chain|rowheader=true|access-date=19 September 2021}} |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Psychocandy}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Jesus & Mary Chain|title=Psychocandy|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1985|certyear=1988|id=5236-1861-2|date=17 November 1988|access-date=19 September 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs master|5332|Psychocandy}}
- [https://archive.today/20130416105922/http://www.radio3net.ro/dbartists/supersearch/UHN5Y2hvIENhbmR5IChXRUEgSW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbCk=/Psycho%20Candy%20(WEA%20International) Psychocandy] (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
{{The Jesus and Mary Chain}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:The Jesus and Mary Chain albums