This writer first encountered East Kilbride's finest when the REID brothers first brought THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN to Liverpool Polytechnic early in 1985. Even in the provinces, the excitement was palpable at that stage and the brothers rewarded us with a vintage 35-minute set and the ear-splitting feedback was still ringing in my ears 48 hours later.
Even though there were no riots or smashed PA systems like at several London colleges, most of us came away feeling we'd witnessed an event and revisiting the JAMC'S classic early singles "Upside Down," "Never Understand" and "You Trip Me Up" again plugs you directly into the excitement again now. The thing is, people tend to forget that - like SONIC YOUTH and PERE UBU - THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN were always WITH rock, not against it, and despite the screeing white noise, there was always waves of melody seeping out from these early 45s and by "You Trip Me Up" it's becoming patently obvious.
The JAMC'S debut album "Psychocandy" is (rightly) regarded as a classic, but when they unveiled "Darklands" in 1987, there were almost DYLAN-like cries of "Judas" as the band finally dropped the feedback. Hindsight shows this is surely inevitable, otherwise the JAMC would have become a tawdry parody and one listen to the album bridging, low-watt PHIL SPECTOR brilliance of the opiated "Just Like Honey" and "So Like Candy" sister singles makes it patently obvious that The JAMC could cut classic POP, admittedly with a wicked edge.
Curiously, although "April Skies" retains its' chugging, invigorating brilliance, both "Happy When It Rains" and "Darklands" itself sound dated now (maybe it's that damn drum machine?), although there's no such problem with the (un) holy triumvirate of Glam-bothering, Eddie Cochran-shagging singles "Sidewalking", "Blues From A Gun" and "Head On." I especially get off on the way JIM REID cheekily apes BOB DYLAN'S "Subterranean Homesick Blues" on "Blues >From A Gun", when he sings: "You're too young kid, you're gonna get hit!"
Meanwhile, the songs surrounding the acclaimed "Honey's Dead" album from 1992 provoke mixed emotions these days. I can still relate to the blasphemous slouch of "Reverence" ("I wanna die like Jesus Christ") and the neat, revved-up "Far Gone And Out", but "Rollercoaster" and "Snakedriver" are MARY CHAIN by numbers, and "Almost Gold" is too drippy for words and undoubtedly the low point of this comprehensive collection.
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By comparison, the singles culled from the under-rated "Stoned And Dethroned" (1994) and the much-maligned final album "Munki" (1998) all sound relevant and thrilling. "Stoned And Dethroned" featured a (generally) lighter sound and JIM'S "Come On" and the gorgeous HOPE SANDOVAL collaboration "Sometimes Always" (where she duets with then-beau WILLIAM) are both standouts. Meantime, "Cracking Up" revisits the band's earlier nihilism with blank, FALL-style riffing and the "answering" songs, WILLIAM'S "I Hate Rock 'n' Roll" and JIM'S "I love Rock 'n' Roll" terminate the collection in fine style. "I Hate…"of course, is a commentary on unscrupulous biz tactics ("I love the BBC when they're pissing on me"), but somehow it's fitting that they end with "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" because…even when they were about to split up…it's blatantly plain they did.
"21 Songs" is a bumper collection that - despite the odd derivative moment - brings back home the reasons why JIM and WILLIAM REID created such a stir during the mid to late 1980s and occasionally beyond. Despite the none-more moody image, they never quite cut the messianic mustard at times, but for some of the greatest songs about rain and Jesus, you still need look no further.
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