Primal Scream - Screamadelica
Studio album by  Primal Scream
Released	23 September 1991
Recorded	1990–91
Studio	Jam Studios, Townhouse Studios, Bark Studios, and Olympic Studios, London Eden Studios, Chiswick Primal Scream's studio, Hackney
Genre	Alternative rock alternative dance neo-psychedelia
Length	62:31
Label	Creation Sire
Producer	Andrew Weatherall Hugo Nicholson The Orb Hypnotone Jimmy Miller
Primal Scream chronology
Primal Scream (1989) Screamadelica (1991) Give Out But Don't Give Up (1994)
Singles from Screamadelica
"Loaded" Released: February 1990 "Come Together" Released: August 1990 "Higher Than the Sun" Released: June 1991 "Don't Fight It, Feel It" Released: August 1991 "Movin' On Up" Released: October 1991 (United States) "Damaged" Released: August 1992 (Japan)

  "Screamadelica" is the third studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream. It was first released on 23 September 1991 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and on 8 October 1991 in the United States by Sire records. The album marked a significant departure from the band's early indie rock sound, drawing inspiration from the blossoming house music scene and associated drugs such as LSD and MDMA.

"Screamadelica" was the band's first album to be a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the UK Albums Chart upon its release. It received positive reviews from critics, and has been frequently named one of the best albums of the 1990s in various polls. It won the first Mercury Music Prize in 1992, and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

History

Drawing inspiration from the house music scene, which was blossoming at the time, the band enlisted house DJs Andrew Weatherall and Terry Farley on producing duties, although the album also contains a wide range of other influences including gospel and dub.

Although the band wrote a track also called "Screamadelica", it does not appear on the album. The ten-minute dance track was also produced by Andrew Weatherall and sung by Denise Johnson. It appears on the Dixie-Narco EP, released in 1992, and is featured in the opening credits of the now rare "Screamadelica" VHS video tape.

The album includes "Loaded", which was a top twenty hit single in the UK. Dance DJ Andrew Weatherall began remixing "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have", from their previous album, and the resulting track disassembled the song, adding a drum loop from an Italian bootleg mix of Edie Brickell's "What I Am" and a sample from the Peter Fonda B-movie The Wild Angels. The single "Movin' on Up" was the band's breakthrough hit in the United States, reaching number 2 on the Modern Rock tracks chart, and also making number 28 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

"Screamadelica" was influenced by the Beach Boys' album "Pet Sounds" (1966). The band's Bobby Gillespie says that after discovering the album, their songs became much softer.

Artwork

"Screamadelica" was among ten album covers chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps issued in January 2010.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Los Angeles Times
Mojo
NME	10/10
Pitchfork	9.0/10
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Select	5/5
Uncut

"Screamadelica" was well received by critics. In a contemporary review for Spin, Simon Reynolds found the record "totally mind-blowing" whose best songs were "almost unclassifiable". AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Screamadelica "an album that transcends its time and influence." It was voted number 135 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 100 Records 3rd Edition (2000). Pitchfork praised the album on their 2003 list of the "Top 100 albums of the '90s," saying: "Screamadelica's atmospheric and imaginative hybrid of past, present and future captured its moment in vivid color and splendor, and it still radiates with a kaleidoscopic glow."

In a 2009 review, the BBC hailed the album as "a solid gold classic." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice, on the other hand, assigned it a "neither" rating, indicating an album that does not warrant repeated listening despite coherent craft and one or two highlights.

Accolades

• The album won the first Mercury Music Prize in 1992.
• It was Melody Maker's album of the year in 1991.
• It was Select's album of the year in 1991.
• In 1996, Select named it as the number 1 album of the 1990s.
• NME placed it at no. 3 in its "Best Albums of 1991" list.
• In 2003, NME placed it at no. 23 in its "100 Best Albums Ever" list. In 2006, the magazine also placed it at no. 15 in its "Greatest British Albums Ever" list.
• NME also named it the "Druggiest Album Ever" in 2011.
• In 2000, Q placed the album at number 18 on their list of the "100 Greatest British Albums." In 2001, Q placed it at number 81 on a list of the "Top 100 Albums of All Time." The album ranked number 2 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" list.
• In 2003, Pitchfork placed it at number 77 in a list of the "Top 100 Albums of the '90s."
• Also in 2003, the album topped The Scotsman's list of 100 Best Scottish Albums.
• It appeared in Channel 4's list of the "100 Greatest Albums of All Time."
• According to Acclaimed Music, a site which uses statistics to numerically represent critical reception, Screamadelica is the 84th most acclaimed album of all time, and the 11th most acclaimed of the 1990s.

"Movin' on Up" was used on the previous Telewest Broadband commercials before Virgin Media bought them out. Subsequently, Bacardi Spirits used the song on a UK television ad. The song was also featured in the popular game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on alternative radio station Radio X. A Northern soul version was also recorded by Edwin Starr for the cult British surfing film Blue Juice.

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of French electronic duo Daft Punk, who drew inspiration from the rock and acid house in the United Kingdom during the early 1990s, referred to Screamadelica as the record that "put everything together in terms of genre".

Commercial performance

The album reached number 8 on the UK Albums Chart, and was later certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The album has now sold 680,000 copies as of September 2011.

Legacy

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of the album, Primal Scream performed the entire album live at Olympia London in West London on 26 and 27 November 2010. The performance included a full gospel choir and horn section. The first of these gigs was broadcast live on BBC 6 Music, presented by Steve Lamacq. These gigs were followed by a UK tour in March 2011, where the band performed the album in full.

Track listing

All tracks written by Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes, and Robert Young, except "Slip Inside This House" written by Roky Erickson and Tommy Hall.

Notes

• A ^ The lyrics of "Slip Inside This House" were truncated and altered in places in comparison to the song's original recording by the 13th Floor Elevators. A notable example of such modification is in the chorus, where "Slip inside this house" was altered to "Trip inside this house".
• B ^ On the American pressings of the album, the Terry Farley mix of "Come Together" was featured in place of the original UK mix. The Farley mix runs 8:06.

Samples

• "Movin' on Up" contains an interpolation of "Yoo Doo Right" by Can.
• "Slip Inside this House" is a cover of "Slip Inside this House" by 13th Floor Elevators, and contains samples of "Sex Machine" by Sly and the Famoly Stone, and the Amen break.
• "Don't Fight It, Feel It", contains an interpolation from "(I'm a) Roadrunner" by Holland-Dozier-Holland.
• "Higher Than the Sun" contains samples of "Wah Wah Man" by Young-Holt Unlimited, and "Get Away Jordan" by Take 6.
• "Inner Flight" contains samples of "The Great Pretender" by Brian Eno, "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya" by Dr. John, and "Whoa Buck" by Alan Lomax.
• "Come Together" contains an interpolation of "The Dub Station" by Tommy McCook and the Aggrovators. UK versions contain a sample of a speech given by Jesse Jackson, while US versions contain dialogue from the film Sex, Lies and Videotape, as well as the guitar riff from Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds".
• "Loaded" contains samples from "What I Am" by Edie Brickell, "I Don't Want to Lose Your Love" by the Emotions, "I'm Losing More than I'll Ever Have (Remix)" by Primal Scream, and dialogue from the film The Wild Angels.
• "I'm Comin' Down" contains dialogue from the film Paris, Texas. Personnel

Primal Scream

• Bobby Gillespie – lead vocals except on "Slip Inside This House"
• Andrew Innes – guitar
• Robert Young – guitar, lead vocals on "Slip Inside This House"
• Martin Duffy – keyboards, piano
• Henry Olsen – bass, guitar solo on "Damaged"
• Phillip "Toby" Tomanov – drums, percussion

Guests

• Denise Johnson – lead vocals on tracks 3; 6 (alongside a sample of Jesse Jackson): backing vocals on tracks 1; 5; 7
• Jah Wobble – bass on track 10

Additional personnel

• Jimmy Miller, the Orb, Hypnotone, Andrew Weatherall, Hugo Nicholson – production
• Paul Anthony Taylor – programming
• Dave Burnham – engineering
• Jimmy Miller – mixing

Release history

Singles

Primal Scream - Screamadelica

UK Creation CRELP 076 stereo (1991) Double LP 1st press.

Album produced by Andrew Weatherall, Jimmy Miller and Hugo Nicholson.

Both vinyl records have remained in excellent condition.

Audio quality is very clear and strong throughout.

All four record centre labels are clean, unmarked, and free from tears, stains or stickers.

The album's original hinged cover has remained in excellent condition, displaying only minor signs of wear.

The album cover has a strong hinge and spine, displaying very clear, printed script.