“People are too keen to vote to read the OP of a HGATR thread”
| Artist |
Rating |
| Aretha Franklin |
4.64 |
| Neil Young |
4.48 |
| Talking Heads |
4.39 |
| R.E.M. |
4.38 |
| Beastie Boys |
4.36 |
| Otis Redding |
4.34 |
| The Velvet Underground |
4.33 |
| David Bowie |
4.31 |
| The Beatles |
4.31 |
| Pixies |
4.30 |
| Leonard Cohen |
4.30 |
| The Cure |
4.28 |
| Björk |
4.27 |
| Marvin Gaye |
4.21 |
| Aphex Twin |
4.18 |
| Stevie Wonder |
4.17 |
| PJ Harvey |
4.17 |
| Nirvana |
4.15 |
| Joy Division |
4.15 |
| Radiohead |
4.13 |
| The Supremes |
4.13 |
| Prince |
4.11 |
| Wu-Tang Clan |
4.11 |
| Public Enemy |
4.08 |
| Pulp |
4.08 |
| Kate Bush |
4.07 |
| OutKast |
4.07 |
| Portishead |
4.03 |
| Kendrick Lamar |
3.97 |
| Bob Dylan |
3.97 |
| Jimi Hendrix |
3.93 |
| The Beach Boys |
3.93 |
| LCD Soundsystem |
3.92 |
| Joni Mitchell |
3.89 |
| Massive Attack |
3.89 |
| Bruce Springsteen |
3.84 |
| The Clash |
3.77 |
| Pet Shop Boys |
3.76 |
| Blondie |
3.73 |
| Rage Against The Machine |
3.71 |
| Bright Eyes |
3.71 |
| The Ramones |
3.67 |
| ABBA |
3.66 |
| Kanye West |
3.65 |
| Arcade Fire |
3.64 |
| Blur |
3.61 |
| The Smiths |
3.57 |
| Beyoncé |
3.54 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers |
3.48 |
| Jeff Buckley |
3.47 |
| Idlewild |
3.42 |
| Madonna |
3.40 |
| Manic Street Preachers |
3.39 |
| Fleetwood Mac |
3.39 |
| Toots & The Maytals |
3.35 |
| The White Stripes |
3.34 |
| Supergrass |
3.32 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins |
3.30 |
| Suede |
3.30 |
| Elton John |
3.28 |
| Kylie Minogue |
3.27 |
| The Specials |
3.26 |
| Sugababes |
3.22 |
| Rihanna |
3.19 |
| The Prodigy |
3.18 |
| Led Zeppelin |
3.16 |
| Pink Floyd |
3.15 |
| Jay-Z |
3.14 |
| Taylor Swift |
3.14 |
| Interpol |
3.12 |
| The Rolling Stones |
3.09 |
| Destiny’s Child |
3.05 |
| The Strokes |
3.03 |
| Elvis Presley |
3.02 |
| Weezer |
3.00 |
| Girls Aloud |
2.93 |
| Britney Spears |
2.85 |
| Belle And Sebastian |
2.85 |
| Metallica |
2.81 |
| Green Day |
2.81 |
| Madness |
2.80 |
| Basement Jaxx |
2.75 |
| The Jam |
2.75 |
| Oasis |
2.71 |
| Whitney Houston |
2.69 |
| Lady Gaga |
2.61 |
| Queen |
2.60 |
| Billy Joel |
2.57 |
| Bloc Party |
2.41 |
| Eminem |
2.38 |
| Mariah Carey |
2.32 |
| Blink-182 |
2.21 |
| Adele |
2.05 |
| Kings Of Leon |
2.01 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers |
1.90 |
| The Spice Girls |
1.81 |
Today: Primal Scream…
Don’t think I’ve listened to an album but have actively disliked all of their music I’ve heard. 1
1 Like
Weird one for me. Really like Screamadelica and always have but everything else they’ve ever done has left me absolutely cold. Just don’t get it apart from that 1 brilliant record. 2 maybe? 3? Who knows.
Now that’s a thinker - there is no other band with a bigger distance between their great records and their shite records…
Sonic Flower Groove 2/5
Screamadelica 5/5
Give Out… 1/5 (-7/5 for Rocks)
Vainshing Point 5/5
XTRMNTR 5/5 (probably a top 10 album OAT for me)
Evil Heat 4/5
Riot City Blues 2/5 (Actually quite like Country Girl, even though its objectively horrendous)
Beautiful Future - haven’t heard
More Light - 3/5
Chaosmosis - 3/5
I would lean towards a 5/5, as there are very few bands with three 5* records. Seen them live twice (both at Glastonbury) and the pattern was the same. One was horrible, with Gillespie repeatedly shouting about how rock and roll they were, abusing the crowd and eventually having his mic cut off when he tried to encore with a John Lennon cover despite having alienated 99% of the people there. The other they did Screamadelica in its entirety and were entirely mesmerising.
Help?/5
EDIT: have gone for a 5, as there are going to be a load of people who have only heard the retro-rock shite and give them a 1, aren’t there?
10 Likes
A really interesting band up to and including Evil Heat - but pretty awful since.
Screamadelica was always on in the house when I was a kid, Loaded is obviously played to death but reminds me of fond memories of my childhood;.
The XTRMNR era was so thrilling, Shields turned them into a different band completely and the gigs around that time were insane.
Watching them live at Primavera last year was an extremely sad experience, felt like a pub rock band. But they seem like a GBOL so its a high 3 from me.
3 Likes
Difficult one. I love Screamadelica with a passion but I think that its brilliance is substantially down to the talents of others (RIP Andy Weatherall). I’ve liked other records by them a lot for a while but never go back to them.
There’s something about the protean nature of their career than makes them seem insubstantial and inauthentic to me. When one of their records comes out you listen to hear what they are doing this time, but they don’t really have a strong enough personality in themselves to impose themselves on any of the genres they’ve flitted through. You always hear the shadows of other, more original, artists flitting through the shadows of their records.
They are probably a 2.5 for me because, despite everything I’ve just said, I do actually quite enjoy their music at times. I’ve rounded down to a two having wavered between 2 and 3.
2 Likes
Screamadelica is basically perfect, XTRMNTR is brilliant, Evil Heat isn’t too far behind it. The Live In Japan album? Incredible.
Everything else? Utter shit. 3/5.
10 Likes
Was properly obsessed by Screamadelica when it came out and for years would have said it was in my all time top 10 albums. Wouldn’t now but would still defend I think.
Actually listened to Vanishing Point and Xtrmntr really recently for the first time in years and think they both hold up really well. Edit 1 track out of each and they are great. Was really surprised tbh. VP I think is underrated.
Aside from that I think the records all really miss the mark. Found the Rolling Stones/rock 'n roll debauchery stuff tiresome but they seem to have morphed into an entertaining festival band which seems a decent outcome for a band that’s been going so long.
Generous 4 for those 3 albums as tbh there arent many indie acts I actually like 3 albums by.
2 Likes
Screamadelica, Vanishing Point and XTRMNTR were three of the defining albums of my time at uni. Loved them all. Haven’t listened to them lots since then but reckon all three would still sound good now.
I’d vote higher for a band who have had three amazing albums and seven shite albums than for a band who have had ten decent-ish albums, even if their career average is lower. Going for a 4 here.
4 Likes
I love Screamadelica and had an amazing time seeing them perform it at Glastonbury 2011. I don’t really care about any of their other albums.
- Just for Screamadelica.
I think Country Girl is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard.
21 Likes
I’ve gone 4. Same albums as most, XTRMNTR, Screamadelica and Vanishing Point, though I’m also more favourable towards Give Out But Don’t Give Up than most; loved Rocks in particular as a teenager making first tentative steps branching out from pop and britpop, and whilst I can see how derivative it is now, I still quite enjoy it.
Screamadelic might be the most over rated album of all time. Impressively dull poece of work that
Best thibg Bohby Gillespie ever did was look moody whilst people danced on Newsnight
9 Likes
I’ve gone with a four. Agree with others in that the BIG 3 (Scream, VP, XTRMNTR) are all absolute bangers, but the other albums tail off considerably. However, I think there’s a lot more to enjoy in most of their other albums than many give them credit for. I actually really like Chaosmosis, despite its really shit title, and the Stones-aping of Give Out. Riot City Blues is an absolute stinker though. Absolutely terrible.
Also, the two times I’ve seen them live, I have had an absolute blast. Once was on the XTRMNTR tour and then much later on the festival circuit around Chaosmosis. Just a whole load of fun.
They are wildly inconsistent, but when they are on they are really on. Screamadelica is a genuinely era defining record, one that reminds you just how good music can be. Maybe it was all Weatherall, maybe it wasn’t, but it says Primal Scream on the front (well, the spine and back). I like Give Out as well, then XTRMNTR and Vanishing Point are both really strong records. Chuck Echo Dek in, which everyone seems to have forgotten about, and you’ve got five 5* albums. There aren’t a lot of acts on the HGATR list that you can say that about. There is interesting stuff scattered through the other albums as well, in varying degrees. Maybe not a full 5/5 but they’re a high 4.
2 Likes
Hard one this. Grew up with screamadelica as one of the canon albums and fairly enjoyed it but soon grew bored. Used to rock a tape of Give out… as it was only a fiver when it came out from HMV. Was alright in a trad kinda way. Vanishing Point was proper enjoyable as was xtrmntr but i wasn’t that arsed until the reading show in 2000 which was incredible. They were on fire and were easily the best surprise of the weekend. i couldn’t believe everyone still was holding on to Screamadelica as the classic album/period after that…although i think now that’s changed a bit now as that period is seen classic as well.
I dunno, one of those where any positive rating will seem to high and negative too low. and 3 doesn’t help anyone.
Screamdaelica is shit though.
1 Like
Yeah, Chaosmosis is the best they’ve done in a while. Not particularly world-shaking, but really enjoyable in places.
1 Like
