Screamadelica Live
THERE are very limited options for somebody looking to be transported back to the early 90s, while avoiding the dangers of donning a shell suit and eating a fistful of ecstasy. Last Sunday however, Glaswegian rock titans Primal Scream offered a free nostalgic trip back.
THERE are very limited options for somebody looking to be transported back to the early 90s, while avoiding the dangers of donning a shell suit and eating a fistful of ecstasy. Last Sunday however, Glaswegian rock titans Primal Scream offered a free nostalgic trip back.
Following the ever-growing recent trend of taking your discography's best album on the road, patrons at The Guernsey Festival of Performing Arts were treated to the band's 1991 Mercury Award-winning LP Screamadelica in its live format.
The album is seminal – its cover art has even appeared on a postage stamp – and it boasts a progressive and varied track listing, with a handful of widely known numbers. Hosting such an innovative blend of genres and paces, it was guaranteed to stand the test of time, and twenty years on it still seems relevant.
The crowd at the Rabbit Warren proved this, with the big top tent teeming with fans of all ages, each eager to join in the trip.
They were hooked in from the start by the lively first few album tracks. Movin' On Up, a feel-good Rolling Stones-esque track, is the kind of song everyone has heard before (even if you think you haven't) and so any level of fan would have been allured.
The Italo House inspired Don't Fight It, Feel It really set the street carnival feel in motion with its infectious whistle melody and beat, along with the stunning vocals of guest Mary Pearce. The crowd billowed and swayed throughout, showing more appreciation than you could shake a glow-stick at.
The album was delivered in a slightly different order, once the initial big guns had been drawn, and the middle section covered, out came some of the trippier numbers such as Higher Than The Sun and the stripped back Damaged. This offered a refractory period for all, before the more interactive romps Loaded and Come Together which induced a gospel like chant-along.
The material married well with the psychedelic visuals and very accomplished stage sound and the energy that ricocheted between the audience and the band was arresting.
Bobby Gillespie performed with the kind of verve you'd expect from a frontman with such a wealth of experience. He looked the part in his glimmering silver jacket and seemed to feel at home anywhere on the stage. His arms flailed wildly, as if controlled by two drunken puppeteers who were each oblivious to the other's work.
With fifteen minutes to go after the album material on offer was saturated, the band launched in to a rockier set of classic material, with the likes of Country Girl being heard. Gillespie then posed a well-received question 'Guernsey, are you ready to get your rocks off?' before launching in to the groove-driven Rocks, their highest charting hit.
It seemed Guernsey was ready to get their rocks off and party like it was 1991. The set was a rewarding experience for fans young and old and a smart booking for the first in what will hopefully be a long series of festivals.
