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Amazon.co.uk Review
About a decade after its release, William Reid of the Mary Chain described Psychocandy as "one of the greatest records ever made". The remark is indicative of a) William Reid's chronic immodesty where his band are concerned and b) the unarguable truth. Every indie guitar group since that has tried to either lend portent to a sweet melody by drenching it in feedback or render a messy guitar wipe-out palatable by stringing a semblance of a tune through it--and that's all of them--got the idea from Psychocandy. Given that it has been reinvented, borrowed from and downright burgled continuously since its release, it is further testament to Psychocandy that it still sounds so fresh in its own right. William and Jim Reid displayed from the off an innate understanding of how best to balance their acute melodic sense with the racket that emerged from their guitar amplifiers. "Some Candy Talking" and "Just Like Honey" are just two of the tracks which, it seems reasonable to believe, would have drawn applause from both Brian Wilson and John Cage. --Andrew Mueller
Review
For anyone who wasn't old enough to be there, the mid 80s were a very odd time to be alive and listening to music. While the world bowed down to the Smiths and U2, the music press scoured the earth for new skinny white boy rock sensations. But even the achingly hip couldn't have predicted the mutant offspring of William and Jim Reid; two skinny white boys from East Kilbride.
The seismic shift was enormous, but the tools were blunt and crude. A cocktail of speed and hallucinogens mixed with equal parts Beach Boys' melody and Velvets' minimalism, all dressed in leather and back-combed hair ; suddenly rock seemed as confrontational as it had ten years before. Heralding their vinyl arrival with a series of provocatively short gigs (average length: ten minutes) staged by nascent scene-maker Alan McGee, the brothers Reid - aided by the brain-dead stomp of a young Bobby Gillespie on drums - set forth their stall of proto-shoegazing.
Sheets of feedback over inept tribalism and sweetened by doleful, yet amazingly sweet vocals; Psychocandy was everything the hype promised. It still sounds distinctly antisocial, but it was to be possibly the single hugest influence on the next generation of guitar bands. From the blitzed-out stonerisms of Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine to the angry grunge of Frank Black's Pixies, few who listened remained untouched by this sonic calling card.
The reason it worked was their innate love of classic 60s pop and psychedelia as much as the Stooges. The ghosts of Love and Phil Spector haunt the wasted grooves of "Just Like Honey" and "You Trip Me Up", while the lurching metal mayhem of "In A Hole" would resurrect the in-yer-face Detroit icons like the MC5. The difference of course being the general air of post-modern disinterest that made it all so alluring.
Weirdly, their truly classic pop moment came just after this album with their single 'Some Candy Talking'. But Psychocandy remains a touchstone for all the people who ever believed that believed that rock was for waking you up. It still provides that visceral thrill! --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
OK, you will of heard that this album is many things; grating, noisy, simple, beautiful whatever. One thing that you have to remember is that when it was released it took apart the music scene at the time. Emerging out of the dross that was electro-pop, thumbing a nose at the pretty boys of DD and Wham etc, this album (and subsequent live shows) defined a whole era of alternative music to follow ( MBV, Pixies et al) that is now going through a re-surgence. The basis of all the songs are simple 12 bar, but it is the imagination of the Reid Brothers to craft something unique at the time that is the genius of this recor. To the generation that heard Psychocandy for the first time, it had the same impact as Nirvana's Nevermind a decade later. Buy it, play it and remind yourself that British Indie music has everything to thank this album for.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
bought this album on day of release in 1985 as a 14 year old just gettin over being into queen and wham.heard never understand and thought what the hell have i been missing .totally changed my listening habits forever.no record before(and none since)has affected me so dramatically.every song on this album is a classic pop song,some are hidden behind layers of feedback ,others such as just like honey,and taste of cindy are perfect pop tunes.it influenced so many bands since from the brilliant(my bloody valentine)to the awful(black rebel motorcycle club).i stopped listening to this album about 15 years ago cos i had played it almost every day for 5 years.listened to it again last week for 1st time since,still had that same adrenalin rush like when i was a (very)spotty teen.the main point of this review though is ,at the end of the 80s nme did a poll to find the best and most influential album of the decade and psychocandy won ,yet when there is a reader/viewer top 100 poll psychocandy doesnt make the list,how can an album as great as this be so totally overlooked.its as tuneful as the stone roses,and as influential as ok computer ,which seem to dominate the lists now.people should go and listen to this album and give the jesus and mary chain the credit they deserve
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The first few times you listen to Psychocandy, virtually all you hear are shards of feedback, Jim Reid's monotone mumbling and the echoey thud of Bobby Gillespie's drum. Nothing wrong if you like that kind of thing, but the more you listen, the more you become aware that every song has a tune buried beneath the wall of white noise. Noise-for-noise's-sake is one thing, but using it to cunningly disguise the fact that you are, in essence, a pop band was, and still is, something else entirely.
There has never been an LP quite like Psychocandy. It still sounds as scary now as it did back then. It remains totally unique; oft imitated, but never bettered.
There has never been an LP quite like Psychocandy. It still sounds as scary now as it did back then. It remains totally unique; oft imitated, but never bettered.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An 80's masterpiece.
Along with The Smiths these guys are crowned as the savers of 'guitar music' of the 80's. Now everyone rants and raves about The Jesus & Mary Chain but most don't go further than... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jack WMS
Heard it all before.
To read the reviews here, you'd think the JAMC invented this style, "without them you wouldn't have the pixies etc;"
Maybe not, but without songs like "Sister Ray" + European... Read more
Maybe not, but without songs like "Sister Ray" + European... Read more
Published 13 months ago by The Loner
A must-have album! But not perfect...
This album is a must have for any fan of indie rock, Brit Rock in the past 30 years.
Also worth mentioning, over a quarter of a century since it began and a decade after... Read more
Also worth mentioning, over a quarter of a century since it began and a decade after... Read more
Published 13 months ago by scott w
Simply FANTASTIC
Psychocandy paved the way towards shoegaze, by infusing dream-pop (already established way back in the 60's with songs such as "Sunday Morning" by The Velvet Underground) with lots... Read more
Published 15 months ago by P. Frizelle
Over-rated slice of British psychedelia
Jesus And Marychain coined 'feedback-pop' which was a variation on the psychedelic revival of the 1980s. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Daniel Margrain
Still room in the Stable
A whole plethora of experimentation went wild on the skin, shredded noise from six metal strings and crooned, screamed, dipped and soared in the 80's, a time of unremmitting... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Dr. Delvis Memphistopheles
A TRUE CLASSIC!!!! NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY!!!
Some reviewers might not get this album and think, what's all the hype about!?.....it's overrated!!!
If you were not in your teens while this album came out... Read more
If you were not in your teens while this album came out... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2007 by Faridon Telefoni
a teeny tiny bit overrated?
I mean its good , there are some truly great tunes in here but its not as amazing as people make out....its yr typical indie band with massive amounts of feedback ... Read more
Published on 27 May 2007 by Crazy Rocket Guy In Superman Outfite Ready To Conquer The World
maybe a touch over-rated?
This album is frequently praised by critics as being hugely influencial and I wouldnt argue that, but I do think many people get a bit carried away when they review it. Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2004
15 years on and still stunning
The sad thing is that probably only people looking for JAMC will ever readthis review, and they'll already know the truth about Psychocandy. Read more
Published on 28 April 2004 by Ian Peter Burrows
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