Upside Down: The Best Of [Double CD]

I've got to get right to the point here: This is essential listening for any proper music fan, especially fans of Rock music. I'm not going to list all the influences on The Jesus And Mary Chain's music as there are too many to mention. The band were totally music obsessed, to the point where they spent five years on the dole, sat in their bedroom crafting their genius plan - a combination of pop and chaotic noise - and stockpiled songs onto a 4 track. To give people a quick idea of the bands early sound think; the Ronettes, the Ramones, the previously mentioned Beach Boys and Velvet Underground, a twist of Einsturzende Neubauten and variation of Phil Spector treatment, and you could be close.

Even though the JAMC had an obvious impact on the `Shoegaze scene' I wouldn't really put this band in the same category because I feel they had so much more to offer than just fuzzy distortion and feedback. Much of the criticism of the band is that they didn't often move away from a formula of 3 chords and their trademark guitar noise, but whenever they did make a different record (i.e. Stoned & Dethroned) they got panned for that too! So they really couldn't win either way but what makes this band so special is that they stuck to their guns, did things their own way, and were completely committed to their cause - to make brilliant records!

So... If you're not already accustomed to the band's sound you could be put off by the sheer noise on much of this album, but after a couple of listens the pop melodies and structures will shine through, showing how well the band understood both pop music and the music made by their rock'n'roll predecessors. Also, I will mention that I can't really recommended `Upside Down' to people who worship at the altar of the `guitar', or love Steve Vai, because this band were never technically minded and often sound like they're bashing their guitars against amps (which they probably did). However, if you love chugging power chords, bucket loads of overdrive distortion and reverb, place your order now!!!! I must stress though that the whole album isn't full on noise and there are much lighter moments on tracks like 'God Help Me', 'New York City' and `Drop' (also covered by Hope Sandoval.)

This compilation is a fantastic introduction for new listeners and covers most of their singles, a handful of tracks from each album and a few B-sides. It also contains `All Things Must Pass' from the series `Heroes' and a previously unavailable song (on any JAMC record) `45rpm'. Basically what you've got here is wall to wall brilliant songs and I couldn't pick out a weak track even if I tried, but I am a huge fan of the band so I suppose that's just me. For today's music listeners, this album will be of particular interest to people who like the Ravenottes, A Place To Bury Strangers and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

If you missed out on the previous '21 Singles' or can't afford `The Negative Power Of Thinking' get this because it really does what it says on the tin, it's the best stuff on one album. It's missing a couple of other classic songs, `Taste Of Cindy' and `Snakerdriver', so it's not completely perfect but almost! If I had to make one bad comment about The Jesus And Mary Chain, it's that THEY DIDN'T MAKE ENOUGH RECORDS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Being a fan of JAMC from Day 1, this is without doubt their most comprehensive Best Of Compilation to date featuring all their biggest hits plus previously unreleased tracks and B sides such as their incredible version of Syd Barrett's Vegetable Man. So why only four stars? Well for me there are two glaring omissions already alluded to by previous reviewers, Snakedriver and Coast to Coast, two JAMC classics. Personally, I would also have like to have seen the inclusion of the extended versions of April Skies & Happy When it Rains which as far as I am aware have never been released on CD. Having said that, this is still an essential buy for new fans and old fans alike. Jesus and Mary Chain, as it says on the cover, are arguably the last great British Rock'n'Roll band and sadly greatly underrated. Their influence is still very evident in todays alternative music from the likes of BRMC, The Raveonettes and The Manhatten Love Suicides to name just a few.

For some reason, my memory of JAMC is that of a band that made one classic innovative album ( the debut ) folowed by a hasty decline with an increasing lack of ideas over the following years. After taking a chance on this album, I realised what I'd been missing.
This is a superb compilation full of surprises, many of which I've never heard before. My only gripe? One of the best rock n' roll tracks of all time, " Coast to coast ", is not included.