Automatic [Import, Original recording reissued]

Jesus & Mary Chain | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 25, 1995)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Original recording reissued
• Label: Wea International
• ASIN: B00000I2UC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,609 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Here Comes Alice

2. Coast To Coast

3. Blues From A Gun

4. Between Planets

5. UV Ray

6. Her Way Of Praying

7. Head On

8. Take It

9. Half Way To Crazy

10. Gimme Hell

11. Drop

12. Sunray

Editorial Reviews

The band's third album was originally released in 1989 and marked a shift to using computers to generate both the beats and the bass. But the sound of the band was more aggressive thanks to producer/engineer Alan Moulder tightening his studio technique. Highlights include "Head On", "Blues From A Gun" and "Gimme Hell".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unjustly neglected, December 8, 2007

By 

Leaman G. Crews - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Automatic (Audio CD)

AUTOMATIC has been unfairly dissed over the years as a "sellout," a "disaster" or, as the Spin Alternative Record Guide said in 1995, an "ordinary hard rock record."

If only your "ordinary hard rock" record sounded like this.

Yes, there are drum machines. But guess what, DARKLANDS had them, as did a bunch of JAMC albums in the future. On the one track here with live drums, "Gimme Hell," the drums sound exactly the same as on the other tracks. The brothers Reid were going for a specific sound, and they got it either through live drummers or not.

Lack of feedback? I invite you to listen to "Coast to Coast," "Blues From a Gun," "Between Planets," "Her Way of Praying," "Head On" or "Gimme Hell" at full blast and defend this opinion. No, it's not the proto-shoegazing feedback of PSYCHOCANDY, but even proper shoegaze bands dropped those tricks after their first record or two.

As always, the Reid brothers are amazing songwriters. It doesn't matter if they drape their songs with PSYCHOCANDY style feedback, DARKLANDS type gothness, or the grace and beauty of the mellow STONED AND DETHRONED. The genius of their songwriting shines through, and any true fan will tell you that AUTOMATIC is just as awesome as anything else the band did.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Way of Praying, March 17, 2002

By 

Greekfreak (Pusan Korea (South)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Automatic (Audio CD)

This turned out to be the first JAMC album I would buy, though it was certainly not the last. My older brother wore out LP copies of 'Barbed Wire Kisses', 'Darklands' and 'Psychocandy' claiming each album was better than the one before it.

So I picked up where he left off, just a whimsical purchase if there ever was one.

The crisp production did little harm to the album; 'How the Gods Kill', 'Raw Power', 'Never Mind the Bollocks' all sound like they should be blaring out of a convertible cruising somewhere down route 66. So does 'Automatic.' Although the drum machine detracts a little bit from the overall impact of the songs (for evidence, check out the "Sidewalking" cousin: "Gimme Hell", which utilizes live drums), they're still the most rockin' A-sides the brothers Reid would ever put out.

"Coast To Coast", "Blues From a Gun", "Between Planets", "Head On" and "Here Comes Alice" represent the true nature of the Chain, and are probably their most underrated tunes in a reasonably vast catalogue of fuzztone pop.

Pick it up and be amazed at your own discretion.....

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as alterna rock gets, May 10, 2005

By 

Christopher Bushman (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Automatic (Audio CD)

It is pretty funny to see this selling on Amazon for almost 20 bones. I vividly remember picking this and Disintegration by The Cure up used for about $5.50 each in probably 1991.

For me, JAMC have always been a singles / album tracks band. I have never loved any of their releases from start to finish but this recording has incredible tracks in spades:

Blues from a Gun, Between Planets, Head On, Halfway to Crazy. These are all perfectly constructed, riff-heavy, kickin' rockers that I cannot listen to without reaching for the volume knob. Fantastic