Customer Reviews

Automatic

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.....

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

Most of what they did before this was good in its way, but it was just working up to "Automatic", their masterpiece! This time they got everything right. Some of what they did after this was good too, but none of it ever measured up to the monstrous ass-kickers on "Automatic".

These are high-energy war dances that will quickly get you out of any blues or minor depression you may be experiencing. They might also make you want to learn to play the drums or guitar.

Bought nine records secondhand on Saturday and eight of them turned out to be the wrong trousers altogether--got so blame irritated with Flood by They Might Be Giants I snapped the bleddy thing in half and then, for good measure, in quarters. The disk inside Nirvana's In Utero wasn't quite the Steve Albini-produced stompathon I expected either, but rather a best of Blondie compilation! Sick bag please. The ninth album, this one, I actually own already but couldn't resist getting all over again. Love that U.V. Ray--reminds me of acting the maggot in Sunnyside in Queens for some reason. All twelve tracks motor along though and having two Automatics now doesn't seem the least bit odd to me--in fact I can't honestly say I won't buy this wee beastie again at some point.

I don't know why alot of people crap on this album, it's one of my favorites of theirs. Another record I love is "Darklands", and while "Automatic" came afterwards, it's alot more rocking and aggressive. "Here Comes Alice" is a great opener, and "Blues From A Gun" was a minor hit I believe. One of their best known songs is "Head On", and I admit it's probably the cream of what's here. Mellower tracks are "Halfway To Crazy" and "Drop", the latter covered by Hope Sandoval on her solo debut. Obviously "21 Singles" is the best place to start for newcomers, but this is listener friendly as well.

This cd is great, I got into JAMC thru the video for 'Head On', and I bought the cd, and its great!! If you like some 80's dance beats you'll like this, although its really different then Pyschocandy, this is a great album. Songs like: Here comes alice, Blues from a gun, Between planets, Head on, Half way to crazy arr all amazing tracks. It's a shame this is an import though. I'm now buying the BBC Live cd. it's cool to hear the songs without their drum machine drummers...

Some call it sell-out! How? Did we expect all JAMC albums to sound like "psychocandy"? I think not. They moved on, evolved, and produced a masterpiece. Of course, not all will agree, but this is their best "rock" album, for sure. The feedback is gone and that good for this type of music they were making at the time (1989). "Honey's dead" came close but this is the best place to start if you're a newcomer.

Jesus and Mary Chain seem to adopt a new musical style on every release, not unlike- believe it or not- Madonna or Prince. After the wall of noise of Psychocandy and the beautifully spare Darklands, Automatic finds the Reid brothers flirting with a pop- electronic sound that morphed into a pop- industrial sound for the Honey's Dead cd. The loud guitars are still there, but also a lot of drum sequencers and synth bass. Don't let this put you off if you're not a fan of electronic music- this cd still really rocks.

While not a classic like Psychocandy, still a great cd. If you're a Pixies fan, then you've heard their cover of Automatic's 'Head On', which is arguably Jesus and Mary Chain's most well known song.

Well, I know Jesus & Mary Chain purists might prefer Psychocandy...and it is an awesome album, too.

But to those who say this is "overproduced"--just remember, without George Martin, there would've been no Beatles' Rubber Soul and without Butch Vig, no Nirvana's Nevermind. Sometimes helping a band organize its musical genius is a good thing....

This album stands as an incredible achievement. The songs are terrific and the playing is sooooo tight. This might be the UK's finest late-'80s album. In my mind, this and Doolittle are the two great "alternative" records of the late '80s. If you don't have this one, you're in for a treat!