In the mid-'80s,
Primal Scream helped invent indie pop with their double shot of singles for the nascent
Creation label. "Velocity Girl" and "All Fall Down" launched a thousand bands inspired by the glorious 12-string jangle, meltingly sweet melodies, winsome vocals, lo-fi splendor of the recording, and the deeply melancholy lyrical content. They sounded like
the Beatles mixed with
the Byrds all dolled up for a new generation. When they went in to record their first album, they found themselves suddenly at the whims of producers and record labels, and 1987's
Sonic Flower Groove was hindered by a slick sound that was a little too studied. The songs themselves were brilliant, though -- little nuggets of noisy, psychedelic wonder that would have taken flight if they hadn't been polished to perfection. Need proof? Check out the 2023 album
Reverberations (Traveling in Time) for the unvarnished truth. Recorded at a series of BBC radio sessions before they began work on their first album, these stripped-down, noisy, and glimmering songs come fully to life in their raw state. The interplay between the chiming 12-string and gritty rhythm guitar is like watching sparks fly, the rhythm section is tighter than
Tom Jones' trousers, and
Bobby Gillespie imbues the lyrics with all the boyish charm and wobbly soul that got paved over on the album. Almost all the songs from
Sonic Flower show up along with a few tracks like the super bouncy "Feverclaw" and the tender ballad "Bewitched and Bewildered" that didn't make the cut as well as a ripping take on "Velocity Girl." These recordings capture a very special moment in time as the band define a new genre with a batch of songs so perfect that they were hard to match much less top. Even
Primal Scream didn't try. Hearing these versions finally collected in good fidelity is like a dream come true, and the addition of all the tracks from the first two
Creation singles is the cherry on top. ~ Tim Sendra
