If you asked me yesterday what I think of Primal Scream, my answer would have been, “Who?” My answer today is, “meh”. This album is fine. It does what it is probably intended to do. For me it makes a good soundtrack for a night out of partying and dancing. For sitting down and listening though, I’ll pass. There are a couple of songs I enjoyed as they step away just a bit from the electronica / dub of the rest of the record. “Medication” rocks with some really good guitar licks and an appealing vocal. This is a proper rock ‘n roll song. Same can be said about “Motorhead”, a cover of the Lemmy classic.
This Scottish band apparently didn’t make much of an impression in America with this record as the only Billboard chart the album seems to have hit was the Heatseekers Albums chart spending one week at #34.1 And no, I had never before heard of the Heatseekers Albums chart. But I do support it because it was designed to highlight new or developing artists.2 I’m all for that because the record companies often promote these kinds of artists poorly.
My Rating for the album as a whole:
My Rating for the two songs mentioned:
NME named Vanishing Point as the fourth best album of 1997.3
Darran Anderson, writing upon the album’s 25th Anniversary, contrasted my assessment:
“Inevitably, given its eclecticism, Vanishing Point is not perfect. The aim was difference not consistency, and the album only dips when they chose familiarity over daring. ‘Medication’ is a garage band retread of ‘Rocks’ while ‘Motorhead’ is a punishing though spirited cover. Both are fun and superfluous.”4
It’s because of its darkness and its ability to burst through that Vanishing Point remains a stunning listen. This is most evident in its opening and closing tracks. ‘Burning Wheel’ begins nebulous before swirling into life as one of the finest examples of neo-psychedelia – hypnotic, euphoric, spacey as say ‘Astronomy Domine’ or ‘I Think I’m In Love’ yet with heavyweight rhythm, exploding any of the twee forgeries that are often labelled psychedelic. Here, finally, was the answer to ‘Where do you go after ‘Higher Than the Sun’?’ By contrast, the last track ‘Long Life’ is simple, near-lethargic, transcendent dream pop that simultaneously collapses in slow motion and rises like an out of body experience. Between them are journeys no film could capture.5
Anderson’s essay is really interesting because it deeply delves into the cultural stew Vanishing Point entered into. The band were inspired by an obscure movie to write this album and Anderson gives illuminating details on that process. He also offers interesting thoughts about mythology both in society writ large and in music more specifically. I highly encourage you to check it out.
In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Jake Kennedy wrote:
“But Vanishing Point found (the band) unsure of their sound - a mixture of genres and dubious darker influences that fused together for a rollercoaster ride - at times nightmarish, at others ecstatic in the truest sense.”6
Charts
• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: n/a
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: n/a
• RIAA certification: n/a
Released on July 7, 1997. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: “I'll Be Missing You” by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans Featuring 1127
• Number one album: Butterfly Kisses (Shades Of Grace) by Bob Carlisle8
• Number one movie: Men in Black by Barry Sonnenfeld9
• Most watched TV programs: ER, Seinfeld, Suddenly Susan10
• NYT bestseller, fiction: Plum Island by Nelson DeMille11 (Great book!)
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer12 (Great book!)
Other albums released that month
• Straight on Till Morning by Blues Traveler
• Three Dollar Bill, Yall by Limp Bizkit
• Boys on the Docks by Dropkick Murphys
• Brown Album by Primus
• Fush Yu Mang by Smash Mouth
• I Will Stand by Kenny Chesney
• Supa Dupa Fly by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
• Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan
• Under the Covers by Dwight Yoakam
• No Way Out by Puff Daddy and the Bad Boy Family
• 98 Degrees by 98 Degrees
• Nothin' but the Taillights by Clint Black
• Official Live: 101 Proof by Pantera
• Shrinking the Blob by Oleander
• Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? by Harvey Danger13
Sport
• Jul 1 Nevada Athletic Commission suspends Mike Tyson indefinitely & withholds $20m purse for biting Evander Holyfield's ear during their heavyweight title fight 28 June.
• Jul 5&6 Wimbledon Champions: Martina Hingis & Pete Sampras.
• Jul 6 Montreal Expos retire Baseball Hall of Fame Andre Dawson's uniform #10.
• Jul 8 68th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-1 at Jacobs Field, Cleveland.
• Jul 9 Baseball's triple A American Association (formed in 1902) votes to disband.
• Jul 12 Cubs play in their 5,000th consecutive game without being no-hit.
• Jul 13 US Open Women's Golf, Pumpkin Ridge GC: Alison Nicholas of England wins her lone major title.14
Notable Births
• Jul 3 Mia McKenna-Bruce, English actress (How to Have Sex), born in London.
• Jul 9 Tatjana Schoenmaker, South African swimmer (Olympic gold 200m breaststroke 2020), born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Jul 12 Malala Yousafzi, Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize recipient, born in Mingora, North-West Frontier Province15
Historical Events
• Jul 1 United Kingdom returns Hong Kong and the New Territories to the People's Republic of China.
• Jul 3 Mississippi becomes 1st state to settle tobacco suit.
• Jul 8 NATO invites Poland, Hungary & Czech Republic to join.
• Jul 10 RJR Nabisco announces it will replace Joe Camel in new ads.
• Jul 10 Spain, Partido Popular member Miguel Ángel Blanco is kidnapped in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.
• Jul 13 Indonesian ferry sinks, killing at least 77.
• Jul 14 Bomb in Algiers kills 21 & wounds 40.16
Notable Deaths
• Jul 1 Robert Mitchum, American actor (Out of the Past, Winds of War, North & South), dies of lung cancer and emphysema at 79.
• Jul 2 Jimmy Steward, American actor (The Philadelphia Story; It's a Wonderful Life; Mr Smith Goes to Washington; Vertigo), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 89.
• Jul 4 Charles Kuralt, American news anchor (CBS Sunday Morning), dies at 62.
• Jul 15 Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (Versace), shot and murdered by spree killer Andrew Cunanan at 50.17
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
Prime: 137. Vanishing Point by Primal Scream
Full playlist: You're Welcome 137; Vanishing Point by Primal Scream
Anderson
Kennedy, Jake, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, ed by Robert Dimery, p. 802.
Ibid.