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REWIND: Primal Scream - 'Burning Wheel'
Today's 'Rewind' selection is lifted from an album that I can well and truly say changed my life. It blew my mind and set new standards in my musical outlook. Although it's usually 'Screamadelica' and 'XTRMNTR' that are given all the acclaim, it's 'Vanishing Point' that proved Primal Scream could reinvent themselves again after a rough patch in the middle of the 90's. It went to number one in the album charts, won the band a great deal of praise and in proving their longevity, cemented their place in musical history as one of the greats. I wrote an article nearly two years ago remembering the impact the album had on me, which you can read HERE. "Truly, 'Vanishing Point' opened up a pathway that led to a world of wonderful music that expanded my horizons..."
I hadn't quite got into my journalistic groove yet, so you'll have to excuse some of the slightly lacklustre writing. I might go back and rewrite it soon, since this magnificent record deserves the extra time and effort... A section of my (perhaps) soon-to-be improved report reads: 'Burning Wheel' is an excellent opening track and sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album. It begins with an extended intro of various strange sounds, some musical, some not. Extraordinary backwards percussion arrives along with a bassline similar to 'Rain' by the Beatles and then the stabbing beat comes in, along with Gillespie's hypnotic vocal. It's his voice that (although they are at times minimal) has a tremendous effect on these tracks..."
Brilliant record that sounds like nothing else. Kowalski was once described as a junkyard having a nervous breakdown and on hearing that track it made perfect sense. I still play this album and Burning wheel is above anything off Screamadelica
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