Vanishing Point
Primal Scream
1997
Album Summary
Vanishing Point is the fifth studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream. It was released on 7 July 1997 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and in the United States by Reprise Records. It peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. The album shows inspiration from genres such as dub, ambient, dance music, and krautrock, as well as bands such as Motörhead, Can, and the Stooges. It was the band's first album to feature Gary 'Mani' Mounfield on bass, formerly of the Stone Roses, although Marco Nelson played bass on "Burning Wheel", "Star", "If They Move, Kill 'Em'", and "Stuka".Other guest appearances on Vanishing Point include Augustus Pablo, Glen Matlock, and the Memphis Horns. Gillespie has described the album as an anarcho-syndicalist speedfreak road-movie record. It is named after and inspired by the 1971 film Vanishing Point, especially the song "Kowalski", which is meant to be an alternative soundtrack of the movie. Lead singer Bobby Gillespie said, "The music in the film is hippy music, so we thought, 'Why not record some music that really reflects the mood of the film?' It's always been a favourite of the band, we love the air of paranoia and speed- freak righteousness. It's impossible to get hold of now, which is great! It's a pure underground film, rammed with claustrophobia.
WikipediaThe most exciting part of listening to this album was enjoying a song and going to save it, and then realizing the album had ended and it was playing Primal Scream radio. Didn't enjoy this one much
I had heard of Primal Scream but wasn't sure whether I knew any of their music. My expectation, just based on the name of the band, was loud, hard, driving rock and roll. Boy, was I wrong. This was a really pleasant surprise. Super interesting, adventurous and well done. Will definitely listen again. 4 stars.
I don't know anything about this band but I know I a synch album when I hear one. Every track a vibe, never an anthem? No bangers just moods? This album was made to be background music. Well, it manages to be exactly that, unfortunately.
As if this project hasn't given me enough garbage from the UK in this lifetime, here's some nameless 90s shit that sounds like a mix of britpop and PS1 snowboarding game soundtrack. And it goes for ages. Pointless and useless. Fuck off. 1/5.
Wikipedia says the band's frontman described this album as an "anarcho-syndicalist speedfreak road-movie record" and I think that's about as good a description as any I could come up with. I highly recommend this album to anybody who likes electronica, house, trip-hop, or similar
Dubbed out skeletons of songs, mixed upside down and sideways. I love it, but this is deeply weird for a band of this profile. Taking the remixed template of screamadelica, but with a more industrial and dubbed out version. Noisy, spacey, groovy. I love it. Some 'real' songs (eg 'Medication', 'motorhead' cover), with some instrumentals (eg 'trainspotting')
I only knew Screamadelica which is amazing. Glad I got to discover this one as well. It sounds very different, but I feel like that is what makes it so great for me.
I am not nearly high enough to enjoy all of the sounds in this album. Too many distracting noises that my ND brain cannot process. Reverb and more reverb. Star belongs on a different album, where the hell did that even come from? Might enjoy if under the influence of shrooms or peyote or acid or might not. Yeah, prolly not. Got lost in Stuka and Trainspotting while someone else was driving, sorta frightening. Note to self: do not listen to this album while driving. I just couldn’t with Long Life. Unlikely to listen again, unless I find myself tripping balls.
I already reviewed Screamadelica this week, and it was enough. This is a weaker version of the same. Dreary indie rockers play derivative psychedelia. I'm sure it was an amazing soundtrack to doing drugs in fields in the 1990s, but it hasn't aged that well.
While I'm not a huge fan of the electronic music, some of their hybrid electronic-rock works. The grooves are pretty decent and I can appreciate what they are going for here. Some if it is also pretty bad. Kowalski is pretty fun. So is "If They Move, Kill 'Em". Star is terrible. The rest is somewhere in the middle. Mixed bag of a record that ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
Not good. Lead just kinda talks during the songs, not in a spoken word or rap way, but just lazy not singing. Would be better fully instrumental, as some songs almost were.
I did not get into this album. It had some beats but I would not describe them as good beats. I started skipping through the songs.
I don't remember many vocals. Nice background music with a early chill electronic sound.
- strong variety of emotion and energy. from energetic Kowalski to mellow Star to introverted Burning Wheel. - strong production value - Personally loved the album, so many likes.
Screamadelica, Vanishing Point, Echo Dek, XTRMNTR, Evil Heat are all great albums and just show how good of a band Primal Scream became at a certain moment. Re Vanishing Point: it is a bit like Darklands from the Jesus and Mary Chain - a really strong album but you automatically compare against Psychocandy. Likewise you compare Vanishing Point to Screamadelica, which is just hard to beat. So I will just give 4 stars but could (should?) have given 5.. .. ..oh no hold on: 5 after all :-)
super good, can’t tell what my favorite song was, some time between Star, Trainspotting, or Long Life yeah just all around 10/10
If someone told me they hated this album i would completely get it, but i absolutely loved it!
I was bracing for a heavy metal or hard rock assault, but instead this was psychedelic and trippy. The songs are an eclectic brew that really drew me in. Surprises everywhere including some great horns, clarinet, harmonica with that trippy synth throughout. Definitely need to keep Primal Scream on my radar because I loved this.
I'm a Primal Scream fan so this is loaded with bias. It's not their finest album but it is another excellent trippy journey. Stand out tracks - Burning Wheel - Star - Get Duffy - Kowalski - Trainspotting
Really good. Oddly reminded me of Prince, just in the experimental nature of it.
Me gustó la mezcla de instrumental con voces. Me da una buena sensación, a veces me relaja lo cual parece extraño con el sonido de este álbum. Siento que me gustaron todas casi en un mismo nivel, pero nomás por comentar "Star" y "Get Duffy" me gustaron más y "Know Your Rights" muy hipnótica. 9/10.
Sí gustó su amalgama psocodelica, trippopiana, industrial. Stuka y if they move kille them mis favs.
Bra ändå, lyssnade inte på hela så detta kanske är generöst... men gillar bandet
One or two tracks (Get Duffy being one) aren’t great but other than that this is an excellent Scream album and I forgot how good it was - always at their best when Andrew Weatherall was at the helm
Outside the box. Late night raining in the city. John Wick 4 soundtrack? Last song AMAZING. Listened 3 times in a row.
This is a good mix of rock and some electronic music on some of the tracks. It's a long album but I like it. I had never heard the band before so extra credit for the introduction.
Yes, groovy, digging it. Half euphoric "Screamadelica", half gritty jittery "XTRMNTR", and coming between those two albums, makes perfect sense! Fave track - "If They Move, Kill 'Em"
Nice! I was worried I wasn't going to like this one based on the Wikipedia description but was pleasantly surprised by the level of musicianship and atmosphere creation going on here.
Not at all what I expected, very interesting sound..mellow,frantic,discombobulated but fun…older boomer here always interested in new sounds…this is a keeper
Guys really named their psychedelic rock band "Primal Scream". That's like naming a death metal band "Lollipop Wizards". Loved the songs that sounded like video game [MISSION LOADING] music (Get Duffy, If They Move Kill 'Em). I appreciate when an album doesn't sound the same all the way through. There's a lot of genres and sounds here - psychedelic rock, electronica, regular pop and something I can only describe as "Thom Yorke Goblin Music".
A proper trip. I've never gelled with much other Primal Scream stuff, but this album is a stoned killer.
This album is terrific. Nicely crafted sound, beautifully trippy, musically creative and diverse. The tonal shifts from song to song are sometimes pretty weird and extreme, but somehow it works. Fave Songs: Star, Motörhead, Long Life, Medication, If They Move, Kill 'Em, Stuka
Pretty damn hott this album. Dance rock at it's best. I warmed to thus one more easily than Screamadelica, which still hasn't quite done it for me. But this album makes me want to try Screamadelica another spin see what I'm missing. Anyway Vanishing Point locks into some awesome dance grooves. Very enjoyable. 4 🌟
This just plays like a soundtrack in my head...after a few rough albums this one has several tracks added to my list not including Trainspotting which was already under the obvious soundtrack list...
Well very nearly, 2 days before the 25th anniversary this comes up. Lovely. It does sort of feel its age to me this one, I guess because I lived through it and heard it lots at the time but not much since. This is the last Scream album I listened to in great detail. The 90s big beat style is front and centre. Medication is a hangover from when they thought they were the Rolling Stones and sounds a lot like 'Rocks', I can take or leave that one. Still, it's a very good album. The dub stuff is great, Long Life is great, Burning wheel is up there with the best things they've ever done, and Trainspotting stands up well, probably the one song on this album I have heard the most down the years in fact.
This is a real revalation- of course I've heard these guys in passing but never really listened to this album. It's a real eclectic mix of style - not entirely original but I found this really enjoyable. Rock 'n roll and trip hop meets electronic industrial.
This album is almost great. It features a mix of house, dub, rock, ambient, and experimental electronic music. Most of this is executed very well. However, there are moments on some of the more experimental pieces which don't quite work. It's as if they heard Aphex Twin and tried to do what he did without actually putting the time in to learn how. The elements are there, but the arrangement is not. Luckily, these moments are few and far between. Nevertheless, this band cannot be said to have picked a lane and stayed in it and their willingness to try something new makes this an album that is great in the background, but is also rewarded with a closer listening.
Varying vibes throughout the album, some tracks with nice vocals and others more based on electronic rock which were quite nice
When Primal scream went electronic. Has great groovy elements, with some weird noisy soundscapes. Some work perfect, like Burning wheel, others become too weird to my taste though. But a solid album in general!
I can see this album being divisive, but I had a lot of fun with it. Although this would drive me crazy if I was stuck in traffic.
With a name like Primal Scream, one might expect music that’s hard, nasty and brutish. Instead this album is melodic and flows easily from one song to the next, incorporating elements of dub and ambient music.
C'est weird dans un bon sens, J'étais vraiment engagé dans l"albulm et l'écoute ne m'a pas du tout paru comme 1h de temps. 4
I was expecting a band called Primal Scream to be screamier. They weren't! Mostly chill dance vibes here. The dance tracks are far better than the others. Star, a song with a message, is particularly on the nose and a little cringey. But overall, I enjoyed this. Groovy and sedate.
I was afraid when I saw the album cover, but this album kept me invested with repeated listens.
I don’t love the lead vocalist. The rest of the instrumentation is pretty cool Medication is a pretty standout song. This is one of those albums where I could see myself giving other albums by them a 5 but this just slightly missed that mark
To me this is a major improvement over "Screamadelica." I sort of enjoy the unfocused, atmospheric mess of this, and the influences are top notch. I hear wafts of Can beats, samples of Miles Davis' fusion material, some Stooges rock that slaps you in the face out of nowhere, and of course a strong Dub influence (with Augustus Pablo on melodica no less!). I'm into the hazy, druggy, loose, kitchen sink experimentation of it all. Using the Vader mask on "Motorhead" is a good clue that they weren't taking themselves too seriously and were just fucking around, having fun, and being themselves. Probably would've been a blast to hang out with them during the recording of this. Having disliked "Screamadelica" (I rated it a 2), I thought I was going to hate this. But I have to say, as I continue to listen to this album, I've gotta give them the Most Improved Artist award. Actually kinda regret I wasn't into this upon it's initial release as it would've been right up my alley.
I've grown to see a 50+ minute-long 90s electronic album from this list and assume it's gonna be long and tedious, but Primal Scream (known for the famous Madchester masterpiece Screamadelica) shows us you could produce a fusion of psychedelia, electronica, and ambiance with a strong rock base to produce something unique and exciting. Every track is busy with industrial and space-like noises to create a strange alien ambient landscape. It's a lot more mellow and subtle than their other records, and although I do think it's weaker than Screamadelica, it's held together by a consistency by fits a certain mood if I'm looking to have this as cool background music or to disassociate into other worlds with. I do prefer the tracks with Gillespie's eery vocals. There were several weak songs, and yes I guess it didn't completely escape from the lengthiness of 90s electronica, but I did find something enjoyable about every one. Favorites: Burning Wheel, Star, Medication, Trainspotting
First of all, XTRMNTR is a better album than this one, and should have be chosen to accompany Screamadelica in the book. That said, this is a good album with some great tracks, let down by a few weak ones.
Despite myself, I continue enjoying Primal Scream. And still really like Chaosmosis at that! This is universally more acclaimed, but I just couldn't get into the right mood.
Atmospherical, psychedelic, interesting textures and cosmic sounds. To be heard as a whole, you will never get bored of it
Dit album weet niet goed wat het wil zijn. Britpop, Industrial rock, Postrock, of nog iets anders... Daardoor hangt het niet erg goed samen, en vind ik het moeilijk deze te beoordelen. Per nummer een score geven zou hier makkelijker zijn. Daarom een score rond het midden maar met de hakken over de sloot
Some killer, some filler. The album loses its way a little and just kind of fritters off. Nearly a 4, but I gotta go with 3
Primal Scream feel like a different band on every record. Here, the 90s British dance influence seems to coincide with an injection of Spirtualized-style space rock. It's an interesting listen, but it didn't click with me as much as some of their other material and it's hard for me to say that this one is as essential as others in the top 1001 albums. Favourite song: Long Life
This album is full of samples and interesting snippets, but I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of the finished product. Definitely makes more sense how they ended up at XTRMNTR next. Fav tracks: Star and Long Life
What was sure to be an early-influencer of future electronic bands, this album has a certain background aesthetic and lingering satisfaction.
It was good. I actually knowing more songs on this album than I had realized. Solid.
Dunno what to think about this one. I think I enjoyed some of it? It's unusual and the structure of it is a mess
Experimental industrial music, ok but not something I would buy in the first place.
i appreciate the ideas but i find it falls flat for most of the runtime. 2.5-3/10
sometimes it's lush and dreamy, sometimes it's blippy...sometimes it's melodic, sometimes it's grindy. i should like this more than i do, based on that alone. but i just didn't, not all that much. Star and Long Life are cool tracks, though.
Interesting sounds that go out there at times, but never way out there. It's very theatrical at times (which I like), meditative at others (which I also like), aggressive occasionally (but never too much so).
Weird 90s abstract trippy electronica that seems to appear a lot in this list fused with some classic Brit Pop (Medication) makes this an all up a nice time
Had some interesting ideas, but I found it pretty borring overall. Not bad, but on the lower side of 3.
Based on the band name and album cover I thought this was going to be miserable. And yet, it was really enjoyable! I liked the melodies quite a bit, and it didn't overstay its welcome.
I'm not an electronic music guy. I can appreciate the artistry, but it's not really for me.