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.
WikipediaI 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.
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.
The 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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
This was alright, kind of ambient, but I liked the sounds. The cover scared me a little.
Engrossing and enjoyable. Apart from some interesting textures, nothing is particularly 'special' about the record - musical decisions are familiar and expected, and musicianship is adequate - leaving me a bit underwhelmed.
This is what Thom listened to and said “this is my new bloop blorp sound” and just straight copied it but removed the songs before he released it
very experimental and divers sometimes the thought comes to mind if they thought about if they should even if they could
This album was pleasant enough, but didn't really hold my interest. It was hard to understand why it was on this list, though perhaps there is some context that I am missing 3/5
It sounds like they watched Blade Runner and didn't quite understand it, but decided to make a soundtrack based on their idea of it anyway. Just lots of chill 2019 vibes from the late 90s. Best track: Kowalski
p802. 1997. 3 stars. Weird, but it's got something. It's like the soundtrack to a B movie., along with the associated risk of it becoming background music You have to be in the right mood for this otherwise I should imagine it gets tired very quickly. Worth listening to though.
Some tracks were really good, others were crap. Seemed to be a bit all over the place.
So many phases of PSs backstory. I only really know the (obv) dancey Screamadelica and the MBV mayhem of EXTRMNTR...(I know there is an early "jangle" period and that bluesy rock era too) This is is like a psychedelic film soundtrack. Some interesting stuff but not sure when I would play it. Ho hum.
Dos de Primal Scream en la misma semana!!! A este le tengo cariño. Al final me lo compré en CD. Creo que tengo estos discos por inercia, sabiendo que hay canciones muy buenas y el resto es casi relleno. Tres canciones seguidas como "Kowalski". "Star" y "If They Move, Kill 'Em" ponen el nivel muy alto en este disco. Sin embargo, en general y a día de hoy aunque importante no es ninguna obra maestra.
Usual eclectic collection of Rolling Stones-ish rock n roll alongside dancey trancey electronica. Kowalski shows signs of the aggressive electro indie to come in the next two albums. Ok, but still living in the shadow of Andy Weatherall's Screamadelica.
I couldn't quite decide whether or not I liked this album, so I listened to it a second time. I still don't really know how I feel about it. Parts of it are very interesting, experimental, and are very vibe-y, with an almost electronic new-age quality about them. Some of that new-age quality likely stems from some eastern influences I'm hearing nestled in the music. It honestly isn't half bad for some ambient music. Either way, I wasn't very wowed by it. I'd rate this at a high 2.-something, so I'm going to bump it up to 3.
I liked Kowalski and I like the vibe. Very Lost Highway kind of feel. Not sure I’d go back to it again though, as not much stood out for me.
The instrumentals are very good. It's the vocals that bring this down into goofy 90s nonsense.
Well I wasn't expecting that. Enjoyable background music to work to, a couple songs rose above that (Burning Wheel, Out of the Void)
I can't foresee a time where I would want to listen to a double album by Primal Scream. For that reason, I'm out.
it came from the nineties. kinda derivative. never got into this when it came out, nor now.
Would have said 1 star but there was one decent song on this....Transportation or something
When I saw Primal Scream, I thought some death metal was coming. Luckily no. However, this album wasn’t much better to me. I didn’t run to turn this off like I would with death metal, but I did listen to a couple minutes and skipped the rest of most tracks. Medication was the one highlight for me.
No screams, let alone primal. I wanted something raw, guttural, from the soul. Instead, it was... I don't know, what was it? One moment it was Brit-pop, the next it was NIN-lite, the next it was trance-y/trip-hop, then it sounded like Radiohead... I'm convinced this album was made by four different bands, not one. The only connecting tissue I found was that I think multiple songs had weird background moaning about "original sin?" There is definitely some decent and listenable stuff in "Vanishing Point," but it is too disjointed and scattered to rate highly as an album. I liked "Trainspotting." But I didn't keep track of which song was which style to comment further, and Primal Scream didn't do enough to move me to go back through it for a re-listen to figure it out.
I just don’t get it. It didn’t bore me much. That’s the best I can say. Better than Screamadelica.
I wasn’t sure if I’d like this but I ended up enjoying how chill it is. The first half is better than second half.
Pensé que me iba a gustar porque sí hay algunas rolas de Primal Scream que me gustan, pero de plano no logré acabar la tercera pasada. Sí, a momentos está interesante, pero se siente siempre como un interludio o un montón de sampleo y nunca se llega a una canción con forma. Creo que tienen mejor material y creo que este disco sí sobra en la lista.
No sabía de Primal Scream... Es de las bandas con el nombre más mentiroso que he escuchado. Es como... pues musiquita electrónica agradable para trabajar de fondo, sin mucho contenido.... Lejos de ser algo que debes escuchar en mi opinión. Disco competente pero totalmente fuera de lugar aquí. Trabajé agradable como si estuviera en un Café de la Condesa.... no más.
Similar experience as with the earlier Screamadelica. Annoying vocals, music mostly quite boring. Waste of time for me.
2.7 - After enjoying Screamdelica, I was expecting to like this but the beats sound dated, the vocals flat and the arrangements excessively noisy.
I was really expecting some excitement based on the name of the band & the album title but this thing sucked.
Definitely not something I like. Mostly ambient noise with little differentiation between songs. Could not finish the entire thing because I found it boring.
Tämä ei oikein napannut. En saanut otetta, että mitä tässä haettiin, kovin oli taiteellisen oloista.
Didn’t put me into a calm prism, too busy and not catchy. Not awful, but not a game changer.
2.5/5 Trippy album, more background music. A bit too experimental for me. Favourite songs: - Star - Medication
This album is just so bland and uninteresting. Sounds very late 90s too, if anything. 3/10.
Just not for me. I could see someone who loves the genre liking the album because its solid all the way through. While I didn't hate it, it was a one and done for me.
Doesn’t know what it wants to be. All over the place, couple of decent tracks but that’s it.
Primal scream have some decent songs. Didn’t put any on this album though. Though star isn’t bad.
Feels like a practice run for XTRMNTR. The Vanishing Point movie connection is more exciting in prospect than in reality. Like all Primal Scream records, it's better when Bobby isn't singing.
Don’t hate this, but no standout hits for me. Not sure I’d ever listen to the whole album again.
This is mostly just drum and bass with a bunch of electronic effects over the top. Nothing of any interest. Some nice grooves, but going nowhere. I'd had enough after a couple of minutes, but I persevered for half a dozen tracks, getting more and more bored until the vibe changed with Medication. At first it sounded pretty good, I soon realized it was basically just 'rocks off' with different lyrics, so I'm not impressed.
I'm not inclined to say a band or an artist is "overrated", music obviously being an objective thing, but oh boy am I tempted to say that Primal Scream fits into such a category. I could personally tolerate the inclusion of *Screamadelica* in a list of so-called "mandatory listens, mostly because this particular album has something to say about the time and place it was realeased, with those UK club breakbeats and whatnot. But c'mon, let's be serious here for one second, fellas: even for that "historical" album, the writing is subpar at best, not to say totally lazy. Worse; some "songs' are just glorified instrumentals with a few vocal snippets here and there--and you'd have to take a shitload of MDMA to hear something substantial or even just fun in those tracks, something that's won't be there at all when you use more sober ears. What about this particular album then? Well, just like many other Primal Scream albums it just drones on in the background, a mixed bag with a few hooks here and there, but without any cohesion at all, and with moments of intensity that are too far and between. As usual, the main influence when it comes to the melodic lines come from the Rolling Stones, at least if you pay some attention. But it's a somewhat sanitized version of the Stones, mixed with the current trends of that year. Which amounts to say that in the end, there's not much to be found there in term of substance. At least Jagger, Richards and their pals knew a thing or two about how they could make a song feel "dirty"--in all senses of the word. Whereras in here, it's just a pale imitation, barely veiled by the supposed "high value" of its production shenanigans. The result is just boring to these particular set of ears here. And reading a lot of the other reviews in here, to many other ones as well... Number of records left to review or just listen to: 921 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 42 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 19 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important to me): 19 (including this one)
This band is so ludicrously inconsistent. Every so often you'll hear something badass, and then you'll get a really dated-sounding canned drum loop. It meanders from wiffly Britpop to big beat to electropop without any sort of flow to it. This is a band that could have benefited from a much better producer.
The instrumental parts reminded me of video game background music. I enjoyed some of it, but for the most part the songs didn’t hold my attention very well.
Got excited when I saw 1997, but a bit of a letdown. I wasn’t a big fan of the instrumental/experimental parts.
this was one interesting album. it contained a mix of rock, electronic, and punk. primal scream certainly kept us guessing because the sitar-like sound on "if they move, kill 'em" was astounding! with how heavy and unusual their electronic sounds were, i could hear influence from kraftwerk. this is an album that the focus wasn't so much on lyrics and vocals but instead the actual music and instruments. overall, an intriguing listen but not one i super enjoyed. sometimes the electronic sounds just became too much for me.
90s alt rock, some hip hop influence perhaps? psychedelic at times, but in a more modern, urban-sounding way than early psychedelic rock Didn’t mind it but I didn’t care for it I can imagine why someone might think this was cool
Het heeft wel iets elektronisch, maar in het algemene is het mij iets te vage muziek. Sommige nummers zijn goed te luisteren, maar anderen spoel ik liever door.
Ik heb vandaag een inhaalslag gemaakt met Primal scream, Black Sabbath en Suicide. Het was een moeilijke dag.
Ik dacht dat Prima Scream best leuke muziek maakte, maar dit is echt behoorlijk suf. Zelfs bij vlagen vervelend.
I know I listened to it....but can't remember anything about it today. This is "just another 90s style album" to me.
Drie laatste nummers niet beluisterd. Twee grotendeels instrumentele albums op rij is wat veel, zeker omdat dit nogal industrieel klinkt.
I hated this. It was the most bland, generic rock. The one meagre highlight was “Skuka,” but it’s not going on my highlights playlist because it still sucked. I want these 54 minutes of my life back.
This kinda sucks. Might be the most 90s album yet. Everything from the 90s somehow sounds more outdated than anything from the 70s or 80s. 1 Even the coverart screams: "You wouldn't download a car" Some songs are listenable. "Motorhead" is pretty good. "Long Life" reminds me of something that could be good
They have a couple of songs, on other albums, that I absolutely love. Because of that I was very excited to listen to this. However, this album just plain sucked.
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.