Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

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BzaInSpace
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Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by BzaInSpace »

Just got this from the PS mailing list...

Utopian Ashes is an album, to borrow from William Blake, of songs of experience. Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth’s collection of duets is not a break up record, but it does tell the story of love breaking down, the impossibility of real communication and other unavoidable outcomes of a full life. And it draws on the tradition of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris’s Grievous Angel, George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s We Go Together and other country soul classics, to deal in a straight-talking fashion with the heavy realities of love, loss, disconnection and ultimately redemption. As Gillespie says: “Emotional inarticulacy is at the crux of it".

The preview song is awesome
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purespace
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by purespace »

Thanks for the heads up! Looks like it will be available state side from Third Man Records after the release date. Just asked Third Man if the limited blue vinyl would be available here in the states. Also, if they would be offering the signed vinyl bundles that are available now for preorder from across the pond. Trying to decide if I should jump on the import preorder today or not as the bundle for the blue vinyl and black vinyl with signed insert is clocking in at $100 with shipping to the states 😧
I think I feel it coming on
BzaInSpace
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by BzaInSpace »

Cheers!

Anyone into the spare and country blues side of Primal Scream will like this I think.

Andrew Innes and Martin Duffy are listed musicians - so it’s like a Primal Scream album more or less?

I’ll probably just end up going for the CD but I have so many of them now.
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by burningwheel »

Being released in the US on thirdman
[url=http://www.loveisforever.org]Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Chapterhouse, The Telescopes, Loop, Verve and more![/url]
BzaInSpace
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by BzaInSpace »

That latest song - single - ‘Chase it Down’ is powerful & dark: I love it
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sunray
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by sunray »

Had a listen to the album today. First impressions? BZA is gonna cream himself when he hears it, so I'll leave it to him to wax lyrical and offer up a full, in-depth review :)

Myself? I must admit i had a bit of trepidation approaching this following the first single. I suspected it might prove to be too clean, smooth and, well, mature for my tastes. All involved handle it well though, managing to steer clear of any MOR/AOR slush.
Jehnny Beth isn't as prominent as i was expecting and it almost comes across as a Bobby solo album. It certainly feels at times as if he's making a bid to enter into Nick Cave's 'Serious Artiste' sphere (this is not meant as a slight btw), as it's all very grown up and serious. Some great lyrics and Bobby's vocals are decent throughout.
If it had been someone else involved i probably wouldn't have been in a rush to listen so there's a probably a lesson there for me. Which i'm sure i will ignore :lol:
I'll be giving this a few more plays to see where it sits with me, but as BZA states above, if you're into the sparse country blues side of Primal Scream you should probably give it a go. On first listen i actually prefer it to The Original Memphis Recordings, which i never really got on board with.
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cantona
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by cantona »

Sounds like a poor Primal Scream album
olan
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by olan »

sunray wrote: Sat Jul 03, 2021 11:10 pm Had a listen to the album today. First impressions? BZA is gonna cream himself when he hears it, so I'll leave it to him to wax lyrical and offer up a full, in-depth review :)

[Snip]
Some great lyrics and Bobby's vocals are decent throughout.
I listened to this yesterday and was struck by two things

(i) the confessional nature of the lyrics which are outstanding in general but marred by a few howling clunkers e.g. rhyming horse with remorse :lol:

(ii) Bobbys vocal style is quite different to a lot of the Primal Scream material I'm used to. He almost sounds like Bernard Sumner in lots of places on the LP. This might just be my old cloth-ears failing me though.

I wasn't particularly astounded by it. I don't think I would give it a second thought compared to the Memphis Tapes for example.
angelsighs
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by angelsighs »

I'm not really a big Primal Scream fan but I do find that often some of their best stuff is the ballads. I may check this out then.
Obviously the best Scream is the experimental Scream, but aside from that if they go more traditional I find the ballads much more convincing than the rockers.
niamhm
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Re: Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes

Post by niamhm »

Resounding thumbs up from me, wasn`t too keen on the individual tracks as they were released tbh but hearing it as a whole 3/4 times now, its really good, certainly more mature sounding than recent `Scream outings, I think that`s probably a good thing, Gillespie`s vocal limitations on show a few times but f#ck it, God loves a trier,
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