Glasgow Eyes

The release of Glasgow Eyes has been met by a series of mixed media and personal reviews. For some it lacked all the inspiration of previous albums. At it’s most critical, comments suggested neither Jim or William Reid had actually tried too hard to record the album in the first place. Old guys, with nothing new to say.

On the positive end of the spectrum, many thought it was a return to form and were eagerly awaiting seeing the band live and to listen to how the new songs would come alive from the stage.

Having purchased the album on it’s release, bought tickets for their show at the Usher Hall (review here) several months ago and relatively open to either side of the argument, I’ve waited until last night’s show to give my own personal view on the album.

There are a number of tracks which will stand the test of time in the catalogue of great tracks recorded by The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Opening track Venal Joy is a pulsating track that will get the head bobbing to its driving beat. jamcod is currently opening the set at gigs around the country and provided a dynamic introduction to the night. It set the band and audience up for the rest of the night and will no doubt become a classic.

Chemical Animal and Girl 71 are having their live debuts this time around and both benefit from the live iterations by the band.

After numerous listenings, both Discotheque and Pure Poor have grown on me too, as several other songs.

For fans since the release of Physcocandy like myself, it’s not an album that jumps out at you in the same way the debut album did. However, 40 years after it’s release, is it reasonable to expect Jim and William to be ‘out there’ with the next big musical change?

I think any such expectations are misplaced. If anything, the more I listen to the album, appreciate the live performance of the four songs on show last night and consider the joy the band have given me over the past 40 years, I should be delighted that they still have the desire to go back into the studio and put down some more music.

As I write this, Silver Things has started playing from the album playlist above. I’m certainly in no rush to fast-forward. It to has grown on me.

Glasgow Eyes is not The Jesus and Mary Chain giving us a Glasgow Kiss. They’ve provided just shy of 50 minutes in 12 songs which should find something to hang on to by even the most fatalistic of their fans.

Let’s see if in five years time some of the detractors have become as positive as I have been in the latest output from this Scottish icon.