The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Stone And Dethroned"

The Jesus & Mary Chain always had the cool shit down better than everyone else in my opinion. They did all the right things... Wore sunglasses, showed contempt for their audiences, talked shit, hated their peers, insulted the legends, sang about all the right shit, found a formula that worked and never changed and most importantly pissed everyone off. Stoned And Dethroned is probably my favorite record by JAMC. I say probably, because I think they’re all fucking great so it’s hard to say for sure. This one came out in 1994, ten years after their legendary debut of blistering white-noise, “Psychocandy”, and sounds like it’s polar opposite. They took their signature feedback away on this one and what’s left is seventeen beautifully simple songs that are heavy on the 12-string guitars, shakers and tambourines. In the 90’s pretty much every band was trying to be loud so they were like fuck it, we’re unplugged and stoned. Sexy pop songs with twisted lyrics about death, Jesus, drugs, murder, girlfriends, drugs, sex, sadomasochism, drugs, death and anything else adolescence can encompass. Basically all the shit I wanna hear about. There’s also a couple cool cameos on here: Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval trades off lines with Jim on the single "Sometimes Always" and party machine Shane MacGowan (Pogues) mumbles his way through the coming down "God Help Me". The whole album is solid, but I figured these three were good to start you off with. Check em out. This is another one of those stranded on a desert island records for me...

(Download - “Dirty Water”)
(Download - “God Help Me”)
(Download - “Everybody I Know”)

[BUY JAMC RECORDS FROM INSOUND]

Comments

[BigJon]

I love that album its so effortlessly cool. Come On is one of my favourite tracks but its all good. All in all a Fucking great album.

[kucera]

nice pick! this was the first JAMC record i ever bought a couple years back and from the opening lyrics of "dirty water" i knew i had made the right call. that song along with "come on" are my favorite tracks. and yeah i dont think ive heard a bad song by them yet.

[Michael]

I don't remember where i read this, but i remember reading that they wouldn't play some T.V. performance because the program wanted to abbreviate their name. I think it might have been a grammy or something. That's some scottish integrity if you ask me. Why do Brits pretty much beat the piss out of American bands in the attitude department (barring the stooges of course)?

[dgo]

this is really the JAMC album i haven't listened to enough, and i don't really know why. as far as albums go this is solid.

[Travis Keller]

Yeah Come On rules... I guess I should have posted that but I figure alot of people have 21 singles... and that's on there.

What's really good is the two Come On cd singles... where they cover New Kind Of Kick by The Cramps... among others like Prince and The Pouges.

[Tim]

Are these CD's out of print? Whenever I'm record shopping, I always make a point to look for Jesus and Mary Chain records and all they ever have is 21 singles. I don't want the fucking singles, I want the albums. Jesus.

[johnny]

I do believe all the JMAC CDs are OOP in the US, but can still be imported.

[Michael]

Am i the only one that believes that the JAMC only had like 5 different songs in their repertoire and they recreated that numerous times over? Given, those 5 different songs are better than most bands 200 songs, but... Ah, fuck it, i can't really complain. Good pick.

[Travis Keller]

If you live in LA Ameoba has pretty much all their records... if you live elsewhere.. order em from insound. I added that link.

And yeah dude, youre right about them having about five different songs... that's why I said that they "found a formula that worked and never changed"

[Ryan]

How come like all these good bands that are being posted I was never into or heard of when they first appeared? Stone Roses, JAMC, New Order, Spiritualized, etc. I thought I was cool and stuff back in school and new about all the good bands and music, but I guess I really was kinda losery.

[P.]

i love the commentary on JAMC.

"In the 90’s pretty much every band was trying to be loud so they were like fuck it, we’re unplugged and stoned"

buddyhead "gets it."

PS: am i the only one who thinks "Darklands" is their best LP?

[mendo]

'Why do Brits pretty much beat the piss out of American bands in the attitude department (barring the stooges of course)?'

Hate to be a nitpicker but the biggest bands from Britain at the moment (Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay, Bloc Party, Idlewild, Keane etc.) are all very polite and middle-class. The one British band that the press tries to paint as edgy, the Libertines, get labelled so because they had a smackhead in them and they have a member of the Clash producing them. There's always Oasis, but they seem to have only retained their attitude and none of their talent as Noel hasn't written a good song in a decade. He's brilliant for the odd quotable put-down mind you.

[Michael]

Point taken, but who gives a shit about the biggest bands from anywhere? The biggest band from America right now is fucking Green Day... How wack is that? It's like 1995 again, but worse...

[Vin]

"Sometimes Always" makes my heart flutter. Yeah, I said flutter.
The whole album is solid fucking gold.

[Christo]

If you like this album check out the JAMC black seesions record in France. There is like 7 songs from Stoned and Dethroned, Girlfriend and Dirty Water are particularly good. The sound quality is awesome and they opened with Snakedriver which has the fucking coolest, yet hard to decipher, opening lyrics ever. period.

[Mitch Weintmanberg]

where can one find the black sessions?