Primitives - Echoes and Rhymes
by Tommy Gunnarsson
published: 2 / 5 / 2012

Label:
Elefant Records
Format: CD
intro
Enjoyable, but somewhat bland comeback album of often little-known female-fronted cover songs from 80's indie pop act, the Primitives
My guess is that the Primitives are pretty tired of being coupled together with their sole top ten hit, 'Crash', released in 1988. Sure, they released plenty of more singles, and three albums as well, but neither of them did remarkably well in the charts. That doesn’t mean that the records were bad, of course. There were some really great songs on those albums, and especially their debut, 'Lovely'. After splitting up in the early 90s, the band reformed in 2009 for a couple of gigs in the UK and the US (featuring new bass player Paul Sampson, replacing Steve Dullaghan, who had died earlier that year), and apparently they enjoyed playing together again. Last year, Fortuna POP! released the EP 'Never Kill a Secret', and now Spanish label Elefant presents a whole new album, consisting of cover versions of “lesser-known female-fronted songs”. Some of them are not completely unknown, like Nico’s 'I’m Not Sayin’ and Sandy Posey’s 'A Single Girl', but mostly these are new acquaintances, at least for me. And before I go any further here, I should point out that they have picked great songs for this cover album. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that these were original Primitives songs, which is quite a positive remark. But, and sadly there is a “but” here, I can’t shake the feeling of it being a bit… well, how shall I put it… bland? In lack of better words, I have to settle for that one. Normally, I would give you a reason for that view, but this time, I can’t. It’s just a feeling I have. The album doesn’t make me go searching for superlatives. This is a shame really, because there are, as I said, some great songs here. To put it in other words: I will definitely keep this album, but I don’t think it will be a frequent guest in my CD-player.
Track Listing:-
1 Panic2 Turn Off The Moon
3 Move It On Over
4 Sunshine In My Rainy Day Mind
5 Till You Say You'll Be Mine
6 I'm Not Sayin'
7 The Witch
8 I Surrender
9 Amoureux D'une Affiche
10 Where Will You Be?
11 Single Girl
12 Who Are You Trying To Fool?
13 Time Slips Away
14 Wild Flower
Band Links:-
https://twitter.com/primitivesbandhttps://www.facebook.com/ThePrimitivesOfficial
http://elefant.com/bands/the-primitives
http://the-primitives.co.uk/
https://theprimitives.bigcartel.com
Label Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/elefantukhttp://www.elefantuk.com/
https://twitter.com/elefantuk
http://elefant.com/
Have a Listen:-
interviews |
Interview (2021) |
![]() |
Indie pop pioneers The Primitives are currently on the road on their Electric Acoustic tour which celebrates the release of boxset 'Bloom! The Complete Recordings 1985-92'. Guitarist/vocalist Paul Court chats to Richard Lewis about the group’s early days, chart success and returning to the stage. |
live reviews |
Live Rooms, Chester, 12/9/2021 |
![]() |
Indie pop progenitors The Primitives roll back the years with a career-scanning set delivered in breathless fashion. Richard Lewis reviews |
Primitives |
Relentless Garage, London, 24/3/2011 |
favourite album |
Galore (2015) |
![]() |
Anthony Strutt reflects on the Primitives' underrated 1991 third album 'Galore', which has just been reissued in a double CD edition |
Lovely (2013) |
digital downloads
soundcloud
reviews |
Spin-O-Rama (2014) |
![]() |
Excellent second comeback album from reformed 80's indiepop act, the Primitives |
Everything’s Shining Bright: The Lazy Recordings 1985-87 (2013) |
Never Kill a Secret (2011) |
most viewed articles
current edition
Robby Krieger - Set The Night on Fire, Living, Dying, And Playing Guitar with The DoorsBoomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....
Lida Husik - Interview
Cathal Coughlan - Interview
Rick Wakeman - Interview
Peter Doherty and Frederic Lo - Cavern Club, Liverpool, 27/3/2022
Cliff Richard - Not Fade Away
Simon Bromide - Interview
Candlelight Tribute to Coldplay - Manchester Cathedral, Manchester, 1/4/2022
Wolfgang Flur - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Rupert Wates - For The PeopleBanjo Jen - Fine Line
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri - The Long Ride Home
Bonham-Bullick - Bonham-Bullick
Dead South - Easy Listening for Jerks Parts 1 and 2
Family - A Song for Me
Loop - Sonancy
Stereophonics - Oochya!
John Mayall - The Sun is Shining Down
Weather Station - How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Adrian P
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Carl Bookstein
Chris O'Toole
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank