Primal Scream - Country Girl

  by Olga Sladeckova

published: 18 / 5 / 2006

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Review

4 years after their last album, Primal Scream are back. Preceding the band's 9th album 'Riot City Blues', a single ‘Country Girl’ hit the music store shelves on the 26th May in the UK. “She” (as I decided to refer to the single), however, had stirred things up a few weeks before that. The first time I saw the video for the single it left me quite in astonishment. ‘Country Girl’ is a country song although I am not quite sure how a tough western cowboy would deal with such an animal as that which Primal Scream capture in their video. I shall get back to this later though. The song opens with a massive stream of wild music. The excessive energy radiating from the song just makes you want to dance right from the first note. I would never thought of Bobby Gillespie as a country singer but this role seems to suit him well on this track although you can’t quite imagine him singing about horses. Perhaps it’s the lyrics that make him seem to really enjoy the song: “Crazy women Mess your head up Wake up drunk and beaten In some strange bed Yeah” As far as I can remember, Primal Scream have always supported the free way of living. Just think back to ‘Loaded’, ‘Miss Lucifer’ or ‘Rocks’ all of which provoke a rebel attitude. Also to have a beautiful and wild girl next to you (if you are a bloke) is always popular with the audience. “Country girl Take my hand Lead me through this diseased land” If you are, however, a woman and a part of you is the wild country girl the band are singing about which is waiting to get out, you are going to love this free spirited tune which allows you to be yourself. The second track of the single is called ‘Stone Ya To The Bone’. It builds up on the whole country feel with swiftly played harmonica. The whole song is much more intensive. Even the vocals have a much darker sensation. ‘Gimme Some Truth’ is the last track of the single. It is a cover of the John Lennon song. This song will possibly receive mixed reviews. Personally, it seems to grow on me and every time I play it it sounds better. When one of my friends, however. heard it he said: “They ruined John Lennon’s song.” So, I suggest you play it to find out what it does for you. John Lennon's original version, if you haven’t heard it before, is a slow song with tired vocals demanding “some truth”. Primal Scream take a much more aggressive approach and demand the truth with some fierce punk attitude. Now, if you still want to know more about the video clip which is provided on the CD here you go: It opens with a girl driving a track to a motel. She is not over dressed, if you know what I mean, and her short skirt and low cut top are going every colour you can imagine but somehow she looks great. When she reaches the motel she drags out her bags and heads for her room. She wastes no time and sniffs some coke and drinks to the Primal Scream tape she put on on the entrance. After having a steak, which she cooks in her flattering underwear, it’s time to get out again – in new clothes of course – this time it’s tight shorts and a tiny top. She heads for a local store where she steals a bottle of Jack Daniels and then goes off to see the “boys” at the pub. She plays a few games of pool before breaking a stick over someone’s back. She is sick on the way to another bar but it doesn’t stop her from downing some more Jack Daniels and eventually smashing a bottle over another man. At the end she gets down to some wild dancing but eventually is thrown out of the bar. I guess, to quote the lyrics, “the poor boys couldn’t do anything”.

Track Listing:-

1 Country Girl
2 Gimme Some Truth

Have a Listen:-