When approaching a subject as divisive and possibly as incongruent as the ‘comeback tour’ or the ‘anniversary album tour’, then the initial investigation should always be centred directly on the historical tapestry that was being woven at the time of the subject’s release. The Jesus & Mary Chain’s Psychocandy was spewed forth into 1985 with all the force of a nuclear assault, directed at the MOR dross that was swamping the U.K. charts at that time. The album charts were cluttered with an antediluvian bilge consisting of Phil Collins, Foreigner, Dire Straits and several more of the same ilk. The oracle of all things musically independent and interesting in the United Kingdom was the New Musical Express, which had a plethora of wonderful and frightening albums in their end of year list, with Psychocandy only surprisingly knocked off the top spot by Tom Waits and his seminal work, Rain Dogs. Instead of “No jacket required” we had “Nail” by scraping foetus off the wheel at number 29 and also other bands as diverse as Einstrudenze Neubarten and Hüsker Dü both appearing in the top 50. The album was released in February of 1985 and only preceded the biggest live musical event of the year (or any other year, for that matter) that was Live Aid by a few months. This global phenomenon that initially emphasised humanity and compassion, but in effect turned into a career move for most of the bands involved and only a small proportion of the 150 million pounds rose actually turned into bread in the mouths of the starving. Into this climate appeared the Jesus & Mary Chain with their 20-minute backs to the crowd, amphetamine fuelled sets that caused riots and mayhem wherever they appeared. On Sunday, the 22nd of February, they returned to Rock City Nottingham, where just shy of three decades ago they played a gig as part of their promotional tour for Psychocandy’s release.
The role of the rock star is to live the life that us mere mortals can only fantasize about; Iain Mc Culloch of Echo & The Bunnymen put it succinctly in the single “The Back of Love” when he sang, “We love extreme’s, getting to grips with the ups and downs because there’s nothing in-between,” but as JAMC came on stage it was akin to attending a lecture or seminar as we were given the itinerary for the evening by an apparently apprehensive Jim Reid. Opening the seven track first set with a lifeless version of the pop classic “April Skies” and closing with an almost distortion free version of “Upside Down”, it was plain to see that the three decades had stripped the band of the malevolence and rancour that had made them so appealing in the initial confrontation. After a brief interlude for a cup of tea [Jim’s words, not mine], we were presented with the full album in question in chronological order, which was mostly lacking in any venom or menace apart from “In a Hole” and “Trip Me Up”. The full venue had done their bit in trying to cajole and seduce the band into giving that little extra but mostly to no avail, perhaps leaving with the thought that idolatry is not really good for anyone especially the idols.
