The Primitives' sound pretty much defines the lighter side of British pop in the late '80s: straight-ahead pop melodies tinged with a bit of Manchester danceability and shoegazer experimentation. Some of the Primitives' more "pop" songs are a bit too straightforward and bland, but the majority of Lovely is well-written enough to make up for the occasional lapse into plainness. The album is at its best when the band departs from its pop sound -- the Jesus and Mary Chain-inspired noise of "Spacehead" and "Stop Killing Me," or the Eastern-sounding "Shadow," with its sitar and backwards vocals, stand out as some of the more artistically worthwhile tracks. The Primitives, however, are more about writing hooky pop songs than making great artistic strides; Lovely's most memorable tracks are built around P.J. Court's simple, jangly guitar lines and Tracey's sweet, melodic vocals. the Primitives are a consistently exciting listen. [The 2013 reissue features remastered sound and a bonus disc of singles, mixes, and live tracks. Includes the excellent single "Way Behind Me," which was tacked on to the American release of the album.]
For a band that only managed three studio albums in its five-year career, there have been a surprising number of compilations devoted to the Primitives, largely due to the ageless wonder of the group's still-astonishing 1988 single "Crash," which seems to be revived every four or five years as a new generation of guitar pop fans discovers its breathless charms. However, 2006's Buzz Buzz Buzz: The Complete Lazy Recordings is the first comprehensive anthology collecting all of the Coventry foursome's pre-RCA recordings. Too unapologetically pop-oriented to fit entirely comfortably next to the more shambolic, C86-approved likes of the Flatmates, Shop Assistants, and Talulah Gosh, the Primitives were the first of that wave of female-led, Ramones-influenced naïve pop bands to sign to a major label, in direct opposition to the prevailing D.I.Y. ethos of their time and place. These 1986-1987 recordings, released on their own Lazy Recordings label, are far more in keeping with the sound of fellow U.K. indies like The Subway Organisation and the early days of the Sarah label than the comparatively glossy re-recordings on the major-label albums Pure and Lovely: the drums are flat and thudding, songwriter P.J. Court's single-note guitar solos are largely flattened to blurts of feedbacky noise, and singer Tracy Tracy (aka Tracy Cattell) usually sounds as if her pertly deadpan vocals are coming from either the next room or the bottom of a nearby well. So they're their own kind of indie pop perfection, then; add in that Court was from the get-go a minor genius of a songwriter, with a higher hit-to-miss ratio than any of his contemporaries (even non-single deep tracks like "Don't Want Anything to Change" and "Dreamwalk Baby" leave in the dust anything by, say, Transvision Vamp) and the 15 studio recordings here are flat-out essential for fans of the style. As for the remaining 30 tracks, just over half are BBC sessions from 1986 and 1987, including early versions of "Crash" (notably slower and driven by a surprisingly up-front, Peter Hook-like bass part, and lacking the immortal "na-na-na" chorus), "Stop Killing Me" (friggin' awesome), and the hazily neo-psychedelic "Ocean Blue" (here stripped down and making plain Court's admitted devotion to the "Femme Fatale" side of the Velvet Underground), and the rest is a 1987 gig at London's ICA that's surprisingly worthwhile. One wouldn't expect this, but the Primitives were actually a fairly tight live act, with Tracy's vocals sounding both stronger and less emotionally detached than they often did on the records. Even Primitives fans who have one of the earlier compilations of the group's indie singles will find much of interest here.
Formed in the British city of Coventry in 1985, THE PRIMITIVES garnered a following through several singles on their own Lazy Records imprint before signing to RCA for their first studio LP, Lovely. THE PRIMITIVES combined the guitar-based sensibilities of other indie acts like The Jesus & Mary Chain while adding a distinct audio / visual flair thanks to Tracy Cattell’s distinctive vocals and bottle-blonde hairstyle. They are credited with kick starting the niche indie subgenre of “blonde pop.” The album is basically a re-recording of tracks from their earlier singles, but still manages to be a cohesive whole that retains the excitement and energy of not only the original recordings, but still sounds amazing today. This is a great clear and crisp sounding remaster that gives the band the clarity and power that stands out from the twee and boring female fronted indie bands out there nowadays. You get the entire first album, leading off with their most well-known song “Crash”, plus a second CD of bonus tracks that are a treat for fans. Compiled with the help of guitarist PJ Court, this 2-CD compilation also has an annotated booklet boasting rare photos and personal memories from the band. A great first album that has been beautifully remastered, great bonus tracks and still stands up as one of the better albums from its time period…how could you go wrong? I’m glad that Cherry Red got this album back out to the public so that people can get a chance to hear a band at their peak having a great time.
