Psychocandy is the debut album by the Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...

, released in November 1985. Psychocandy combined the concepts of pop songs and searing guitar chords.

The album is considered to be a landmark recording, frequently appearing in "best-ever" album lists, such as Q magazine's list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever, where it placed at number 88 in 2000. In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #23 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s". In 2003, the album was ranked number 268 on Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine's list of "The 500 greatest albums of all time

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...

". Allmusic described the album as one that "created a movement without meaning to."

Background

The band had been signed by Blanco y Negro on the strength of their debut, Slaughter Joe

Slaughter Joe

Slaughter Joe aka Joe Foster is a musical artist, record producer, historian, and former child actor.Along with Alan McGee and Dick Green, he had formed Creation Records in 1983. He set up the Kaleidoscope Sound label in the mid 1980s, and Creation's subsidiary label Rev-Ola Records in the early...

-produced single, "Upside Down" and media attention generated by the band's highly charged and energetic gigs.

Recording and production

Lead vocals are handled by Jim Reid

Jim Reid

Jim Reid is the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid -The Jesus and Mary Chain:...

 on this album, with the exception of "It's So Hard," sung by William Reid

William Reid (musician)

William Adam Reid is a guitarist, composer and, at times, singer for the Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-The Jesus and Mary Chain:...

.

Release and reception

The album includes the singles "Never Understand

Never Understand

"Never Understand" is the first single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album Psychocandy. It was the band's first release on Blanco y Negro Records and was released through them in February 1985. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was...

", "You Trip Me Up

You Trip Me Up

"You Trip Me Up" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the second single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in May 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid...

" and "Just Like Honey

Just Like Honey

"Just Like Honey" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the third single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in September 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim...

". Following reissue on CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in August 1986, the bonus track "Some Candy Talking

Some Candy Talking

Some Candy Talking is an extended play by the Scottish rock band The Jesus & Mary Chain, released in 1986. Its track listing included "Taste of Cindy", a song from their first album, Psychocandy performed acoustically, and a song entitled "Psychocandy", which did not appear on that album.The title...

", which was originally released on the namesake EP, was included on the album, only on the UK Blanco y Negro CDs released in 1986 and 1997; in the USA, it was released on CD by Reprise in 1986 and American Recordings in 1993 without the bonus track. In 2006, the album was remastered and released in DualDisc

DualDisc

DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...

 format without "Some Candy Talking" to conform with the original playlist.

Track listing

All songs written by Jim Reid

Jim Reid

Jim Reid is the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid -The Jesus and Mary Chain:...

 and William Reid

William Reid (musician)

William Adam Reid is a guitarist, composer and, at times, singer for the Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-The Jesus and Mary Chain:...

.

LP (BYN 7) and cassette (BYNC 7)
Side 1

1. "Just Like Honey
   Just Like Honey
   "Just Like Honey" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the third single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in September 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim...
   
   " – 3:03
2. "The Living End" – 2:16
3. "Taste the Floor" – 2:56
4. "The Hardest Walk" – 2:40
5. "Cut Dead" – 2:47
6. "In a Hole" – 3:02
7. "Taste of Cindy" – 1:42

Side 2

1. "Never Understand
   Never Understand
   "Never Understand" is the first single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album Psychocandy. It was the band's first release on Blanco y Negro Records and was released through them in February 1985. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was...
   
   " – 2:57
2. "Inside Me" – 3:09
3. "Sowing Seeds" – 2:50
4. "My Little Underground" – 2:31
5. "You Trip Me Up
   You Trip Me Up
   "You Trip Me Up" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the second single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in May 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid...
   
   " – 2:26
6. "Something's Wrong" – 4:01
7. "It's So Hard" – 2:37

CD (BYNCD 7) 1986

1. "Just Like Honey
   Just Like Honey
   "Just Like Honey" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the third single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in September 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim...
   
   " – 3:03
2. "The Living End" – 2:16
3. "Taste the Floor" – 2:56
4. "The Hardest Walk" – 2:40
5. "Cut Dead" – 2:47
6. "In a Hole" – 3:02
7. "Taste of Cindy" – 1:42
8. "Some Candy Talking
   Some Candy Talking
   Some Candy Talking is an extended play by the Scottish rock band The Jesus & Mary Chain, released in 1986. Its track listing included "Taste of Cindy", a song from their first album, Psychocandy performed acoustically, and a song entitled "Psychocandy", which did not appear on that album.The title...
   
   " – 3:19
9. "Never Understand
   Never Understand
   "Never Understand" is the first single from the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain's debut album Psychocandy. It was the band's first release on Blanco y Negro Records and was released through them in February 1985. The song was written by William Reid and Jim Reid, and was...
   
   " – 2:57
10. "Inside Me" – 3:09
11. "Sowing Seeds" – 2:50
12. "My Little Underground" – 2:31
13. "You Trip Me Up
    You Trip Me Up
    "You Trip Me Up" is a song by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain from their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. The track was released as the second single from the record through Blanco y Negro Records in May 1985. The song was written by band members William Reid and Jim Reid...
    
    " – 2:26
14. "Something's Wrong" – 4:01
15. "It's So Hard" – 2:37

The Jesus and Mary Chain

• Jim Reid
  Jim Reid
  Jim Reid is the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid -The Jesus and Mary Chain:...
  
   – vocals, guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , production
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  
• William Reid
  William Reid (musician)
  William Adam Reid is a guitarist, composer and, at times, singer for the Scottish alternative rock band, The Jesus and Mary Chain.-The Jesus and Mary Chain:...
  
   – vocals, guitar, production
• Douglas Hart
  Douglas Hart
  Douglas Hart is a British musician and music video director.-Biography:Hart was the first bassist and founding member of the Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain, and played with the group from 1984 to 1991...
  
   – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , production
• Bobby Gillespie
  Bobby Gillespie
  Robert Bernard Andrew "Bobby" Gillespie is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and founding member of the alternative rock band, Primal Scream. He was also the drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain in the mid-1980s.- Early life :Born and raised in the south side district of Mount Florida in...
  
   – drum kit
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , production

Additional personnel

• Karen Parker and Laurence
  Felt (band)
  Felt were a 1980s British alternative rock band led by Lawrence, whose surname was never listed in any credits or press; the band's name was inspired by Tom Verlaine's emphasis of the word "felt" in the Television song "Venus"...
  
   - backing vocals
  Backing vocalist
  A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
  
  
• John Loder - engineering
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  
• Greg Allen - art direction
• Alistair Image - photography
• Bleddyn Butcher - photography
• Chris Clown - photography
• Mike Laye - photography
• Rona McIntosh - photography
• Stuart Cassidy - photography