Barbed Wire Kisses....The Jesus and Mary Chain

This is a band that was 20 years ahead of its’ time. When you first listened to them you were going someplace you had never been before. Full of white noise, Beach Boy harmonies and some kinda dark beautiful confusion. There are plenty of groups out there today who owe a debt to The Jesus and Mary Chain.

bio from allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-jesus-and-mary-chain-mn0000343930

Like the Velvet Underground, their most obvious influence, the chart success of the Jesus and Mary Chain was virtually nonexistent, but their artistic impact was incalcula ble; quite simply, the British group made the world safe for white noise, orchestrating a sound dense in squalling feedback which served as an inspiration to everyone from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jr. Though the supporting players drifted in and out of focus, the heart of the Mary Chain remained vocalists and guitarists William and Jim Reid, Scottish-born brothers heavily influenced not only by underground legends like the Velvets and the Stooges but also by the sonic grandeur and pop savvy of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. In the Jesus and Mary Chain, which the Reids formed outside of Glasgow in 1984 with bassist Douglas Hart and drummer Murray Dalglish (quickly replaced by Bobby Gillespie), these two polarized aesthetics converged; equal parts bubblegum and formless guitar distortion, their sound both celebrated pop conventions and thoroughly subverted them.

Barbed Wire Kisses… http://www.allmusic.com/album/barbed-wire-kisses-mw0000196347

Just a few years into their official recording career, the Jesus and Mary Chain had enough B-sides, outtakes, and other things sitting around to warrant a collection of nearly all of them, thus Barbed Wire Kisses. A welcome inclusion is the original debut single on Creation, “Upside Down,” which in terms of the mix alone makes Psychocandy sound like Boston. Unfortunately the flip side cover of the Pink Floyd rarity “Vegetable Man” doesn’t make it, but obvious inspirations the Beach Boys get saluted twice, once through a heavily thrashed-up cover of “Surfin’ USA” that’s pure Psychocandy in fidelity and impact, then again through a hilarious parody. “Kill Surf City” is pure Brian Wilson circa 1963 in melody, but the lyrics are something else again — death, doom, destruction, and a bit of love here and there — and the end result is a truly nutty combination. Another double tribute is given to Bo Diddley; his “Who Do You Love” becomes a low, menacing lope, echo cranked up high, while “Bo Diddley Is Jesus” just about says it all in the title, while of all bands, Can gets a nod via a cool live cover of “Mushroom.” A single came with the whole thing as well, “Sidewalking,” one of the band’s best yet. Taking a T. Rex-styled glam strut and running it through their trademark clang’n’scrape feedback wringer, it’s a monstrous track, the best song from the group since their Psychocandy days. A large number of tracks essentially continue the Psychocandy aesthetic without adding much to it, though those not entirely taken with Darklands will find much to love with the likes of “Head” and “Cracked.” Meanwhile, two alternate versions of album cuts — an acoustic take on “Taste of Cindy” and a neat demo take of “On the Wall” — add to the fun.