Honey's Dead

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Honey's Dead
Honey's Dead cover
Studio album by The Jesus and Mary Chain
Released March 1992
Recorded 1990-1991
Genre Alternative
Length 42:22
Label Blanco y Negro
Def American
Producer(s) William Reid Jim Reid
Professional reviews
The Jesus and Mary Chain chronology
Automatic
(1989)		 Honey's Dead
(1992)		 The Sound of Speed
(1993)


Honey's Dead is an album released by the Scottish rock group The Jesus and Mary Chain on Blanco y Negro Records in 1992. The title refers to one of the band's early hits, "Just Like Honey", and is intended to demonstrate a complete departure from their earlier musical style.

The album's first single, "Reverence", attracted some controversy for the lyrics "I want to die just like Jesus Christ", and "I want to die just like JFK". Banned by Top of the Pops, the track received airplay in the United States on the Alternative radio staions.

Honey's Dead was recorded in the band's London studio, the aptly named "Drugstore". With accomplished engineer Flood (Mark Ellis (record producer)) and future JaMC producer Alan Moulder on board (not to mention a considerably larger bankroll), the Brothers Reid crafted a landmark placeholder in their catalog, brilliantly embossed with their signature sound: screaming-feedback hollow-body guitar-driven songs, clever hooks and an urgency that does not press the listener.

Alternative and Campus radio stations picked up "Far Gone and Out" which remains one of the band's most popular singles to date. The Mary Chain shared the bill during parts of Lollapalooza 1992 in the U.S. with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Ministry, Lush, Ice Cube and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Anheuser Busch even used the samples of "Sugar Ray" as a background bed for their Bud Ice television commercials in 1993.

While it may post a close second only in sales to (1994) release Stoned & Dethroned (which contains the hit single "Sometimes Always" with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star), Honey's Dead serves as an excellent example of the band's trademark sound. Additionally, the Reid Brothers alternate between singing duties on tracks (most likely coinciding with songwriting duties). This has an effect that is two-fold: the tone and the timbre of the vocal parts is constantly changing, along with the song style - all of which lend an individuality to each track, which gives Honey a depth of character.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Reverence"
  2. "Teenage Lust"
  3. "Far Gone and Out"
  4. "Almost Gold"
  5. "Sugar Ray"
  6. "Tumbledown"
  7. "Catchfire"
  8. "Good for My Soul"
  9. "Rollercoaster" (originally issued on an EP in 1990)
  10. "I Can't Get Enough"
  11. "Sundown"
  12. "Frequency"

[edit] Band Members

  • William Reid: guitar, vocals on tracks 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12
  • Jim Reid: guitar, vocals on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6
  • Steve Monti: drums, percussion

All tracks by Reid/Reid. Produced by William Reid/Jim Reid. Engineered and mixed by Alan Moulder, except for "Rollercoaster" (engineered by Flood, mixed by Alan Moulder).

[edit] Trivia

The track "Tumbledown" contains a sample of Einstürzende Neubauten's "Tanz Debil" (Kollaps, 1981) starting at 1:25 and lasting for roughly 18 seconds.

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