This shift was largely due to the production work of the legendary Andrew Weatherall and sound engineer Hugo Nicolson, who helped remix the original recordings to give them a dance-oriented sound. It was the band's first album to achieve both commercial and critical success, though this milestone was preceded by a series of events; the band had previously released two albums filled with abrasive sounds that failed to make much of an impact.
In the late 80s and early 90s, the "Madchester" scene started to give up to the acid house movement—a genre often associated with drugs like LSD and MDMA. While they weren't the first to explore this direction—bands like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays had already taken initial steps—Primal Scream approached it differently.
Their background sound based on indie rock and combined with the producers' work, helped to create a sound that shattered the barriers existing at the time; suddenly, those of us who listened to indie rock felt the urge to hit the dance floor without reserves, thanks to "Screamadelica. Bobby Gillespie stated that although Primal Scream was a rock band with diverse tastes, they were interested in other genres and open to change; notably, they cited The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, the legendary Nico and her album The Marble Index, as well as plenty of 1960s sounds and 1970s reggae and dub.
Consequently, Andrew Weatherall—a friend of the band—decided to experiment with one of their tracks, "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have." The result was something entirely different and overwhelming, which they dubbed "Loaded"; it was packed with new sounds and samples from the Jane Fonda film "The Wild Angels". The next track was the brilliant "Come Together," setting the direction for the rest of the album alongside Weatherall, though the band's producer, Jimmy Miller, added a rock edge by producing "Movin' On Up" and "Damaged."
Things were going so well that The Orb took on "Higher Than The Sun," while the production team Hypnotone put their stamp on "Slip Inside This House," featuring an incredible bassline. "Loaded" was the first single released—about 18 months before the album itself—followed by five others, most notably "Come Together" and "Higher Than The Sun." By then, the domino effect was already in motion; the collaborations undoubtedly did justice to the band's work, proving that rock and dance music could coexist. It is worth remembering, however, that this was also the era when groups like EMF and Jesus Jones emerged with the "alternative dance" sound that dominated the early 1990s.
The album cover was another fascinating aspect of the early 90s art—instantly recognizable wherever you happen to be. Artist Paul Canell saw those peculiar shapes in a puddle after taking LSD outside the Creation Records offices; it’s no wonder NME dubbed it the most drug-fueled album in history.
