James – Gold Mother

Gold Mother is the third studio album from James, originally released June 1990. The album was recorded for Rough Trade Records, but James asked to be released from their contract with them and moved to Fontana. Melodic and cute as its big singles are, Gold Mother is a fruitfully diverse, imaginative album. Government Walls is raw in its political up-frontless, while God Only Knows, with its Jimmy Swaggart samples and precision-swearing, is an uncompromising blast at TV evangelists. The title-track is a cauldron of brass and boldness, and Hang On is a scorched love-gone-askew song. Perhaps the secret of James’ longevity and wide reach is evident throughout Gold Mother. It’s often savage, sometimes bitter, and always loaded with ideas. Yet its overall effect is uplifting, even euphoric, and for all its weight, it flies, light as a feather.

2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 180 Gram