Vanishing Point is the fifth studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream. It was released on 7 July 1997 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and in the United States by Reprise Records. It peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.
Recording
The album was written and recorded with the aid of two portable eight-track recording studios at the band's Chalk Farm rehearsal rooms. According to an article, much of the album came from live improvisation, and "Then later on we'd layer other sounds and loops over the top, and the vocals," Gillespie said in an interview.
| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly
| rev2score = A
| rev3 = The Guardian
| rev3score =
| rev4 = Los Angeles Times
| rev4score =
| rev5 = NME
| rev5score = 9/10
| rev6 = Pitchfork
| rev6score = 8.3/10
| rev7 = Rolling Stone
| rev7score =
| rev8 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
| rev8score =
| rev9 = Spin
| rev9score = 8/10
| rev10 = The Village Voice
| rev10score = B+
Vanishing Point received positive reviews from critics, who welcomed it as a return to form after 1994's Give Out But Don't Give Up. NME named it the 4th best album of 1997. In 2012, NME journalist Mark Beaumont ranked it as the band's fourth best album, calling it "a brilliant record for its statement of intent alone – it stamped in stone Primal Scream's mandate to never repeat themselves and consistently indulge their experimental spirit". The album was also included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
Primal Scream
- Bobby Gillespie – vocals
- Andrew Innes – guitar, bass
- Robert Young – guitar, programming, keyboards
- Martin Duffy – keyboards, programming, melodica
- Gary 'Mani' Mounfield – bass
- Paul Mulreany – drums
Production
- Primal Scream – production (except 10)
- Brendan Lynch – production (except 10)
- Andrew Weatherall – production (10)
- Max Hayes – engineering (except 10)
- Tim Holmes – engineering (10)
- George Shilling – mix engineering (2, 3, 11)
Guests
- Marco Nelson – bass guitar (1, 4, 5, 7)
- Augustus Pablo – melodica (4)
- Glen Matlock – bass guitar (8)
- Pandit Dinesh – tablas (4, 6)
- Iain Dixon – bass clarinet (2)
- Duncan Mackay – trumpet (2, 5)
- Jim Hunt – saxophone (2, 5)
- Wayne Jackson – trumpet (4)
- Andrew Love – saxophone (4)
- Paul Harte – harmonica (8), synthesizer (9)
Charts
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!scope="col"| Chart (1997)
!scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 64
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