I don’t remember how old I was.  Not overly young. Maybe 17 or 18. And I can remember – I remember this – I can remember seeing these two chaps on MTV back when the station used to play videos with, like, music and stuff. And … and … oh my.

There was all this feedback and noise and stuff. It was kind of ugly, really. But oh, was it beautiful, this noise (laid over a driving beat and throbbing bassline, sure, but all I heard was the noise). Yet the real kicker was what these guys were saying:

“I wanna die just like Jesus Christ. I wanna die on a bed of spikes.”

OH. MY. GOD. Yes! Also a good bit of, “What the Fuck!?” But mostly, Yes!

You see, I, too, wanted to die like Jesus Christ, though I would have settled for dying like JFK (on a sunny day).

And for many years to follow, when I recorded shitty four-track tapes of my guitar wank over a shitty drum machine, this band would be a key influence to all I did.

The Jesus And Mary Chain were not the most revolutionary band to hit the stage – Spacemen 3 and Suicide riffed in the same territory years before – nor were the Reid brothers the best songwriters in the world – catchy as their tunes were, there were really only three or four song variations in the whole JAMC repertoire – but godDAMN could those boys lay down some cigarette-cool rock and roll. I defy anyone (including our misguided assistant editor Chris Hughes) to deny their capacity for balls out, feedback-laden, catchy tunage.

The fact that their albums fell out of print in the United States is nothing short of criminal. Thankfully, they’re back – well, some of them – and in enhanced form, thanks to Warner Music. One of them (as if this is a surprise) is the album featuring those crazy, kooky Reid kids hoping to die like Messiahs, Honey’s Dead.

Honey’s Dead is widely considered their best (longtime fans still argue for their first, Psychocandy), and for good reason. Not only is the production polished to perfection, but nearly every song is catchy, memorable, and singable. And that’s what JAMC did best. From the “controversial” opener Reverence, where the previously mentioned lyrics come from, to the Beatles-perfect Far Gone And Out, to the driving Rollercoaster, to the wavering noise of Catchfire and beyond, Honey’s Dead is The Jesus And Mary Chain unleashed. The very best introduction to a great band. The songs are simple, there is as much variation to the approach as your average Ramones record, yet it has managed to remain in my personal playlist for nearly 15 years.

I think that’s swell. And I think this new release is swell, too.

These new releases are pretty sweet not just for new fans who couldn’t get Jesus And Mary Chain records in North America over the last few years, but also for longtime fans. They’re all two-sided discs; one side a CD, the other a DVD. On one side you get the album as you’ve always known and loved it. On the other, Nifty New Stuff (tm). First, you get a Dolby enhanced version of the album that sounds just great on a home theater system. If you’ve moved into the home theater age, this is exactly how you want to hear your music. As added bonus, Warner Music/Rhino includes three music videos – in this case, the totally psych Reverence, the totally lame Far Gone And Out, and the kinda neat Almost Gold.

No, it’s not going to make longtime fans who have all the albums rush out to buy them all over again, but these extras should be enticing to anyone thinking about checking out the band but just hadn’t gotten around to it, and the Dolby mixes make for a nice upgrade for fans who only want the best of the best. In fact, for this album, I’d offer a big HELL YEAH to the DVD audio version. ‘Cause, like, it’s hot. Squalls of feedback swirling around your head via your Dolby home theater? Count me in!

I no longer want to die like Jesus Christ – Chris Farley’s seems far more appealing at this point – but I do still want to listen to this great record. Yay for long overdue re-releases!