Rocks (song)

"Rocks" is a song by British group Primal Scream. It is taken from the group's fourth album, Give Out But Don't Give Up. The song was released as a single in 1994 and reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart,^[1] acting as a double A-side with another of the band's songs, "Funky Jam". Together they were the highest-ranked Primal Scream single until "Country Girl" in 2006.

This song was the first indication of Primal Scream's change of musical style, when compared to their last album, 1991's Screamadelica, which featured dance leanings. "Rocks" (and the whole Give Out But Don't Give Up album in general) featured a more classic rock structure inspired by that of artists such as T. Rex, The Rolling Stones and The Faces. Faces singer Rod Stewart would later in fact cover the song himself, releasing it in his 1998 album When We Were the New Boys.^[2][3]

The intro is in similar style to the drumbreak of Sly & The Family Stone's "Dance to the Music".

The song also featured on a bundled disc with the UK release of Donkey Kong Country^[4]

Jessica Mauboy covered the song on her 2016 album, The Secret Daughter: Songs from the Original TV Series.

Track listing

All tracks written by Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes, Robert Young.

UK 7" and Cassette (Creation)

1. "Rocks" – 3:36
2. "Funky Jam (Hot Ass Mix)" – 5:21

US 7" (Sire)

1. "Rocks" – 3:36
2. "Everybody Needs Somebody" – 5:22

UK 12" and CD (Creation)

1. "Rocks" – 3:36
2. "Funky Jam (Hot Ass Mix)" – 5:21
3. "Funky Jam (Club Mix)" – 5:27

Charts

References