"Sometimes Always" is a song by the Scottish

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

group

the Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...

, released in July 1994, by

Blanco y Negro Records Blanco y Negro Records ( Spanish: "White and Black"), a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and Mike Alway of él Records. Michel Duval of Les Disques du Crépuscule was also invo ...

, as the first single from the group's fifth album, ''

Stoned & Dethroned ''Stoned & Dethroned'' is the fifth studio album by the Scottish alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. After spending most of 1992 touring, including a slot on that year's Lollapalooza tour, the band went into the studio during January ...

'' (1994). Written by William Reid, the song is a duet between

Jim Reid James McLeish Reid (born 29 December 1961) is a Scottish singer/songwriter and the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid (musician), William Reid ...

and

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal (band), Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal ...

Hope Sandoval Hope Sandoval (born June 24, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, and the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. She has also toured and collaborated with other artists, including the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ma ...

. The song was a moderate commercial hit in the UK while also making some noise on the alternative circuit in the US. It has since seen critical acclaim as one of the best songs from the ''Stoned & Dethroned'' album.

Background

"Sometimes Always" was written by Jesus and Mary Chain guitarist William Reid, who felt that the song sounded like a

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

and

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

duet. The band then recruited

vocalist

to sing the female lead alongside Jesus and Mary Chain lead singer

. William Reid commented, "We'd always liked Hope's voice. We asked her years ago to be on one of the records, but there was never a song that suited. Then this one came along and it felt right." Initially, the band worried that the song was "a bit too cute, too light a story," according to William Reid. However, as he stated, "When we recorded it, Hope and Jim sang and they just transcended it." By the time the song was recorded, Sandoval was known to be a "good friend" to William, hinting at the pair's affair that would come to light. Sandoval would also appear alongside the band in the song's video.

Release

"Sometimes Always" was selected by the band as the first single from their 1994 album ''

''. The single was released by

on 18 July 1994 and reached 22 on the UK Single Chart. "Sometimes Always" peaked at No. 62 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in August 1994. It also reached No. 4 on the US

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart, the band's last song to appear on that chart. It also became the band's only song to appear on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, debuting and peaking at No. 96. A poster for the single can be seen in the ''Bottom'' episode " Terror" while the song itself appears in the 1995 film ''

The Doom Generation ''The Doom Generation'' is a 1995 independent film, independent black comedy thriller (genre), thriller film co-produced, co-edited, written and directed by Gregg Araki, and starring Rose McGowan, James Duval and Jonathan Schaech. The plot follow ...

''.

Reception

"Sometimes Always" saw positive critical reception and was often named a highlight from ''Stoned & Dethroned''. Upon the release,

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine wrote, "Onetime purveyors of feedback pop return with a light, acoustic toe-tapper that places soothing vocals and melody above its jangly guitars. Guest vocalist

adds a fluttering breeze to a tune that is already wooing the hearts of

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

programmers." In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote, Sometimes Always' does indeed make for a lovely little duet," while '' Drowned In Sound'' dubbed it the album's "best known and ultimately standout moment." Martin Aston from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it a score of four out of five. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' also named the song a "standout" on ''Stoned & Dethroned'', while Tom Breihan of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' said that the song is a "classic" and that it "rules so hard."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Sometimes Always" was directed by British director

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is an English music video director who has directed over 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 ''Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's song " ...

and produced by Rob Small for Oil Factory. It was released on 18 July 1994 and features marital discord played out in an American bar. Muller also directed the video for "

Come On Come On may refer to: Music * ''Come On'' (EP), by Elf Power, 1999 * "Come On" (Billy Lawrence song), 1997 * "Come On" (Christine Anu song), 1995 * "Come On" (Chuck Berry song), 1961; covered by the Rolling Stones, 1963 * "Come On" (CNBLUE so ...

" and designed the album artwork for ''

''.

Track listings

* 7-inch (NEG70) # "Sometimes Always" ( William Reid) – 2:32 # "The Perfect Crime" (

) – 1:32 * 10-inch (NEG70TE, limited and numbered) and CD (NEG70CD) # "Sometimes Always" (W. Reid) – 2:32 # "The Perfect Crime" (J. Reid) – 1:32 # "Little Stars" (W. Reid) – 3:29 # "Drop-Re-Recorded" (W. Reid) – 1:50

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, producer * William Reid – guitar, producer *

- vocals ("Sometimes Always") * Dick Meaney –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Charts

Cover versions

The song was recorded as a duet by

Courtney Jaye Courtney Jaye (born February 15, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. Biography Courtney Jaye Goldberg was born on February 15, 1978, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and moved to Alpharetta, Georgia, when she was a freshman in high school. I ...

and

Ben Bridwell Benjamin Bridwell (born April 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and only continuous member of the American rock band Band of Horses, as well as a former member of the ba ...

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has been the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line ...

on Jaye's 2010 album, ''The Exotic Sounds of Courtney Jaye'' and by The Brakes on their 2005 album "Give Blood", duetting with Becki and Julia of The Pipettes. In 2020,

Hatchie Harriette Pilbeam (born 4 May 1993), known professionally as Hatchie, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released an EP, ''Sugar & Spice'' (2018) and two studio albums: '' Keepsake'' (2019) and '' Giving the World Away'' ( ...

and

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are an American indie pop band from New York City. The band was formed by Kip Berman (vocals, guitar), Peggy Wang (keyboards, vocals), Alex Naidus (bass), and Kurt Feldman (drums) in 2007. Their current lineup i ...

recorded a duet cover.

References

{{Authority control The Jesus and Mary Chain songs 1994 singles 1994 songs Blanco y Negro Records singles Songs written by William Reid (musician) Music videos directed by Sophie Muller