Just Like Honey
| Company type | Single |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | September 1985 |
| Founder | William Reid, Jim Reid |
| Products | Alternative rock music track |
Just Like Honey is a track by the Scottish alternative rock group the Jesus and Mary Chain, featured on their 1985 debut album Psychocandy. Issued as the third and concluding single via Blanco y Negro Records in September 1985, it played a significant role in shaping the noise pop branch of alternative rock. The songwriting credits go to band members William Reid and Jim Reid. Drummer Bobby Gillespie integrates the drum pattern from Hal Blaine's work on The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" into the song's introduction.
This composition has appeared in various films, most prominently during the final scene of Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003), as well as in The Man Who Loved Yngve and a 2011 commercial for Volkswagen. Additionally, it is featured in "Mommy," the third episode of American Horror Story: Hotel.
Chart performance
On the UK Singles Chart, the single reached a peak position of number 45.
Critical reception
In 1985, "Just Like Honey" was ranked second on the NME "Tracks of the Year" list, trailing only Psychocandy’s lead single "Never Understand". In 2015, Pitchfork placed it at number 46 among the 200 greatest songs of the 1980s, applauding its "reverby dose of Phil Spector grandiosity." Ned Raggett from AllMusic characterized it as "strangely beautiful" and simultaneously "anti-pop yet pure pop." In 2021, Time Out ranked it twentieth among songs related to oral sex.
Track listing
All compositions are credited to Jim Reid and William Reid.
7" (NEG 17)
- "Just Like Honey" – 3:00
- "Head" – 3:48
2×7" Gatefold (NEG 17F)
- "Just Like Honey" – 3:00
- "Head" – 3:48
- "Inside Me" – 3:08
- "Just Like Honey" (Demo) – 2:54
- 12" (NEG 17T)
- "Just Like Honey" – 3:00
- "Head" – 3:48
- "Cracked" – 3:43
- "Just Like Honey" (Demo) – 2:54
The Jesus and Mary Chain
- Jim Reid – vocals, production
- William Reid – guitar, production
- Douglas Hart – bass guitar, production
- Bobby Gillespie – drums, production
Additional personnel
- Karen Parker – backing vocals
- John Loder – engineering
Charts
Template:Singlechart| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|