Tag: Space Rock

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Spiritualized “Pure phase”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Spiritualized
Album Title: Pure phase
Year released: 1995
Year reissued: 2011
Details: 2 x 180 gram

The skinny: Just over a month ago, when I first started this Spiritualized ‘Vinyl love’ series, fellow blogger 1537 commented that he was at that time “obsessed” with Spiritualized’s sophomore album “Pure phase” and asked me if I was purchasing any of the “fancy pants” reissues. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t even tempted because I certainly was. However, my vinyl collecting hasn’t yet reached those obsessive levels where I need to collect multiple (or all) versions of certain albums*. This album, along with Pierce’s debut** and third albums as Spiritualized, have always been amongst my most favourite ever albums and so were amongst the first records that I sought out in the record stores once I started collecting. This was back before I really started nerding out about vinyl and studying discogs.com and various other message and Reddit boards and the comments of other vinyl aficionados. I’ve since read and heard all of the complaints about reissue label Plain Records and their shoddy pressings but I’ve never claimed to have such a dynamic ear to hear what all the fussing is about. All that to say, I’ve never regretted this purchase.

Standout track: “Medication”

*And with vinyl prices the way they’re going, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford such levels of obsessiveness.

**Which we’ll see next week

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Spiritualized “Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Spiritualized
Album Title: Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space
Year released: 1997
Year reissued: 2010
Details: 2 x 180 gram

The skinny: Big fans of Jason Pierce’s space rock outfit, Spiritualized, that might be following along as I’ve been travelling backwards through my collection of their records will likely have been watching out for this one. The third record, “Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space” is largely and widely considered their best and I am definitely not one to disagree. It came in at number one when I counted down my favourite albums of 1997, a stacked year that also included seminal albums by Radiohead and The Verve. This double album of gospel, noise rock, and free jazz, tells the dual and intertwining tales of a breakup and a psychedelic trip and it is near perfection in its beautiful and pain. The 180 gram reissue I have from 2010 faithfully reproduces original album art that was modelled after medicinal packaging, right down to the wrapper-like album sleeves, instructional insert that includes Qs & As, and the expiry date and storage instructions on the back cover. This was a must have for my album collection and the first one from this particular ‘Vinyl love’ series that I purchased.

Standout track: “Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space”

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Spiritualized “Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Spiritualized
Album Title: Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997
Year released: 1998
Year reissued: 2014
Details: 2 x 180 gram

The skinny: We interrupt this backwards journey through Spiritualized’s exceptional studio album output to bring you a live album. But not just any live album. “Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997” is perhaps one of my favourite ever live albums, being one of only a small handful on my record shelves*. As its title suggests, Jason Pierce brought his band, along with a horn section, a string quartet, and a gospel choir, to Royal Albert Hall one night in October in 1997 and blew the doors off the place. I know this is true, not just because of the recording that blows my mind every time I hear it, but also from the stories recounted by my friend Tim**, who was lucky enough to be in attendance that night in London. The double album contains blissed out and freak out jams of most of the tunes off their latest album at the time***, plus samplings off their first two records, and as a bonus, one song from Pierce’s pre-Spiritualized lifetime, Spaceman 3. Though this pressing is another bare bones reissue by Plain Recordings, it’s a limited edition release on two lovely sounding 180-gram discs and the artwork is (almost)**** like I remember from the original copy I had on CD.

Standout track: “I think I’m in love (live)”

*Indeed, it’s only one of two that I purchased specifically for the live record, the others being bonus discs or parts of box sets.

**Happy birthday Tim!

***Yes, yes, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space“.

****As you can see in the cover photo above, the circle at the end of the band name on the cover, that usually includes a registered trademark notation, but here, is supposed to surround the concert venue, has somewhat missed the mark.