Spacemen 3 - Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs To
(Space Age Recordings)
This is a re-release of a compilation issued on Bomp! a while back. If you have the Bomp!
record already, do you need to buy this one? No. If you do not have the one on Bomp!, do you
need to buy this one? Yes. And why don't you have the one on Bomp! Is there something
wrong with you?
First, for those in the know, the only differences between the Space Age and Bomp! versions are
that the Space Age one comes in a crappy little cardboard sleeve that will soon tear and fall
apart and has one extra track, an "organ version" of "Transparent Radiation." Really, its not
worth buying the whole cd over again just for that. Plus the Space Age version lacks the notes
from the Bomp! version detailing the origin of each song.
For those not in the know, this compilation is made up in part of demos for the album Sound
of Confusion, which members of the band have professed to prefer over the album recordings
(the rest of the album is other outtakes and some live recordings). Most fans agree that these
are superior performances. Spacemen 3 has never been known for being polished or having really
great production values, but the tracks on this record are particularly raw. Which is to say,
they exemplify what Spacemen 3 was all about.
For instance, "2.35" is a bluesy, garage band style number that makes three different
appearances on this cd (version 1 & 2, and, best of all, the feedback version). When I say
blues, I don't mean Eric Clapton style dreck, but blues filtered through a heavy Velvet
Underground influence: noisey, nasty dirges, blaring with distortion, thumping with blunt
drums. Really, that pretty much sums up the whole record.
There have been few bands like the Spacemen: they can simultaneously swagger like rock stars
and knowingly wallow in a bleak, drug-addled haze. They can let loose with a fury of noise, and
they can get lost in the drone. They can even, occasionally, stare honestly into the desperation
of their various addictions (the only thing to rival music in importance to the band, hence the
album title). "Sound of Confusion," which opens up this record, says it best: "Here it comes,
here comes the sound of confusion."
So, if you have not yet experienced this band that has inspired every band you listen to now
(see A Tribute to Spacemen 3 on Rocket Girl Records), run out and buy this record. Then
buy the rest of their records. But, kids, please remember, say "no" to drugs!
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