Ladies & Gentlemen, Spiritualized
It’s easy to complain about the massive prostitution of brilliant musical material when a record company feels the need to make more money by repackaging outstanding albums into deluxe and special editions. The first example that comes to mind is Columbia’s massive repackaging of Radiohead’s pre-In Rainbows catalogue since the band dropped them.
But good stuff can come out of such things too! In this case, me discovering bands that I was too young to know about the first time around. Meet Spiritualized.
Formed in 1990, the British group’s undisputed masterpiece came in 1997 called Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space. I question whether I’ve been living in a hole, since Spiritualized is still alive and making records; but at least in the U.S. I’m pretty sure that they are not a household name, quite less an indie stronghold. They ought to be though.
Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space is the most perfect and sophisticated albums I have heard in a long time. Down to the concept art in the package (bought used in my case), Jason Pierce and the band present the 70 minute album like a true work of art, which it is. Clearly ahead of their time this music sounds as fresh as anything out there today, if not for a tinge of 90’s groove that I can’t get enough of lately (try Pavement and Pulp). Without putting too many of my thoughts in your head, the title track sounds lik the complete basis for The Antlers’ Hospice, “Stay With Me” is right out of recent Flaming Lips, while “Home of the Brave” and the 17-minute “Cop Shoot Cop” are just pure bliss.
Screw the new $190 Collector Edition with 14 discs (aka Tablets), or the (three disc) $80 Super Deluxe Edition that came out last year, but this record, as it was fundamentally released, needs to be heard. And if it takes a wee bit of corporate shenanigans, I’ll let it be.
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