Группа Spacemen 3 образовалась в 1982 году в городке Рагби благодаря знакомству Sonic Boom (он же Пит Кембер - Pete Kember) и J.Spaceman (он же Джейсон Пирс - Jason Pierce). В музыке Spacemen 3 чувствовалось влияние гаражного рока 60-х: The 13th Floor Elevators, The Stooges и MC5, а также разноплановых коллективов, типа Suicide и Can. Результатом стал неповторимый и монотонный, вводивший в транс, звук, с “The Sound of Confusion” и “The Perfect Prescription”- классических альбомов группы. В 1991-м Spacemen 3 распалась. Пирс образовал Spiritualized, а Sonic Boom направил свою активность на Spectrum, Experimental Audio Research, сотрудничество с Jessamine и эксперименталистом 60-х The Silver Apples.

1 Losing Touch With My Mind
2 Hey Man
3 Rollercoaster
4 Mary Anne
5 Little Doll
6 2.35
7 D.D. Catastrophe
8 Walking with Jesus
9 Rollercoaster
10 Feel So Good
11 2.35
Sonic Boom's liner notes from the 1994 reissue in many ways capture the whole point of Spacemen 3's full-length debut: '[It] was basically an exorcism for us of our early material...we began our discography with an equal nod to our influences and our inspirations.' Indeed, calling Sound of Confusion derivative misses the point entirely, where calling it anything but a clear and specific homage to a sound and style would be a complete mistake. Three of its seven songs are cover versions -- 'Rollercoaster' by the 13th Floor Elevators, 'Mary Anne' by Juicy Lucy, and the Stooges' 'Little Doll' -- while the originals are at once very much Spacemen 3 songs and clear distillations of everything the band members were tripping out on at the time. Though Sonic and Pierce later expressed a preference for the takes included on the Taking Drugs to Make Music bootleg, the rough garage energy throughout still makes Sound of Confusion a fine listen, if nowhere near as stunning as where the band would later go. As was the case throughout the band's early days, Pierce handled all the vocals with the right amount of diffidence and low-key intensity, while he and Sonic cranked up the amps for minimal, bluntly entrancing riffs and the Brooker/Bain rhythm section chugged along. Of the originals, leadoff cut 'Losing Touch With My Mind' is the strongest of the bunch, a perfect fusion of the psych/proto-punk/drone influences of its creators sent into the outer void. Meanwhile, 'Hey Man,' the title audibly playing off the rhythm and sound of the word 'amen,' is the first of many overt references to gospel music that Pierce would incorporate for years to come. Some later CD versions included the Walking With Jesus EP for bonus tracks, along with one of the many demo takes on '2:35.'

1 Take Me to the Other Side
2 Walkin with Jesus
3 Ode to Street Hassle
4 Ecstasy Symphony
5 Transparent Radiation
6 Feel So Good
7 Things'll Never Be the Same
8 Come Down Easy
9 Call the Doctor
10 Soul 1
11 That's Just Fine
Drawing together some earlier material and a slew of new songs, Spacemen 3 tied everything together on the brilliant Perfect Prescription, the clear point of departure from tribute to psych inspirations and finding its own unique voice. Planned as a concept album, Perfect Prescription works where so many other similar efforts failed due to the strength of the individual songs, as well as the smart focus of the concept in question -- a vision of a drug trip from inception to its blasted conclusion, highs and lows fully intact. The bookending of the album makes that much clear -- 'Take Me to the Other Side' is a brash, exultant charge into the joys of the experience, a sharp, tight performance. 'Call the Doctor,' meanwhile, is a pretty-but-wounded conclusion, husky singing and a drowsy mood detailing the final collapse. The many highlights in between beginning and end are so striking that the album is practically a best-of in all but name. Sonic's eventual work with Spectrum and E.A.R. gets clearly signaled via the majestic reprise of the Transparent Radiation single, here introduced by the swirling flange of an edited 'Ecstasy Symphony,' also originally from that release. Sonic's breathless delivery of the Red Krayola classic, combined with the elegant arrangement, is a marvel to hear. 'Walkin' With Jesus,' meanwhile, is practically the birth of Spiritualized, the much different earlier takes now become a reflective combination of acoustic guitar, two-note keyboard lines, and Pierce's yearning, aching desire. The intentionally nasty flip to that is the storming charge of 'Things'll Never Be the Same,' a call to arms (or injecting something into them) that's as disturbing as it is energetic, the compressed, violent rage of feedback and rhythmic charge a gripping listen. Guest performers from the Jazz Butcher family tree, including Alex Green on sax, help expand the record's sonic range even further. Further reissues include a rotating series of bonus tracks from contemporary singles.

1. Come Together
2. Rollercoaster
3. Take Me to the Other Side
4. Things'll Never be the Same
5. Starship / Revolution
6. Little Doll
7. O.D. Catastrophe
8. Come Together Two Times

1 Mary-Anne
2 Come Together
3 Things'll Never Be the Same
4 Take Me to the Other Side
5 Rollercoaster
6 Starship
7 Walkin' with Jesus
Recorded in Amsterdam in 1988, the live Performance documents a set from the Perfect Prescription tour; the emphasis here is on the group's loud, noisy origins -- only the closing 'Feel So Good' hints at the more subdued atmospheres and textures which emerged as Spacemen 3's primary focus as they approached Playing With Fire. Among the highlights: 'Take Me to the Other Side,' 'Walkin' With Jesus' and 'Come Together.'

1 Honey
2 Come Down Softly to My Soul
3 How Does It Feel?
4 I Believe It
5 Revolution
6 Let Me Down Gently
7 So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears)
8 Suicide
9 Lord Can You Hear Me?
10 Suicide [live]
11 Repeater (How Does It Feel) [live]
12 Che
13 May the Circle Be Unbroken
Appropriately preceded by the mind-melting crunch of the 'Revolution' single, Playing with Fire proved to be the end of Spacemen 3 as a functioning band, but in truly spectacular fashion. Exploring both the depths of serene, agog beauty and sheer tape-shredding chaos, Playing with Fire pushed the extremes of The Perfect Prescription to an even further edge. It's little surprise that Pierce and Sonic couldn't find themselves properly working together after it, but even less that hordes of bands to follow would rank Playing with Fire as the equal (or better) of psychedelia's '60s/'70s forebears. Sonic himself is quoted in one reissue's liner notes as feeling the album 'was the refining point of a lot of my theories on minimalism being maximalism' -- as apt a description as any. One of his songs, 'How Does It Feel?,' sums it up by using a series of notes echoing off into the distance, again and again. With future Spiritualized bassist Will Carruthers in place of Bain, the trio (and uncredited drummer) created glazed, liquid songs with subtle arrangements and sheer reveling in aural joys. Flange is everywhere, as is echo, full dynamic stereo mixes and more, a feast of sound. When aiming toward a gentler, hushed sound, most notably on Pierce's compositions, the incorporation of gospel power filtered through the band's own perspective results in wonders, as heard on 'Come Down Softly to My Soul' and the album closing 'Lord Can You Hear Me?' As for the louder end of things, besides the awesome 'Revolution' itself, a slow burn blast that just keeps getting more and more obsessive and frenetic as it goes, Sonic calling for a release of energy in a mere five seconds, the other complete freakout is 'Suicide.' An instrumental tribute to the New York synth pioneers, Spacemen 3 keep the minimalism and up the feedback with astonishing results. Initial repressings of the album in the mid-'90s included tracks from the Revolution and Threebie singles, while an elaborate reissue in 1999 also including a full extra disc of demos and rarities, including covers of the Perfect Disaster's 'Girl on Fire' and the Troggs' 'Anyway That You Want Me' -- eventually Spiritualized's first single.

1 An Evening of Contempoary Sitar Music
2 Ecstasy in Slow Motion Kember, Pierce
3 Spacemen Jam
Taking off from the ideals which form the core of La Monte Young's concept of 'dream music,' the heart of Dreamweapon is 'An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music,' a transfixing 40-plus-minute document of a landmark Spacemen 3 performance recorded at Waterman's Art Centre in Hammersmith on August 19, 1988. Perhaps the purest expression of the Spacemen aesthetic, the piece is an unbroken tapestry of hypnotic drones, throbbing tones, and repetitive phrases, dappled here and there by evaporating fragments of the melodies which later resurfaced on Playing With Fire. The cumulative effect is one of utter disorientation -- all notions of time and space quickly give way to complete conscious immersion in the music's narcotic tug. A pair of epic rarities, Sonic Boom's feedback sculpture 'Ecstasy in Slow Motion' and 'Spacemen Jam,' round out the package.

1 Big City
2 Why Couldn't I See
3 I Love You
4 Just to See You Smile
5 Set Me Free/I Got the Key
6 When Tomorrow Hits
7 Feel So Sad
8 Hypnotized
9 Sometimes
10 Feelin' Just Fine (Head Full of Shit)
11 Billy Whiz/Blue, Pt. 1

1 Rollercoaster
2 Mary Anne
3 Bo Diddley Jam
4 2:35
5 Walking With Jesus
6 I Believe It
7 Lord Can You Hear Me?
8 Things'll Never Be the Same
9 Starship
10 Revolution
11 Suicide
12 Take Me to the Other Side
13 Suicide (Version 2)
Recorded over four nights in Germany during what turned out to be Spacemen 3's final tour, Live in Europe 1989 is far better than the more ragged earlier Spacemen 3 live album, 1988's Performance. The album's also notable for documenting the group's short-lived quartet lineup, with bassist Willie Carruthers and drummer Jon Mattock. Despite the change in rhythm sections, the focus is, as always, on guitarists Pete Kember and Jason Pierce, who by this point in the group's career aren't even pretending to be interesting in standard verse-chorus-verse structure. Rather surprisingly, only one of the 13 tracks -- a 16-minute take on Playing With Fire's centerpiece track, 'Suicide' -- breaks the ten-minute barrier that was so often smashed through on the group's studio recordings, but there's still an epic, expansive feel to these loose, perfectly ragged performances. Although newcomers are advised to start with Playing With Fire or Recurring, Live in Europe 1989 is essential for fans. A shortened version of this was released on Bomp Records in 1995 under the title Spacemen Are Go! The missing tracks are a murmuring version of the single 'Take Me to the Other Side' and an inconsequential seven-minute alternate take of 'Suicide.'

1. Things'll Never Be the Same
2. 2:35
3. Walkin' With Jesus
4. Fixin' to Die
5. T.V. Catastrophe
6. Things'll Never Be the Same
7. Walkin' With Jesus
An unexpected peek into the band's earliest possible roots, For All the Fucked Up Children preserves Spacemen 3's first ever studio recording work from 1984. Though there are seven cuts total, only five songs are on offer -- the remaining two are alternate mixes of some recordings, interesting but not notably different. Outside of a completely fried take of 'TV Catastrophe,' those expecting Playing With Fire, or even Sound of Confusion, will have some (pleasant, happily) surprises at hearing where the group was and had yet to go. 'Things'll Never Be the Same' readily demonstrates how the trio changed more with time. Where the version on The Perfect Prescription is a viciously compressed, psychotic monster of a track, here it's almost easygoing, Pierce's voice swathed in the appropriate echo while all three lay down everything in a country/blues-with-feedback approach. 'Walkin' With Jesus' is even more radically different from either of the more familiar later takes, again cooking up a slow and steady blues twang and stomp with plenty of ambient space, Sonic contributing harmonica while Pierce does his best imitation of Lou Reed-sings-Muddy Waters. 'Fixin' to Die,' meanwhile, may share its title with other tracks but is its own little beast, an early take of 'Come Down Easy' with different lyrics and backing vocals but the same general low-key gospel groove. As a great bonus, the packaging has both a review of a live show from around the same period -- if nothing else, confirming that Rugby was apparently not only an unlikely place for Spacemen 3 to come from, but any band, period -- and an early publicity photograph. Seeing the original three in short haircuts -- Sonic even has a buzz! -- while striking semi-Kraftwerk poses is something else, though at least the sunglasses are in place.

01 Honey (Alternative Mix)
02 Walkin' With Jesus (Alternative Mix)
03 Repeater (Alternative Mix)
04 X-Tacy Symphomy (Alternative Mix)
05 Transparent Radiation (Alternative Mix)
06 Losing Touch With My Mind (Northhampton Demo)
07 Suicide (Heavy Drum Mix)
08 Things'll Never Be the Same (Drum Mix)
09 Why Couldn't I See (Alternative Mix)
Dispensable. Unofficially compiling mixes and demos from 1986-1991, Losing Touch With Your Mind does for Spacemen 3's lo-fidelity psychedelia what a sprinkler does for a thunderstorm. Rabid fans frustrated at the growing pomposity (and self-destruction) of Jason Pierce's subsequent Spiritualized might fondle every unpolished crevice of the more impressive material here, but for most this is a strangled, barrel-scraping experience. The cover of Red Crayola's 'Transparent Radiation' makes Lou Reed sound like Mr. Bean, the alternative mix of 'Honey' comes off as even more of a Stone Roses backward track than before, yet for the rest, Spacemen 3's Velvet Underground junkie odes feel too long, too similar, or too incomplete. A shame since the band's stoned abstraction begs for true remixes someday. Taking Drugs to Mix Music to Demand More Remixing To?

1 The Sound of Confusion
2 2.35 [Version 1]
3 Losing Touch With My Mind
4 Amen
5 That's Just Fine (Vocal Version)
6 Come Down Easy
7 Mary Anne
8 Feel So Good
9 2:35 (Feedback Version)
10 Hey Man
11 It's Allright
12 2:35 (Version 2)
13 Things'll Never Be the Same
Never has a record been so aptly titled, or so perfectly descriptive of a band's particular vision of the universe. For all that, the original appearance of Taking Drugs was in fact a bootleg on the semi-legendary/semi-notorious Father Yod imprint in 1990, later supplemented with contemporary outtakes and cuts for the Bomp reissue in 1994 and one further song for the Space Age version in 2000. The original seven tracks, dated January 1986 and the first recordings to feature Pete Bain on bass, are collectively known as the Northampton Demos, understandably named for the recording location in a studio outside said English city. Both Sonic and Pierce have been on record as long preferring these takes to the eventual versions that surfaced for the most part on Sound of Confusion. Certainly it's a fine set of performances, showing a definite step toward the more familiar sound of the group and away from the rougher takes on For All the Fucked Up Children of the World. 'The Sound of Confusion,' aka 'Walkin' With Jesus,' rips along with fierce energy, Pierce's singing and the rampaging, primitive wail and rumble of the band just wonderful. 'Losing Touch With My Mind' takes things to an even higher level, a huge wallop of feedback and beat (Natty Brooker's drumming in particular delivers just what the doctor ordered), Pierce delivering the lines with a flat, cutting drawl. On the slightly lighter tip, 'Come Down Easy' is more or less fully in place (aside from singing about it being 1986!), possessing a more upfront but less vocally distinct feel than the Perfect Prescription take. The tracks that surfaced on the later reissues come from a variety of different sessions, including the original take on 'Feel So Good' and a good live version of 'Things'll Never Be the Same,' one of several cuts featuring Brooker's drumming replacement Rosco.

1 Roller Coaster
2 Mary Anne
3 Bo Diddley Jam
4 2:35
5 Walking With Jesus
6 I Believe It
7 Lord Can You Hear Me?
8 Things'll Never Be the Same
9 Starship [#]
10 Revolution [#]
Also released as Live in Europe 1989 with two extra songs, Spacemen Are Go! was released in large part as a response to Performance, which at least some members of the group felt was a sub-par effort. Collected from various German shows in that year, the album covers the last era of the band as a live act, not to mention the rarest of all the lineups: a four-piece with bassist Will Carruthers and drummer Jon Mattock, who would eventually become founding members of Spiritualized with Pierce. Though fidelity varies a bit throughout, the remastering job, partially overseen by Sonic, presents good results, not to mention a number of cuts performed by the band only on rare occasions. Only three Playing With Fire cuts regularly appeared in the live set, but two of the less performed songs take a bow here, a stripped down, striking take on 'I Believe It' and a gentle ramble through 'Lord Can You Hear Me?' As for the classics -- or at least what many later would recognize as such -- some appear in notably different versions from the studio takes. 'Walkin' With Jesus' has a quick, happy feel to it, for all that Pierce changes a line to go 'cause I can't stand this life/without sweet heroin.' Other songs, notably the twin rampages of 'Revolution' and a 16-minute take on 'Suicide,' completely let fly with all the psychosis the studio versions had and then some. In keeping with the band's acknowledged reverence and inspiration from the past, a variety of covers appear, with a short version of the 13th Floor Elevators' 'Rollercoaster' kicking things off for the album as a whole. There's also the 'Bo Diddley Jam,' not so much a cover as an enthusiastic rip through that legend's style, laced with appropriately heavy vibes.

1 Walkin' With Jesus
2 Rollercoaster
3 Feel So Good
4 Transparent Radiation
5 Esctasy Symphony
6 Transparent Radiation (Flashbacks)
7 Starship
8 Take Me to the Other Side
9 Soul 1
10 That's Just Fine
Translucent Flashbacks fills in some of the gaps in the early chapters of the Spacemen 3 story, compiling singles, B-sides, and rarities issued primarily in conjunction with the Sound of Confusion and The Perfect Prescription albums. Among the essentials: the complete 'Ecstasy Symphony' (a fragment of which leads into Prescription's 'Transparent Radiation'), the early single version of 'Walkin' With Jesus,' and the full-on 17-minute 'Rollercoaster.'

1 Starship
2 Revolution
3 Suicide
4 Repeater
5 Live Intro Theme (Xtacy)

1 Things'll Never Be the Same
2 Walking With Jesus
3 Come Down Easy [demo version]
4 Transparent Radiation [Single Version]
5 Ode to Street Hassle
6 Call the Doctor
7 Ecstacy Symphony
8 Feel So Good
9 Soul 1
10 Transparent Radiation
11 Come Down Easy
12 Walking With Jesus [demo version]
13 Things'll Never Be the Same [demo version]
14 We Sell Soul [#]
15 Starship [demo version]
16 Take Me to the Other Side [demo version]
17 Velvet Jam [#]
18 I Want You Right Now [#]
Forged Prescriptions is a collection of alternative mixes, demo versions, and outtakes from Spacemen 3's Perfect Prescription era. Not only is it a boon to die-hard fans, but it also holds up pretty well on its own. Indeed, it would be a decent introduction to the band if it had been whittled down from a double to a single album. The relatively cohesive first disc is almost an alternate version of Perfect Prescription, while the second disc is more of an odds and sods collection for fans. The alternate mixes tend to feature overdubs and other effects that the band couldn't reproduce live (supposedly the reason why these mixes weren't chosen for Perfect Prescription). The layers of guitar on the first disc's 'Things'll Never Be the Same,' which manage to sound simultaneously hypnotic and hard-driven, are particularly appealing, although some may prefer the rougher-sounding demo of the song on disc two. Forged Prescriptions also includes two versions each of 'Walking With Jesus' and 'Come Down Easy.' The cover versions include songs by the Red Krayola (an alternate mix of 'Transparent Radiation') and Roky Erickson's pre-13th Floor Elevators band, the Spades (a previously unreleased cover of 'We Sell Souls'), as well as a couple songs previously revised by MC5 (Sun Ra's 'Starship' and the Troggs' 'I Want You'). The influence of the Velvet Underground is also evident, particularly in the tribute instrumental (the previously unreleased 'Velvet Jam') and the ode to Lou Reed's 'Street Hassle' ('Ode to Street Hassle'). Plus there are tasty remixes of Perfect Prescription originals such as 'Ecstasy Symphony' and 'Soul 1' to make this a generally appealing collection.

01 Revolution
02 Che
03 May The Circle Be Unbroken
The teaser single for the full length masterpiece Playing With Fire, 'Revolution' wasn't merely one of Spacemen 3's best tracks but an honest-to-goodness standout of full-on rock & roll insanity. With Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce's guitar playing pushed to the max, delivering a Stooges-inspired riff with utter intensity -- and while Will Carruthers kept the rhythm moving on bass, Sonic took advantage of the slightly calmer moments to coolly deliver a lyric threatening destruction for those who want to keep people down. As political and potent as anything the MC5 wrote and better than anything Primal Scream tried in the same vein, it's sheer power and freedom incarnate. The B-sides, both covers, pay tribute to two of the band's many influences. 'Che,' written by avant-electro rockers Suicide, gets a rock band arrangement from Kember while retaining the original's downbeat creep-out atmosphere. Meanwhile, the gospel roots of the band get a fine nod via the traditional 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,' unsurprisingly sung and arranged by Pierce and delivered in a gentle, jaunty style.

01 Hypnotized
02 Just To See You Smile (Honey Pt. 2)
03 The World Is Dying

1 Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)
2 Drive
3 Big City (Waves of Joy) [demo version]
4 Drive [demo version]

Группа Spacemen 3 образовалась в 1982 году в городке Рагби благодаря знакомству Sonic Boom (он же Пит Кембер - Pete Kember) и J.Spaceman (он же Джейсон Пирс - Jason Pierce). В музыке Spacemen 3 чувствовалось влияние гаражного рока 60-х: The 13th Floor Elevators, The Stooges и MC5, а также разноплановых коллективов, типа Suicide и Can. Результатом стал неповторимый и монотонный, вводивший в транс, звук, с “The Sound of Confusion” и “The Perfect Prescription”- классических альбомов группы. В 1991-м Spacemen 3 распалась. Пирс образовал Spiritualized, а Sonic Boom направил свою активность на Spectrum, Experimental Audio Research, сотрудничество с Jessamine и эксперименталистом 60-х The Silver Apples.

1 Losing Touch With My Mind
2 Hey Man
3 Rollercoaster
4 Mary Anne
5 Little Doll
6 2.35
7 D.D. Catastrophe
8 Walking with Jesus
9 Rollercoaster
10 Feel So Good
11 2.35
Sonic Boom's liner notes from the 1994 reissue in many ways capture the whole point of Spacemen 3's full-length debut: '[It] was basically an exorcism for us of our early material...we began our discography with an equal nod to our influences and our inspirations.' Indeed, calling Sound of Confusion derivative misses the point entirely, where calling it anything but a clear and specific homage to a sound and style would be a complete mistake. Three of its seven songs are cover versions -- 'Rollercoaster' by the 13th Floor Elevators, 'Mary Anne' by Juicy Lucy, and the Stooges' 'Little Doll' -- while the originals are at once very much Spacemen 3 songs and clear distillations of everything the band members were tripping out on at the time. Though Sonic and Pierce later expressed a preference for the takes included on the Taking Drugs to Make Music bootleg, the rough garage energy throughout still makes Sound of Confusion a fine listen, if nowhere near as stunning as where the band would later go. As was the case throughout the band's early days, Pierce handled all the vocals with the right amount of diffidence and low-key intensity, while he and Sonic cranked up the amps for minimal, bluntly entrancing riffs and the Brooker/Bain rhythm section chugged along. Of the originals, leadoff cut 'Losing Touch With My Mind' is the strongest of the bunch, a perfect fusion of the psych/proto-punk/drone influences of its creators sent into the outer void. Meanwhile, 'Hey Man,' the title audibly playing off the rhythm and sound of the word 'amen,' is the first of many overt references to gospel music that Pierce would incorporate for years to come. Some later CD versions included the Walking With Jesus EP for bonus tracks, along with one of the many demo takes on '2:35.'

1 Take Me to the Other Side
2 Walkin with Jesus
3 Ode to Street Hassle
4 Ecstasy Symphony
5 Transparent Radiation
6 Feel So Good
7 Things'll Never Be the Same
8 Come Down Easy
9 Call the Doctor
10 Soul 1
11 That's Just Fine
Drawing together some earlier material and a slew of new songs, Spacemen 3 tied everything together on the brilliant Perfect Prescription, the clear point of departure from tribute to psych inspirations and finding its own unique voice. Planned as a concept album, Perfect Prescription works where so many other similar efforts failed due to the strength of the individual songs, as well as the smart focus of the concept in question -- a vision of a drug trip from inception to its blasted conclusion, highs and lows fully intact. The bookending of the album makes that much clear -- 'Take Me to the Other Side' is a brash, exultant charge into the joys of the experience, a sharp, tight performance. 'Call the Doctor,' meanwhile, is a pretty-but-wounded conclusion, husky singing and a drowsy mood detailing the final collapse. The many highlights in between beginning and end are so striking that the album is practically a best-of in all but name. Sonic's eventual work with Spectrum and E.A.R. gets clearly signaled via the majestic reprise of the Transparent Radiation single, here introduced by the swirling flange of an edited 'Ecstasy Symphony,' also originally from that release. Sonic's breathless delivery of the Red Krayola classic, combined with the elegant arrangement, is a marvel to hear. 'Walkin' With Jesus,' meanwhile, is practically the birth of Spiritualized, the much different earlier takes now become a reflective combination of acoustic guitar, two-note keyboard lines, and Pierce's yearning, aching desire. The intentionally nasty flip to that is the storming charge of 'Things'll Never Be the Same,' a call to arms (or injecting something into them) that's as disturbing as it is energetic, the compressed, violent rage of feedback and rhythmic charge a gripping listen. Guest performers from the Jazz Butcher family tree, including Alex Green on sax, help expand the record's sonic range even further. Further reissues include a rotating series of bonus tracks from contemporary singles.

1. Come Together
2. Rollercoaster
3. Take Me to the Other Side
4. Things'll Never be the Same
5. Starship / Revolution
6. Little Doll
7. O.D. Catastrophe
8. Come Together Two Times

1 Mary-Anne
2 Come Together
3 Things'll Never Be the Same
4 Take Me to the Other Side
5 Rollercoaster
6 Starship
7 Walkin' with Jesus
Recorded in Amsterdam in 1988, the live Performance documents a set from the Perfect Prescription tour; the emphasis here is on the group's loud, noisy origins -- only the closing 'Feel So Good' hints at the more subdued atmospheres and textures which emerged as Spacemen 3's primary focus as they approached Playing With Fire. Among the highlights: 'Take Me to the Other Side,' 'Walkin' With Jesus' and 'Come Together.'

1 Honey
2 Come Down Softly to My Soul
3 How Does It Feel?
4 I Believe It
5 Revolution
6 Let Me Down Gently
7 So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears)
8 Suicide
9 Lord Can You Hear Me?
10 Suicide [live]
11 Repeater (How Does It Feel) [live]
12 Che
13 May the Circle Be Unbroken
Appropriately preceded by the mind-melting crunch of the 'Revolution' single, Playing with Fire proved to be the end of Spacemen 3 as a functioning band, but in truly spectacular fashion. Exploring both the depths of serene, agog beauty and sheer tape-shredding chaos, Playing with Fire pushed the extremes of The Perfect Prescription to an even further edge. It's little surprise that Pierce and Sonic couldn't find themselves properly working together after it, but even less that hordes of bands to follow would rank Playing with Fire as the equal (or better) of psychedelia's '60s/'70s forebears. Sonic himself is quoted in one reissue's liner notes as feeling the album 'was the refining point of a lot of my theories on minimalism being maximalism' -- as apt a description as any. One of his songs, 'How Does It Feel?,' sums it up by using a series of notes echoing off into the distance, again and again. With future Spiritualized bassist Will Carruthers in place of Bain, the trio (and uncredited drummer) created glazed, liquid songs with subtle arrangements and sheer reveling in aural joys. Flange is everywhere, as is echo, full dynamic stereo mixes and more, a feast of sound. When aiming toward a gentler, hushed sound, most notably on Pierce's compositions, the incorporation of gospel power filtered through the band's own perspective results in wonders, as heard on 'Come Down Softly to My Soul' and the album closing 'Lord Can You Hear Me?' As for the louder end of things, besides the awesome 'Revolution' itself, a slow burn blast that just keeps getting more and more obsessive and frenetic as it goes, Sonic calling for a release of energy in a mere five seconds, the other complete freakout is 'Suicide.' An instrumental tribute to the New York synth pioneers, Spacemen 3 keep the minimalism and up the feedback with astonishing results. Initial repressings of the album in the mid-'90s included tracks from the Revolution and Threebie singles, while an elaborate reissue in 1999 also including a full extra disc of demos and rarities, including covers of the Perfect Disaster's 'Girl on Fire' and the Troggs' 'Anyway That You Want Me' -- eventually Spiritualized's first single.

1 An Evening of Contempoary Sitar Music
2 Ecstasy in Slow Motion Kember, Pierce
3 Spacemen Jam
Taking off from the ideals which form the core of La Monte Young's concept of 'dream music,' the heart of Dreamweapon is 'An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music,' a transfixing 40-plus-minute document of a landmark Spacemen 3 performance recorded at Waterman's Art Centre in Hammersmith on August 19, 1988. Perhaps the purest expression of the Spacemen aesthetic, the piece is an unbroken tapestry of hypnotic drones, throbbing tones, and repetitive phrases, dappled here and there by evaporating fragments of the melodies which later resurfaced on Playing With Fire. The cumulative effect is one of utter disorientation -- all notions of time and space quickly give way to complete conscious immersion in the music's narcotic tug. A pair of epic rarities, Sonic Boom's feedback sculpture 'Ecstasy in Slow Motion' and 'Spacemen Jam,' round out the package.

1 Big City
2 Why Couldn't I See
3 I Love You
4 Just to See You Smile
5 Set Me Free/I Got the Key
6 When Tomorrow Hits
7 Feel So Sad
8 Hypnotized
9 Sometimes
10 Feelin' Just Fine (Head Full of Shit)
11 Billy Whiz/Blue, Pt. 1

1 Rollercoaster
2 Mary Anne
3 Bo Diddley Jam
4 2:35
5 Walking With Jesus
6 I Believe It
7 Lord Can You Hear Me?
8 Things'll Never Be the Same
9 Starship
10 Revolution
11 Suicide
12 Take Me to the Other Side
13 Suicide (Version 2)
Recorded over four nights in Germany during what turned out to be Spacemen 3's final tour, Live in Europe 1989 is far better than the more ragged earlier Spacemen 3 live album, 1988's Performance. The album's also notable for documenting the group's short-lived quartet lineup, with bassist Willie Carruthers and drummer Jon Mattock. Despite the change in rhythm sections, the focus is, as always, on guitarists Pete Kember and Jason Pierce, who by this point in the group's career aren't even pretending to be interesting in standard verse-chorus-verse structure. Rather surprisingly, only one of the 13 tracks -- a 16-minute take on Playing With Fire's centerpiece track, 'Suicide' -- breaks the ten-minute barrier that was so often smashed through on the group's studio recordings, but there's still an epic, expansive feel to these loose, perfectly ragged performances. Although newcomers are advised to start with Playing With Fire or Recurring, Live in Europe 1989 is essential for fans. A shortened version of this was released on Bomp Records in 1995 under the title Spacemen Are Go! The missing tracks are a murmuring version of the single 'Take Me to the Other Side' and an inconsequential seven-minute alternate take of 'Suicide.'

1. Things'll Never Be the Same
2. 2:35
3. Walkin' With Jesus
4. Fixin' to Die
5. T.V. Catastrophe
6. Things'll Never Be the Same
7. Walkin' With Jesus
An unexpected peek into the band's earliest possible roots, For All the Fucked Up Children preserves Spacemen 3's first ever studio recording work from 1984. Though there are seven cuts total, only five songs are on offer -- the remaining two are alternate mixes of some recordings, interesting but not notably different. Outside of a completely fried take of 'TV Catastrophe,' those expecting Playing With Fire, or even Sound of Confusion, will have some (pleasant, happily) surprises at hearing where the group was and had yet to go. 'Things'll Never Be the Same' readily demonstrates how the trio changed more with time. Where the version on The Perfect Prescription is a viciously compressed, psychotic monster of a track, here it's almost easygoing, Pierce's voice swathed in the appropriate echo while all three lay down everything in a country/blues-with-feedback approach. 'Walkin' With Jesus' is even more radically different from either of the more familiar later takes, again cooking up a slow and steady blues twang and stomp with plenty of ambient space, Sonic contributing harmonica while Pierce does his best imitation of Lou Reed-sings-Muddy Waters. 'Fixin' to Die,' meanwhile, may share its title with other tracks but is its own little beast, an early take of 'Come Down Easy' with different lyrics and backing vocals but the same general low-key gospel groove. As a great bonus, the packaging has both a review of a live show from around the same period -- if nothing else, confirming that Rugby was apparently not only an unlikely place for Spacemen 3 to come from, but any band, period -- and an early publicity photograph. Seeing the original three in short haircuts -- Sonic even has a buzz! -- while striking semi-Kraftwerk poses is something else, though at least the sunglasses are in place.

01 Honey (Alternative Mix)
02 Walkin' With Jesus (Alternative Mix)
03 Repeater (Alternative Mix)
04 X-Tacy Symphomy (Alternative Mix)
05 Transparent Radiation (Alternative Mix)
06 Losing Touch With My Mind (Northhampton Demo)
07 Suicide (Heavy Drum Mix)
08 Things'll Never Be the Same (Drum Mix)
09 Why Couldn't I See (Alternative Mix)
Dispensable. Unofficially compiling mixes and demos from 1986-1991, Losing Touch With Your Mind does for Spacemen 3's lo-fidelity psychedelia what a sprinkler does for a thunderstorm. Rabid fans frustrated at the growing pomposity (and self-destruction) of Jason Pierce's subsequent Spiritualized might fondle every unpolished crevice of the more impressive material here, but for most this is a strangled, barrel-scraping experience. The cover of Red Crayola's 'Transparent Radiation' makes Lou Reed sound like Mr. Bean, the alternative mix of 'Honey' comes off as even more of a Stone Roses backward track than before, yet for the rest, Spacemen 3's Velvet Underground junkie odes feel too long, too similar, or too incomplete. A shame since the band's stoned abstraction begs for true remixes someday. Taking Drugs to Mix Music to Demand More Remixing To?

1 The Sound of Confusion
2 2.35 [Version 1]
3 Losing Touch With My Mind
4 Amen
5 That's Just Fine (Vocal Version)
6 Come Down Easy
7 Mary Anne
8 Feel So Good
9 2:35 (Feedback Version)
10 Hey Man
11 It's Allright
12 2:35 (Version 2)
13 Things'll Never Be the Same
Never has a record been so aptly titled, or so perfectly descriptive of a band's particular vision of the universe. For all that, the original appearance of Taking Drugs was in fact a bootleg on the semi-legendary/semi-notorious Father Yod imprint in 1990, later supplemented with contemporary outtakes and cuts for the Bomp reissue in 1994 and one further song for the Space Age version in 2000. The original seven tracks, dated January 1986 and the first recordings to feature Pete Bain on bass, are collectively known as the Northampton Demos, understandably named for the recording location in a studio outside said English city. Both Sonic and Pierce have been on record as long preferring these takes to the eventual versions that surfaced for the most part on Sound of Confusion. Certainly it's a fine set of performances, showing a definite step toward the more familiar sound of the group and away from the rougher takes on For All the Fucked Up Children of the World. 'The Sound of Confusion,' aka 'Walkin' With Jesus,' rips along with fierce energy, Pierce's singing and the rampaging, primitive wail and rumble of the band just wonderful. 'Losing Touch With My Mind' takes things to an even higher level, a huge wallop of feedback and beat (Natty Brooker's drumming in particular delivers just what the doctor ordered), Pierce delivering the lines with a flat, cutting drawl. On the slightly lighter tip, 'Come Down Easy' is more or less fully in place (aside from singing about it being 1986!), possessing a more upfront but less vocally distinct feel than the Perfect Prescription take. The tracks that surfaced on the later reissues come from a variety of different sessions, including the original take on 'Feel So Good' and a good live version of 'Things'll Never Be the Same,' one of several cuts featuring Brooker's drumming replacement Rosco.

1 Roller Coaster
2 Mary Anne
3 Bo Diddley Jam
4 2:35
5 Walking With Jesus
6 I Believe It
7 Lord Can You Hear Me?
8 Things'll Never Be the Same
9 Starship [#]
10 Revolution [#]
Also released as Live in Europe 1989 with two extra songs, Spacemen Are Go! was released in large part as a response to Performance, which at least some members of the group felt was a sub-par effort. Collected from various German shows in that year, the album covers the last era of the band as a live act, not to mention the rarest of all the lineups: a four-piece with bassist Will Carruthers and drummer Jon Mattock, who would eventually become founding members of Spiritualized with Pierce. Though fidelity varies a bit throughout, the remastering job, partially overseen by Sonic, presents good results, not to mention a number of cuts performed by the band only on rare occasions. Only three Playing With Fire cuts regularly appeared in the live set, but two of the less performed songs take a bow here, a stripped down, striking take on 'I Believe It' and a gentle ramble through 'Lord Can You Hear Me?' As for the classics -- or at least what many later would recognize as such -- some appear in notably different versions from the studio takes. 'Walkin' With Jesus' has a quick, happy feel to it, for all that Pierce changes a line to go 'cause I can't stand this life/without sweet heroin.' Other songs, notably the twin rampages of 'Revolution' and a 16-minute take on 'Suicide,' completely let fly with all the psychosis the studio versions had and then some. In keeping with the band's acknowledged reverence and inspiration from the past, a variety of covers appear, with a short version of the 13th Floor Elevators' 'Rollercoaster' kicking things off for the album as a whole. There's also the 'Bo Diddley Jam,' not so much a cover as an enthusiastic rip through that legend's style, laced with appropriately heavy vibes.

1 Walkin' With Jesus
2 Rollercoaster
3 Feel So Good
4 Transparent Radiation
5 Esctasy Symphony
6 Transparent Radiation (Flashbacks)
7 Starship
8 Take Me to the Other Side
9 Soul 1
10 That's Just Fine
Translucent Flashbacks fills in some of the gaps in the early chapters of the Spacemen 3 story, compiling singles, B-sides, and rarities issued primarily in conjunction with the Sound of Confusion and The Perfect Prescription albums. Among the essentials: the complete 'Ecstasy Symphony' (a fragment of which leads into Prescription's 'Transparent Radiation'), the early single version of 'Walkin' With Jesus,' and the full-on 17-minute 'Rollercoaster.'

1 Starship
2 Revolution
3 Suicide
4 Repeater
5 Live Intro Theme (Xtacy)

1 Things'll Never Be the Same
2 Walking With Jesus
3 Come Down Easy [demo version]
4 Transparent Radiation [Single Version]
5 Ode to Street Hassle
6 Call the Doctor
7 Ecstacy Symphony
8 Feel So Good
9 Soul 1
10 Transparent Radiation
11 Come Down Easy
12 Walking With Jesus [demo version]
13 Things'll Never Be the Same [demo version]
14 We Sell Soul [#]
15 Starship [demo version]
16 Take Me to the Other Side [demo version]
17 Velvet Jam [#]
18 I Want You Right Now [#]
Forged Prescriptions is a collection of alternative mixes, demo versions, and outtakes from Spacemen 3's Perfect Prescription era. Not only is it a boon to die-hard fans, but it also holds up pretty well on its own. Indeed, it would be a decent introduction to the band if it had been whittled down from a double to a single album. The relatively cohesive first disc is almost an alternate version of Perfect Prescription, while the second disc is more of an odds and sods collection for fans. The alternate mixes tend to feature overdubs and other effects that the band couldn't reproduce live (supposedly the reason why these mixes weren't chosen for Perfect Prescription). The layers of guitar on the first disc's 'Things'll Never Be the Same,' which manage to sound simultaneously hypnotic and hard-driven, are particularly appealing, although some may prefer the rougher-sounding demo of the song on disc two. Forged Prescriptions also includes two versions each of 'Walking With Jesus' and 'Come Down Easy.' The cover versions include songs by the Red Krayola (an alternate mix of 'Transparent Radiation') and Roky Erickson's pre-13th Floor Elevators band, the Spades (a previously unreleased cover of 'We Sell Souls'), as well as a couple songs previously revised by MC5 (Sun Ra's 'Starship' and the Troggs' 'I Want You'). The influence of the Velvet Underground is also evident, particularly in the tribute instrumental (the previously unreleased 'Velvet Jam') and the ode to Lou Reed's 'Street Hassle' ('Ode to Street Hassle'). Plus there are tasty remixes of Perfect Prescription originals such as 'Ecstasy Symphony' and 'Soul 1' to make this a generally appealing collection.

01 Revolution
02 Che
03 May The Circle Be Unbroken
The teaser single for the full length masterpiece Playing With Fire, 'Revolution' wasn't merely one of Spacemen 3's best tracks but an honest-to-goodness standout of full-on rock & roll insanity. With Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce's guitar playing pushed to the max, delivering a Stooges-inspired riff with utter intensity -- and while Will Carruthers kept the rhythm moving on bass, Sonic took advantage of the slightly calmer moments to coolly deliver a lyric threatening destruction for those who want to keep people down. As political and potent as anything the MC5 wrote and better than anything Primal Scream tried in the same vein, it's sheer power and freedom incarnate. The B-sides, both covers, pay tribute to two of the band's many influences. 'Che,' written by avant-electro rockers Suicide, gets a rock band arrangement from Kember while retaining the original's downbeat creep-out atmosphere. Meanwhile, the gospel roots of the band get a fine nod via the traditional 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,' unsurprisingly sung and arranged by Pierce and delivered in a gentle, jaunty style.

01 Hypnotized
02 Just To See You Smile (Honey Pt. 2)
03 The World Is Dying

1 Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)
2 Drive
3 Big City (Waves of Joy) [demo version]
4 Drive [demo version]