Customer Reviews

Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Super Deluxe Edition)

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

It's been quite some time since a band has challenged me the way Spiritualized has. When I first heard them, live at a recent Radiohead concert, I must confess I was less than impressed. I couldn't understand what all the hype was about (they're on almost every critic's Top Ten list). They had no stage presence and their loosely structured songs were hard to get into in a live setting.

Yet, something drew me back to them and I found myself purchasing this CD. I'm glad I did. The packaging of the CD implies prescription medication and I guess "Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space" is a bit like medicine -- bitter and hard to swallow at first, but sure makes you feel good after the initial dosage.

The band and the music are hard to describe. I guess Spiritualized is what you'd get if you threw Radiohead, The Beatles and Sonic Youth in to a blender. They've got a sort of techno, ambient vibe, but the guitars screech and wail, the lyrics ramble on and at times it sounds more like they're smashing their instruments than playing them. They definitely pack a sonic wallop and their seemingly meandering songs come together at the end each and every time leaving you more satisfied with each listen. I think they're one of the truly unique and fresh bands out there and I recommend this album highly.

Definitely a love 'em or hate 'em band, Spiritualized transcends modern music in this epic opera of lost love, addiction as a means of forgetting and finally acceptance and redemption. Jason Pierce (a.k.a. J. Spaceman) writes and produces each individual note on the entire album, which is no small feat given the vast array of sound and style. His music is melodic and complex without being too pretentious, but it's his brilliant lyrics that truly set him apart from a thick ocean of artists like Radiohead and Verve. So turn off the lights, put on some headphones and get comfortable. It opens up with the airy title track that bleeds into an injection of adrenaline and bounces back and forth between moments of primal rage, lust and loss. "I Think I'm in Love" starts with a dreamy swirl of sound taking the listener through a heroin injection before seemlessly switching into a quicker paced series of contradictory dialogue - "I think I'm in love...maybe you're just lonely" truly one of the highlights of the album. For anyone who's ever truly been in love and abruptly dumped this album speaks like a support group. If you've ever drank to forget it almost sounds like words you wish you'd written first, "sometimes I have my breakfast right off of a mirror - or sometimes I'll have it right out of a bottle" - Home of the Brave. The real highlight of the album though is in it's emotional abyss, "Broken Heart" - a song so desperately honest it hurts to listen to. He doesn't try to get clever or academically poetic with the lyrics - it's too emotional for that he just hits you with the straight shot "Lord, I have a broken heart...and I'm cryin' all the time." the lyrics are accompanied by a sweeping set of strings that seem to lull you to the brink of tired as you become emotionally spent. Then after you take a deep sigh and catch your breath, church bells ring and after some horns come in you are led to the beautiful "Cool Waves" which could really be the end of the album right there. But, it's not. The bluesy and sinister Cop Shoot Cop takes you out. At well over 13 minutes this song carries you back slowly to where you started and when you turn on the lights and turn off the cd player you're amazed that everything you just went through came from 70 minutes of music.
It's not for everyone though, people with a less patient ear won't appreciate the intricacies of the sounds or the lyrics and may even take a few turns to really get into it - but once you do it'll be like nothing you have ever heard or experienced before and all you'll ask yourself is: "How the hell did I go this long without even knowing that this masterpiece existed?"

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is, quite simply, the most accomplished, complete and intensely personal musical statement of these last ten years. This lengthy album brims with a scope that most records wouldn't dare to aspire to and pulls it off with dramatic, melancholic panache.

Spiritualized is a collective that, in this incarnation, feature a full band, gospel choir and enough electronics to power the internet. Yet, in the middle of the maelstrom, the vision is one man's alone: Jason Pierce is a man who's music burns with intense longing, occasional self loathing and an unerring ear for both the grand and the minute.

"All I need in life is a little bit of love to take the pain away" may sound like nothing in print, but when Pierce intones the words over a the radio traffic of a NASA mission, with building basslines leading into a killer melody, you'll know this is one space cadet who's worth following. From initial longing, to obsession, loss and finally a sort of redemption, the music follows the arc of a relationship in a way that belies the pretensions of concept music and always feels rooted in a scary and uncertain reality.

Pierce has managed to create a work which feels like a full bearing of the soul, in turns tragic and uplifting. If love is all and even that dissolves, what persists then? The answer is here and is simple: art. Great art.

There is a reason Spiritualized "Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating In Space" beat out Radiohead's "OK Computer", the Verve's "Urban Hymns, and Primal Scream's "Vanishing Point" for NME's Album of the Year. It is a phenomenal journey of music, and like most outstanding works, it isn't completely accessible at the outset. I too thought it was overrated during my first ten listens, and put it away for six months. Then I pulled it out again, and it just lodged itself in my head for a good month straight. The sheer sonic brilliance of this album is what one should pay attention to. There are no real hooks or catchy melodies, but rather hypnotic guitar lines, bursts of carefully constructed white noise, and Jason Pierce's voice is simply one of the most emotional, soulful sounds in music this decade. This album really is like floating around in space.

My favorite bands are Oasis, Blur, REM, Wilco, that kind of stuff. The fact that I appreciate this music should tell you that it is not completely inaccessable to pop music fans. This is not pop music. It is is more demanding, and often more fulfilling. Only serious listeners and people in touch with the sadness and adventure in your soul need apply.

From what I've heard from other people who have listened to Spiritualized's music, they either love it or loathe it. This is unquestionably my favorite Spiritualized album. It's the first album I purchased of theirs, and I still think it's superior to their previous efforts. It may be described as repetitive, but it's never monotonous. The title "..floating in space" suits it perfectly. It's overwhelmingly vast (it could fill the universe) and still hits hard. Whether you want the blues-y mellow feel of Cop Shoot Cop.. or the choral Cool Waves or the foot-tappin I Think I'm In Love, this album retains its beauty throughout (aside from The Individual which I always have to skip over). I love Jason Pierce's voice also; it fits the songs perfectly.

OK--this album has received lots of reviews. 39 at the time of me having written this one. I'm very surprised to see so many. Some are claiming this a masterpiece, & others think it's horrid. I love Spiritualized, however, I am beginning to understand more & more all the negative reviews, being that I feel just that way about "Live At The Albert Hall" (see my review for that it you like). This album DID receive some major hype--seemingly the most of their 3 albums, & that's a shame, because they were, seriously, flawless on the 1st 2 albums, Lazer Guided Melodies, & Pure Phase respectively. Their pretentiousness was erased, because Jason was so brilliant in the execution of the tracks--& the overall sound was warm & wonderful. On this album, the sound is definitely more harsh & rugged overall. He seems to feel as though he can do no wrong. The opening track, the title song illustrates this. It's way overblown with tons of vocal parts going simultaneouly, & it's also a blatant adaptation of Pachelbel's "Canon in D" which I've never seen mentioned, but it's undeniable. These massive overdubs work much better on the hard rockers, like the excellent "Come Together"--it has a great beat, & the horns & choir are masterfully & effectively integrated--it's densely layered without sounding excessive--the sound is organic & natural, which is how Jason is at his best, & it's a very potent song. "Cop Shoot Cop...", with Dr. John on piano, gets stretched out to over 16 minutes via an extended noise-making session, but the first 7 minutes worth are extremely powerful (with Jason CLEARLY 'borrowing' from Flash And The Pan's "California"). The sad fact though, is that Jason seems to be thinking more is always better, as evident by the wailing gospel choir at the end of "Cool Waves", as well as its pretty, yet somehow out of place, flute solo. It's also easy to see how many curious listeners who bought this from all the good reveiws would get sick from the full blown orchestra of "Broken Heart"--it's an affecting song, though it's tough to argue it's not a little bit too much in spots. Jason's great talents as an arranger & producer are evident throughout, but, it's just that, on some tracks, he's gone a bit too far. However, it would be a shame that listeners would be be put off by this great great band from this album, because this isn't the one to start with. The indulges plaguing this album are entirely abset on the lovely "Lazer Guided Melodies"--I'm sure many would argue with me, but the sound of those albums is just so organic like the music is coming from Heaven. Start with that one & Pure Phase--if you've already started here, go back, & perhaps, change your mind on the group (at least a little bit). (:

first off, don't let the average customer rating affect your decision even a little. i only mention this because at the time of my writing, the average review was 3.5 stars, when there are hundreds of more mainstream recordings with 4 and 4.5 star ratings that are far inferior. i think spiritualized just attracts a more discerning ear. i guess i'm one of the few exceptions.

I first got into this album about a year ago, and i haven't gotten tired of a minute of it. it's a wonderful album of truly unique, highly diverse moments. it's one of those albums where the styles are both wildly varied and summarily successful. all these songs work in their own grounds, and all flow well together. this album works as a whole, but not in any overly magical way. truthfully, there are albums out there that are more cohesive, but none of them can match the diversity of style to be found here. i recommend this album very highly.

Okay, without having to go over any band history or previous accomplishments, including other albums or anything else that doesn't matter, let's look at this album, yes, this one. If you're considering buying it, then do, because it's a classic. Not because of the hype around it when it first hit the bins, and not because of it's cool packaging, but because it's an original experience. There simply isn't anything out there that's very close to this recording, so please, if you've never heard it, then give it a shot. I like to listen to music while I drive. The first time I heard this album I was on a long trip, by myself, driving in the car and spacing out to this masterful recording. If you're into music that makes you lose control of that certain part deep down inside where you make your thoughts up, then look no further. You know it's good. Buy it.

...a difficult record, it must be said. Following their breakthrough 'lazer guided melodies' and the astutely refined 'pure phase' comes 'ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space' a 70 minutes + romp through the solar system which is at times incredibly draining, the transive and monochromatic drones of 'broken heart' and the dare-devil psychedelic experimentation of 'the individual' are far-reaching in scope and demand constant attention to detail if not to be completely misheard as deranged bits of noise and madness. however, the more tuneful, pop-minded elements make this record worth owning. 'stay with me', 'i think i'm in love', 'ladies and gentlemen..' and the breathtaking 'cool waves' are truly landmarks as far as progressive pop music is concerned. a genuine and satisfying leap forward from 'pure phase'. not just masters of the studio or anything bland like that but true art, timeless, wonderful, experimental and refined.

After reading all of the reviews from old Spiritualized fans who hate this album I decided to give it another listen last night. What I found was what I remembered, a brilliantly conceived and well executed album.

I can understand those who hated the album who have never heard the group before, as they are not for everyone. But I think the old fans were very off in their criticism.

The two complaints lodged the most were pretentious overproduction, and a lack of a decent melody. To address the first complaint, the group has always been fairly pretentious in their production. After all Lazer Guided Melodies had the 12 songs grouped onto 4 tracks (very pretentious if you think about it). None of the instruments on the album feel excessive, they are merely feel like different parts in the symphony that Jason Pierce is creating, and they help make this album a more complete one then the past two. As for the lack of melodies, the music has always been more about the atmosphere of the songs then the melodies. Jason Pierce has never been Lennon/McCartney.

What makes this album better than the previous two is the wonderful unifying concept that is employed, as the album feels much more cohesive than past ones. The lyrics are also more well-written and heartfelt than in the past. Overall and incredible piece of music, which everyone should at least give a go at.