Customer Reviews

Live at the Albert Hall

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i once declared after a spiritualized show that i no longer believed in the written word. i wanted the whole of life to be sensations from heaven, and nothing to be planted firmly on paper again. it took about three months to get over that, but the memory is still strong... this disc captures part of that for me, especially since i won't see a show like that again for a long time. take that by itself or with a grain of salt.
to you and yours, j spaceman... let it flow haha!

Like a strong acid trip. Live is not for everyone.

You have to be willing to give yourself over to the sound. You must be able to put your trust in the fact that spz will guide you through. If you can do this, this album will take you to amazing places that you have probably never seen (or heard) before. If you can't this album will likely rip your head off and hand it to you on a platter.

You have to ride this album, and let it drive. If you try to steer you will be left scrambling for a stop button before Shine A Light.

That said, this is one of the reasons headphones were invented. Throw on a pair, and just lie down on your bed listening to the sounds.

Spiritualized play the music in all of our heads so well that it is honestly scary. At times during this two-cd concert set, it feels as if they have entered one's head and are quite consciously toying with the various emotions held inside. This is tremendous, esctatic, wonderous magic that everyone should listen to at some point. I am confident that once you give Spiritualized a chance by really listening to this a few times (this is not a band that you can "get" right off the bat, it might take a few times to really feel like you have them down) you will feel entirely compelled by a force beyond yourself to buy the rest of the albums (all of which are spectacular by the way). Too few people in this country know about this band. It is a tragedy that needs to be remedied. Help by listening to this album and allowing them to take their proper place beside the likes of Radiohead and other bands that are considered to be the musical pinnacles of today's music scene.

Very good live audio document of the Spiritualized '97 UK tour to release while the group's fans await the arrival of their next CD.'Royal Albert...' sounded rather uplifting to me,especially on disc one with "Shine A Light","Medication",the outstanding "Walking With Jesus"(maybe the 2-CD release's best track)and "Take Your Time".Sorry to say that somewhere on disc two,'Royal...' wears a bit thin.That's okay,not EVERY tune can be great.STILL a decent find,as the listener gets to hear founder/guitarist/vocalist Jason Pierce and company crank out some fine psychedelic-like space drone.The two discs add up to a total of 95 minutes,an actual full-length concert.Should appeal to fans of My Bloody Valentine,Flying Saucer Attack,Spacemen 3,Amp and The Verve.

This is an extraordinary record. It's served as a worthy entree to their catalog for me.

Especially good for the subway. Loud as hell. And dense enough to proclaim headphone discoveries on even the sleepiest of mornings.

This is head music. You don't need to be dosed to enjoy it thoroughly. Not at all.

ok, i'm a huge j.spaceman fan. but without hesitation, i can say that this is his best work to date. jason and his team were meant to be experienced live and this recording is top notch. usually live recording cut out inbetween songs and you lose the feeling of being there. this set takes you there. the mixes are sublime. and cover just enough of the old and the new. i wish it was 4 discs. i you have any inkling to enjoy spiritualized, you'll be very happy with this set.

I was initially skeptical as to the quality that might be contained in this recording but was totally blown away after just one listen. I was facing a rather long drive and a 90+ minute album would at least keep my hands free for awhile. The gospel tune rhat bookends the album was a great touch and the retooling of the slower numbers off Ladies and Gentlemen... were just stupendous. Most of the strings (although they're credited on the sleeve) seem to have been replaced by the pure phase sound loop and some celestial, Eno-like synth tones. The jazzier numbers like "No God..." and "Cop Shoot Cop" were enhanced by the improvisational bits (the trumpeter and keyboardist are great here) and I rarely found the performance to be anything less than inspired. The recording, no surprise here, is very well mixed and mic-ed. If you're like me, and you've listened to LAGWAFIS so many times it's part of you're DNA, then the versions here should delight, the older material is well chosen and equally powerful. I have one question: a full gospel chior and no "Cool Waves"? Come on! Otherwise a must-own for fans and a great introduction for everyone else. Oh, and it's great in "the proper mindset," too.

This is just what you would want in a live Spiritualized CD. The songs, the sound, the energy are all present. Amazing versions of Shine a Light, Take Your Time, Walking with Jesus, and I Think I'm in Love. Jason adds to Take Your Time, the junkie's lament, "You know I've been thinking 'bout not coming down." Broken Heart takes on a bluesy feel with harmonica replacing the violins of the studio version. Home of the Brave starts with a Chuck Berry-esque guitar riff. Electricity, Medication, and Come Together all move you with their high energy rock. Electric Mainline can best be appreciated while in an altered state of conciousness. Jason begins and ends this record with a spiritual hymn that takes on different flavors in the two renditions. As always, Jason's attention to detail makes the wait for this year old recording well worth it.

a must own if you ever spent hours (okay, years) of your life with the sounds of Spacemen 3 washing over you while indulging in things you probably shouldn't. This disc is worth the price of admission just for its version of "Shine a Light". Actually the entire 1st disc is amazing, and the second has high points as well. There are songs from Jason's first two, incomparable studio albums as Spiritualized (Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase), but the majority are from Ladies and gentlemen... I miss this stuff Jason! Please, please give us more of what we want. Subsequent albums have a few gems, but not the chill-inducing drones and pure, crystal-clear Telecaster thinline work found on the early stuff.

Spiritualized puts on such a tight show on this album that I wouldn't be surprised to find out they've fixed everything up in the studio to get such a clean, flawless live sound. Even if that was the case, I'd still give this album 5 stars. It's every bit as good as "Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space," and for me both of these albums are easily among the top albums of the nineties.
As a caveat, I feel obligated to state that I am far from an expert on live albums, and generally prefer the studio offerings of most bands. My favorite live albums are this one, "Absent Lovers" by King Crimson, "The Name of This Band is Talking Heads" by (you guessed it) Talking Heads, and Genesis Live (along with the live portion of Genesis Archive 1967-75) by Peter Gabriel-led Genesis.