Customer Reviews

Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs to

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've had this album for years, but I just realized I'd never reviewed it, so...

This is the rawest Spacemen 3 ever sounded. You've heard the phrase garage-rock bandied about for a couple years now, but nothing this century (or last) represets the implied scuzz and noise of such a term better than this album.

At times during their career Spacemen 3 were more propulsive (the various incarnations of the Performance album), more nakedly emotional (the soft-focus balladry of Playing with Fire) and more experimental (Dreamweapon), but they were never this raw or aggressive (save 'Feel So Good,' a lazy stoned Sunday crawl) on album.

'The Sound of Confusion' sounds like it's about to fall apart at any minute; all three versions of '2:35' trump Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3 idols Suicide in terms of gritty, urban drug apathy; 'Losing Touch With My Mind' is looser than a women drunk on gin; 'Amen' and 'Hey Man' each sound just steps away from salvation and redemption.

While 'Recurring' is perhaps my favorite Spacemen 3 album (despite the fact that it is basically two separate solo EPs), TDTMMTTDT best encapsulates the definitive Spacemen 3 ethos and for this it is absolutely essential. Buy this album wherever and however you can.

If there was ever a sound that encapsulated drug-induced mind-expanding, this would be it. This album showcases the Spacemen 3 in their earliest form. Showers of guitar fuzz on Sound of Confusion, 2:35, and Losing Touch with my Mind serve a loftier purpose than just making noise. This music is a statement rather than a passtime. The lyrics tell the stories of addicts and preach to the children all that is good with what "the man" says is bad. This album is surely more important than the No Doubt your sister listens to.

They sound really good on this disc, which is a collection of demos that were relased after the demise of the band, or so I read somewhere. The liner notes provide a most interesting synopsis on the life and times of what I think is Britain's most influential band from the 80's. Yes, I have heard of the Smiths, but those musical Gods can't hold a candle to these fun and creative stoners. They produced some great guitar-driven drug rock and some mellow strung-out rock as well, and great samples of their work sits here on this very incredible album. This is a really good place for someone new to this band to start. If I only owned five CDs, this would definately be one of them.

The highlight of this collection of early demo's is Losing Touch With My Mind which pretty much encapsulates the Kember/Pierce songwriting agenda. It's rumoured the Spacemen were happier with these versions than the final album cuts despite their lack of polish and finesse. Interesting both for the songs simplicity and as evidence of how Spacemen 3 songs evolved from a few chords and lyrics to the ephemeral masterpieces of minimalism and effects they became. Illustrates Spacemen 3's early promise and why they continue to be important, like the Velvet Underground, without ever achieving mainstream recognition or success.

This is possibly the most psychedelic album I've heard. I really like the "lo-fi" production values, because everything sounds very..bluesy, unlike some of Spacemen 3's later work which sounds far too produced and poppy. This album is by far the druggiest sounding albums out there (hence the title). It makes me feel like I'm in a swamp, for some reason. I would definitely recommend this album to fans of reverbed, "blurry-sounding" music.

These demos are actually good sound quality and could be considered "live" recordings. You get some great raw cuts of later Perfect Prescription songs and superior sounding songs from the 1st LP.
Plus my favorite is the THATS JUST FINE with Vocals, minimalistic and never released.

It took me a while to fully appreciate these songs cause they are like grungy punk rock compared to later Spacemen stuff but now its one of my favorites way better than RECURRING!

Indulgence in decadence. No hope, no fear, only experiencing the utterly bliss as a result of the reawakening of the pure form of self at the brink of becoming fatally insane.

Not as inspiring as spiritualized, but surely addictive.

Goes very well with a couple to much glasses of wine or a serious inhalation of ganja.

Although seductive, i am very happy J. left to form his own band. Because he is genius.

Despite the very crappy looking cover, this is probably the best production Spacemen 3 ever did. These LIVE tracks are far beyond the studio album version - Sound of Confusion. Original album release featured a trip-trail-maze killer cover. Have fun!

I had never heard of Spacemen 3 before this album "fell" into my hands. I must say that this album alone has changed the course of how I look at music. Spacemen 3 have created a sound that is not all that new, but is nonetheless very unique. Their psychadelic backgrounds and droning guitars complement the ever changing moods of the songs. I agree that this is a good place to start if you are new to the band. But, be forewared, this album is ADDICTING and leaves you wanting more. Somewhat ethereal, this work leaves no doubt in the listener's mind what the musicians were going through at the time. Truly a classic!

Only gave it an extra star for it's clever name. Chances are I haven't done enough drugs to get on the same wavelength as this, and I hope I never do. If you're straight, this'll sound like someone stuffed the Jesus and Mary Chain in a closet. If this is transcendent, then I'm ending my quest to break on though right now.