8. Spacemen 3The Perfect Prescription
Spacemen 3 were by far my favourite English band of the late 80s. They get lumped in with the shoegaze bands of the time but really they sound nothing like those bands, who swim in reverbs and delays. Spacemen 3 sound dry by comparison. Perfect Prescription was a concept album, the best drug record ever, and they do it without sounding trippy. It’s druggy but it’s not psychedelic; it remains grounded, smooth, groovy. I remember seeing this in a record shop in Boston, must have been 1989, looking at the cover, I think they both have their eyes closed and look like demented English schoolboys. Jason Pierce and Sonic Boom both sing so beautifully on this record. It starts out rocking, then segues into the gospel song that pokes fun at the idea of being saved – ‘Walkin’ With Jesus’. I love the moment where the acoustic guitar enters that song. From there it’s on to ‘Ode To Street Hassle’ but the lyrics continue on the theme of walking and talking with Jesus. And then it’s ‘Ecstasy Symphony’ which contains a truly beautiful keyboard track by Sonic Boom (really this gets me in the same way that Arvo Pärt does) before seguing into their version of ‘Transparent Radiation’ by The Red Crayola. And finishing with the groovy ‘Come Down Easy’ and the ominous ‘Call The Doctor’ which hints at the darkness behind all this feeling good.
