I read a lot of shit about Let It Come Down, about how it was a grandeur-wank, an overblown exercise in extravagance and all that crap. I read it a lot on the forums and I'm sickened!
Let It Come Down is the best Spiritualized album by an absolute country mile. And that doesnt mean i dont like the others.
It is a work of art, an absolute masterpiece, with 11/11 hits and 0 misses (which is more than i can say for some of the other albums, which have a couple of misses at times). The strings, the vocals, the lyrics, the horns, everything adds up to an absolute supurb musical achievement.
I dont get what is wrong with it, seriously.
Oh yeh sure, maybe 'On Fire' wasnt suited as an opener to such an album, however its still a great track. I even read bollocks about how 'Electric Mainline' is a brilliant track and all that - what a lump of sad sacks we have in here, who rip on such a great song as On Fire and love other bits of "musical interlude".
Every track is masterfully created. The first 6 are brilliant, the song of the album and the best Spiritualized song ever made is "The Straight and the Narrow". Beautiful. And the final songs are brilliant too. I read stuff here saying that 'Stop Your Crying' and 'I Didnt Mean To Hurt You' were, quote, "crap".
All I have to say to that is, go and listen to your shit, because THIS is music, and THIS is brilliance.
Let It Come Down is the best album. You guys who whine and whine about it need to calm down and appreciate it. Seriously.
For the record, in case anyone wants to ask, my Spiritualized albums in order are: LICD, L&GWAFIS, AG, PP then LGM. All of which are great.
Spritualized hit a musical peak with this album which I don't know if they can top again, but if they do, well, I'd be smitten.
Stop. Listen. Appreciate.
Let It Come Down - The Greatest Album Ever Made
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twentysixdollars
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Well, whereas I think LICD manifests some of Jason's finest-ever garden-variety meat-and-potatoes songwriting, it's laden and laden with too many extraneous layers of instruments that don't do much (strings play the root notes of chords, horns follow guitar or bass riffs, etc.) and are simply there to add ballast that would already be there if the rest of the band was up to snuff at the time.
To call it the best album ever made (even with tongue in cheek) is woefully silly, even if it's a very good one. In response to your challenge there are in fact several things wrong with the record.
1> I Didn't Mean to Hurt You - Underwritten, overwrought, and sounds like a shelved Denny Wilson outtake that's been gussied up by Thomas Jefferson Kaye. One of Jason's most tiresome and overlong tunes.
2> Out of Sight - A similarly gargantuan Pink Floyd-like number, two bluesy chords, predictably 'witty' lyrics not up to the standard of the rest of the record, a fairly meandering melody before the coda, although the instrumental breaks are alright. Still, at the time it was the worst Spiritualized single. It's also too long.
3> Stop Your Crying and Do It All Over Again - pleasant songs with too many repetitions of the chorus. Both would be improved by shortening and paring-down.
Sense a pattern? Like all Spiritualized records it is too long by about fifteen minutes and too self-indulgent in spots. Unlike other Spiritualized albums, it's genuinely overproduced, with layers of extraneous, redundant instrumentation that do little more than make certain songs sound more 'important' than they are and help BMG lose a whole whack of money.
And this is coming from someone who really likes - or at least admires - the album.
I've always liked On Fire and Won't Get to Heaven, two of the more contentious tracks, although the latter should lose its fade-in and fade-out which are barely audible anyway. My favorite tunes on the record, in fact, are probably the Twelve Steps (one of the most reviled) ,the Straight and the Narrow (ditto), and especially Anything More. And I think the remake of Lord, Can You Hear Me actually improves on the original by giving it a Spiritualizedy live sound.
To call it the best album ever made (even with tongue in cheek) is woefully silly, even if it's a very good one. In response to your challenge there are in fact several things wrong with the record.
1> I Didn't Mean to Hurt You - Underwritten, overwrought, and sounds like a shelved Denny Wilson outtake that's been gussied up by Thomas Jefferson Kaye. One of Jason's most tiresome and overlong tunes.
2> Out of Sight - A similarly gargantuan Pink Floyd-like number, two bluesy chords, predictably 'witty' lyrics not up to the standard of the rest of the record, a fairly meandering melody before the coda, although the instrumental breaks are alright. Still, at the time it was the worst Spiritualized single. It's also too long.
3> Stop Your Crying and Do It All Over Again - pleasant songs with too many repetitions of the chorus. Both would be improved by shortening and paring-down.
Sense a pattern? Like all Spiritualized records it is too long by about fifteen minutes and too self-indulgent in spots. Unlike other Spiritualized albums, it's genuinely overproduced, with layers of extraneous, redundant instrumentation that do little more than make certain songs sound more 'important' than they are and help BMG lose a whole whack of money.
And this is coming from someone who really likes - or at least admires - the album.
I've always liked On Fire and Won't Get to Heaven, two of the more contentious tracks, although the latter should lose its fade-in and fade-out which are barely audible anyway. My favorite tunes on the record, in fact, are probably the Twelve Steps (one of the most reviled) ,the Straight and the Narrow (ditto), and especially Anything More. And I think the remake of Lord, Can You Hear Me actually improves on the original by giving it a Spiritualizedy live sound.
Killah33, I disagree with you on almost every count.
I find LICD to be way overcooked, containing maybe a 2 1/2 songs (Don't just do something, The 12 steps, The Straight and the Narrow) which really hit the mark, the rest of the album pretty much leaves me cold. On Fire and Don't just do something are pish, the only time Spiritualized can be described as sounding 'ordinary', and Lord, Can You Hear Me? is butchered at the end for good measure. I think otherwise much of what $26 said about the other songs is fairly spot on, especially about I Didn't Mean to Hurt You.
Fair play if it pushes your buttons, but you obviously like very different things about Spiritualized than what I like about them.
I find LICD to be way overcooked, containing maybe a 2 1/2 songs (Don't just do something, The 12 steps, The Straight and the Narrow) which really hit the mark, the rest of the album pretty much leaves me cold. On Fire and Don't just do something are pish, the only time Spiritualized can be described as sounding 'ordinary', and Lord, Can You Hear Me? is butchered at the end for good measure. I think otherwise much of what $26 said about the other songs is fairly spot on, especially about I Didn't Mean to Hurt You.
Fair play if it pushes your buttons, but you obviously like very different things about Spiritualized than what I like about them.
Re: Let It Come Down - The Greatest Album Ever Made
One word.Killah33 wrote:I read a lot of shit about Let It Come Down, about how it was a grandeur-wank, an overblown exercise in extravagance and all that crap.
Let It Come Down is the best Spiritualized album by an absolute country mile. And that doesnt mean i dont like the others.
.
O P I N I O N
not fact.
Morning.
The more I listen to Amazing grace the more I appreciate Let it come down. Although part of its weakness I feel is that it doesn't demand enough from the listener; the only song that will regularly alters my mood on the record is 'I didn't mean to hurt you' which must make it my favorite. Surley once of the main concepts of spiritualized with the 'music as a drug' theme is that the stuff has the power to change your mood - alter your state of conciousness if you will. I'm not an ex music critic, so I'm not going to try to debate whether I didn't mean to hurt you is sufficiently well crafted to be classed a 'good' song, but it does it for me every time.
And $26 I can't agree with you that every spz album is 15 minutes too long. I wouldn't lose a second from LGM and I'd say the same abut LICD. If you took 15 minutes from amazing grace then in would be 30 minutes long, Personally I expect a spritualized album to clock in at least 60 minutes, and I like the songs to last at least 7 minutes a piece; sure short and sweet is ok once in a while, but personally long and meandering and repetitive does it for me.
The more I listen to Amazing grace the more I appreciate Let it come down. Although part of its weakness I feel is that it doesn't demand enough from the listener; the only song that will regularly alters my mood on the record is 'I didn't mean to hurt you' which must make it my favorite. Surley once of the main concepts of spiritualized with the 'music as a drug' theme is that the stuff has the power to change your mood - alter your state of conciousness if you will. I'm not an ex music critic, so I'm not going to try to debate whether I didn't mean to hurt you is sufficiently well crafted to be classed a 'good' song, but it does it for me every time.
And $26 I can't agree with you that every spz album is 15 minutes too long. I wouldn't lose a second from LGM and I'd say the same abut LICD. If you took 15 minutes from amazing grace then in would be 30 minutes long, Personally I expect a spritualized album to clock in at least 60 minutes, and I like the songs to last at least 7 minutes a piece; sure short and sweet is ok once in a while, but personally long and meandering and repetitive does it for me.
i listened to licd on sunday night for the first time in ages, and was very pleasantly surprised.
i've been reading all the slaughterings it's taken on here for so long i thought i didn't like it.
anyone else going to the glasgow gig ? can't wait to see them in the barrowlands again. It may be a shit-hole, but it holds the sound better than any other venue i've been at. perfect for music such as spiritualized's.
does anyone know if they still play "shine a light" live? reduces grown men to tears like no other.
erm, rock on !
i've been reading all the slaughterings it's taken on here for so long i thought i didn't like it.
anyone else going to the glasgow gig ? can't wait to see them in the barrowlands again. It may be a shit-hole, but it holds the sound better than any other venue i've been at. perfect for music such as spiritualized's.
does anyone know if they still play "shine a light" live? reduces grown men to tears like no other.
erm, rock on !
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mh
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I've always thought LICD was a decent enough album. Some of the more stripped-down radio session versions that are available really allow the songs to shine through, Stop Your Crying can raise goosebumps if heard in the right context.
For my money, the songs worth retaining on it are:
- On Fire
- Do It All Over Again
- Don't Just Do Something
- I Didn't Mean To Hurt You
- Stop Your Crying
- Won't Get To Heaven
- Lord Can You Hear Me
Add Rock And Roll and Going Down Slow to that list, use some of the alternate versions of tracks, and it's an absolute corker.
This is, of course, personal opinion, and should not be misconstrued in any way as an attack on anyone's sensibilities.
For my money, the songs worth retaining on it are:
- On Fire
- Do It All Over Again
- Don't Just Do Something
- I Didn't Mean To Hurt You
- Stop Your Crying
- Won't Get To Heaven
- Lord Can You Hear Me
Add Rock And Roll and Going Down Slow to that list, use some of the alternate versions of tracks, and it's an absolute corker.
This is, of course, personal opinion, and should not be misconstrued in any way as an attack on anyone's sensibilities.
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BzaInSpace
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Re: Let It Come Down - The Greatest Album Ever Made
Killah33 wrote:
Oh yeh sure, maybe 'On Fire' wasnt suited as an opener to such an album, however its still a great track. I even read bollocks about how 'Electric Mainline' is a brilliant track and all that - what a lump of sad sacks we have in here, who rip on such a great song as On Fire and love other bits of "musical interlude".
Stop. Listen. Appreciate.
Your points have to acknowledge different tastes.
To be honest, the music being discussed must surely be fantastic in that it seems to ignite so much passion.
Personally 'On Fire' is s tune that grew on me but the piano intro, the buzzing lead & bass, the CHOIRS, this is a fucking blinder.... Spiritualized in Memphis.
I think 'The Twelve Steps' is the best Spiritualized rocker... thats the one I always copy onto CD mixes.
Somedays I like the mellow tracks like 'Anything More' & 'Stop Your Crying'.... see earlier threads.
To me 'Lord Can You Hear Me' is so much better than the PWF version by virtue of the extrordinary power of the last quarter... I like the way the feedback sounds like space-bleeps which we weren't going to hear on LICD. The rest sounds like Ray Charles. Its the best Spiritualized song... right now. And it has been in the past.
But it dosen't matter.
I could never tell you my all time Top 5 albums because....because theres just not enough time! I mean! JUST LISTEN TO THE TUNES!
I would never assume I'm right or best regarding personal choice though.
The music speaks for itself. I never really worry too much regards to tunes, i'd rather just go and fire off a CD of favourites, that way you can make your own best-ofs and 'Complete Works' anytime you want.
Who gives a fuck? Not me as I'm just grateful there are a lot of people out there who are into this band and its music... that means a lot of folk get off on the Spiritualized vibe as much as you!
That for some reason gives me hope... but should it?
See forthcoming poll : SPIRITUALIZED - HOW BAD ARE THEY FOR YOU?
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twentysixdollars
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Re: Let It Come Down - The Greatest Album Ever Made
I actually agree with every word of these few paragraphs, except I don't like Stop Your Crying. Anything More is really underrated and so is On Fire. And while the Twelve Steps may just be yet another permutation of Electricity, it's the best one.BzaInSpace wrote:
Personally 'On Fire' is s tune that grew on me but the piano intro, the buzzing lead & bass, the CHOIRS, this is a fucking blinder.... Spiritualized in Memphis.
I think 'The Twelve Steps' is the best Spiritualized rocker... thats the one I always copy onto CD mixes.
Somedays I like the mellow tracks like 'Anything More' & 'Stop Your Crying'.... see earlier threads.
To me 'Lord Can You Hear Me' is so much better than the PWF version by virtue of the extrordinary power of the last quarter... I like the way the feedback sounds like space-bleeps which we weren't going to hear on LICD. The rest sounds like Ray Charles. Its the best Spiritualized song... right now. And it has been in the past.
Of course the album is still riddled with all the problems I listed above.
I stand by this appraisal. Let It Come Down runs long on a lot of tunes, especially those mentioned above. It's not necessarily that songs need to be deleted outright (although two do), but that some of the lesser ones that would be fine otherwise are spoilt by overindulgence. Honestly I'd say the same for LGM. Symphony Space is alright for two minutes or so but at six it's overkill. The midsection and last couple of songs in general are a bit uninspired compared to the rest. But this of course is only my opinion. In regards to Amazing Grace, at 30 minutes it might actually have been more presentable, albeit lightweight. For my part there are perhaps five presentable songs on the record: She Kissed Me, Hold On, Never Goin' Back, Richie Lee, and maybe Rated X. Of those only two (Never Goin' Back, Richie Lee) are what I'd call outstanding and up to the merits of even the medium-grade songs on LICD.clewsr wrote: And $26 I can't agree with you that every spz album is 15 minutes too long. I wouldn't lose a second from LGM and I'd say the same abut LICD. If you took 15 minutes from amazing grace then in would be 30 minutes long,
Opinions are opinions as they say. And my opinion is that LICD FUCKING RULES!!! Apart from "Wont get to heaven" and "Out of sight" this album is the tits.
I recommend every1 to relisten to it and discover the greatness of it.
Oh and i listened to pure phase the other day and it ROCKED like a bitch!
Toodles
I recommend every1 to relisten to it and discover the greatness of it.
Oh and i listened to pure phase the other day and it ROCKED like a bitch!
Toodles
Wont get to heaven
It starts off ok but then goes on for FAR too long.
Fortunately, this isn't a competition. I don't think music should be. It should just be appreciated. As others have said its all just opinions. Even on a site for Dedicated followers of one band we can't agree on what's good or bad. For me, I totally resonate with Out of Sight and Won't Get to Heaven, but think On Fire is very weak, and 12 Steps is 2nd-rate rock (although I love the humor of it).
The arguments about the record being overproduced and having inappropriate instrumentation have nothing to do with the soul of the music. I suggest we avoid getting too hoity toity in our critics.
The arguments about the record being overproduced and having inappropriate instrumentation have nothing to do with the soul of the music. I suggest we avoid getting too hoity toity in our critics.
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Prins Paris
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Well, LICD is at times a very emotionel album, and as with all emotional music if you cannot recognize the emotions which are discribed in the music, it just dosen't work for you.
LICD works absolutely perfect for me. One of the songs that has been critisized a lot is "Stop your crying", but at the time I started hearing this album, the very person who introduced me to the album had some personal problems that made me feel very sorry for him. A lot of the frazes in this song described very well what I was feeling at the time, so obviously I like this song, but I do understand if some people do not.
However it is far from my favourite song on the album. "The Straight and the Narrow" has already been mentioned and especialy "Don't just do Something" and "Out of Sight" are absolutely out of this world!
Best album ever? Maybe not, but I have never heard anything that beats the peeks of this album....
LICD works absolutely perfect for me. One of the songs that has been critisized a lot is "Stop your crying", but at the time I started hearing this album, the very person who introduced me to the album had some personal problems that made me feel very sorry for him. A lot of the frazes in this song described very well what I was feeling at the time, so obviously I like this song, but I do understand if some people do not.
However it is far from my favourite song on the album. "The Straight and the Narrow" has already been mentioned and especialy "Don't just do Something" and "Out of Sight" are absolutely out of this world!
Best album ever? Maybe not, but I have never heard anything that beats the peeks of this album....
Let It Come Down
I have been writing on this forum for ages about how good Let It Come Down is. I will break it down for you all:
1. On Fire - A track i didnt like at first when i copped a listen in Virgin. But now its grown on me big time with its Las Vegas Gospel undertones.
2. Do It All Over Again - A straight up pop song. I cant help but fall in love with the line "Im gonna spend the day in bed and im planning on sleeping my life away". One word: Genius
3. Dont just do Something - A great song that made me cry!
4. Out Of Sight - Loved it first time but ive grown tired of it. One of the weaker tracks.
5. The Twelve Steps - Absolutely brilling! The wordplay is utter class.
6. The Straight and The Narrow - A grower.
7. I didnt mean to Hurt You - AMAZING. The bulid up is just so intense.
8. Stop Your Crying - I dare someone not to cry to this during a breakup.
9. Anything More - The best track on the album. Pure and utter bliss. One of my top five SPZ songs ever. FACT
10. Wont get to Heaven - Weakest song on the album. Drags on for far too long!
And the last track i wont even mention.
But what an album!!!
5/5
Toodles
1. On Fire - A track i didnt like at first when i copped a listen in Virgin. But now its grown on me big time with its Las Vegas Gospel undertones.
2. Do It All Over Again - A straight up pop song. I cant help but fall in love with the line "Im gonna spend the day in bed and im planning on sleeping my life away". One word: Genius
3. Dont just do Something - A great song that made me cry!
4. Out Of Sight - Loved it first time but ive grown tired of it. One of the weaker tracks.
5. The Twelve Steps - Absolutely brilling! The wordplay is utter class.
6. The Straight and The Narrow - A grower.
7. I didnt mean to Hurt You - AMAZING. The bulid up is just so intense.
8. Stop Your Crying - I dare someone not to cry to this during a breakup.
9. Anything More - The best track on the album. Pure and utter bliss. One of my top five SPZ songs ever. FACT
10. Wont get to Heaven - Weakest song on the album. Drags on for far too long!
And the last track i wont even mention.
But what an album!!!
5/5
Toodles
although i like licd, there are loads of things that piss me off about it.
dont just do something - i hate that really slow bit in the middle, and it definitely shouldn't've been repeated. i also think the song should be longer esp the shouty bit towards the end. the outro has some of the most embarrassing lyrics i've ever heard.
twelve steps - the violins 'n' sirens bit is a big load of shite - what was he thinkin?
didn't mean to hurt you - the song itself is alright but i dislike the pure laziness of not bothering to write new lyrics and just repeatin one (crap) line.
won't get to heaven - the noodly bits at the start and end are a waste of time and the hopin' prayin' bit goes on too long.
lord can you hear me - the choir sounds like the sunday mass choir - not a good thing.
overall not a bad album, still not a patch on lagwafis
dont just do something - i hate that really slow bit in the middle, and it definitely shouldn't've been repeated. i also think the song should be longer esp the shouty bit towards the end. the outro has some of the most embarrassing lyrics i've ever heard.
twelve steps - the violins 'n' sirens bit is a big load of shite - what was he thinkin?
didn't mean to hurt you - the song itself is alright but i dislike the pure laziness of not bothering to write new lyrics and just repeatin one (crap) line.
won't get to heaven - the noodly bits at the start and end are a waste of time and the hopin' prayin' bit goes on too long.
lord can you hear me - the choir sounds like the sunday mass choir - not a good thing.
overall not a bad album, still not a patch on lagwafis
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twentysixdollars
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Amusingly, aside from I Didn't Mean to Hurt You, which is bilge, I think the opposite of all you said despite my huge reservations over the album (see earlier in the thread). In particular I think the last lines of Don't Just Do Something are really cute:
I'm going to drown before my ships comes in
And I forgot to ring my mum again
And life ain't good without cigarettes
It works because it's endearingly intimate, and also because of the frustrated rhyme that someone pointed out earlier ("shipcomesin"/"mumagin'"/"Heroin"). Try humming it with "Life ain't good without heroin" and the semi-cleverness of it comes out.
I'm going to drown before my ships comes in
And I forgot to ring my mum again
And life ain't good without cigarettes
It works because it's endearingly intimate, and also because of the frustrated rhyme that someone pointed out earlier ("shipcomesin"/"mumagin'"/"Heroin"). Try humming it with "Life ain't good without heroin" and the semi-cleverness of it comes out.
Gersey, I agree with your opinions on LICD....I personally just find it annoying. I loved LGM, thought Pure Phase was OK and then LAGWAFIS blew me away. I admire the change that Jason is making but just prefer the earlier music. There is a cleverness to the lyrics, but I just don't want that. Maybe I'm just a stick-in-the-mud who can't change 
re what 26$ said
i personally think that the end of Don't Just Do Something (one of my fave spiritualized tracks) is Jason's best laugh-out-loud joke to date.
Personally i love the interplay of the lyrics on LICD across songs, and with refrains.
Personally i love the interplay of the lyrics on LICD across songs, and with refrains.
When i first heard licd i thought it was a bit too mainstream and radio friendly, but know i've lived with it for a bit i think its a brilliant album. I agree that the straight and the narrow is one of their best songs to date. and dont just do something does it for me too, i think its better than amazing grace, but not as good as ladies n gentelmen
Still feel that On Fire is the best possible opener for the album. Wondering though how come no one has noticed or mentioned the blatent rip on the 13th Floor Elevators.
Out Of Sight - I like the build up at the end but making it a single led this song to the path of doom.
Straight and the Narrow - Good pop track, dont know why so many have a problem with it. The instrumental part towards the end is nice and purty.
not that big of a fan of Stop Your Crying though I enjoy the live/radio versions for some reason or other.
Anything More - good track, but being the third (overly) sappy number in a row lets it get lost in the mud.
Lord, Can You Hear Me - Wonderful, but should have been a hidden or bonus track. As far as I am concerned the album begins with On Fire and ends with Wont Get To Heaven. Nice little treat though.
Good Album Good Times
Out Of Sight - I like the build up at the end but making it a single led this song to the path of doom.
I honestly dont know, but I do agree with you.gersey wrote:twelve steps - the violins 'n' sirens bit is a big load of shite - what was he thinkin?
Straight and the Narrow - Good pop track, dont know why so many have a problem with it. The instrumental part towards the end is nice and purty.
anything but. I do dig the way the back ups sound when he's singing though.carpet wrote:I didnt mean to Hurt You - AMAZING. The bulid up is just so intense.
not that big of a fan of Stop Your Crying though I enjoy the live/radio versions for some reason or other.
Anything More - good track, but being the third (overly) sappy number in a row lets it get lost in the mud.
great lyrics, great track. The perfect closer to the album.spzretent wrote:In my not so humble opinion Wont Get To Heaven is thee only reason I ever listen to LICD. To each his own.
Lord, Can You Hear Me - Wonderful, but should have been a hidden or bonus track. As far as I am concerned the album begins with On Fire and ends with Wont Get To Heaven. Nice little treat though.
Good Album Good Times