newbie questions...(sorry)

[elscorch0]

i checked the FAQs and had no luck, plus the old spiritualized board apparently isn't online anymore? anyways, i just recently got into spiritualized (i've only heard "ladies and gentlemen") and have a few questions that a new person would have and would be thankful if anyone could fill me in on the answers...

- what does the "b p" at the end of "ladies and gentlemen..." mean/stand for?
- what drug, if there is a specific one, is the album alluding to using? heroin? or is it pills since the casing looks like a prescription pill box?
- could it be argued that the whole album and its love story part are really all just about drugs and the love story with those drugs or is it for sure about a real love story and breakup with a woman along with subsequent drug use?
- are they never gonna play "ladies and gentlemen.." in its entirety live again?
- what should be the next album of theirs i check out?
- is there anywhere on this board that shows pix of their older t-shirts/merch? i'm very into vintage tees and was thinking of getting one of theirs...

thanks in advance for any helpful answers.

[nickh]

No need to apologise

The British Pharmacopoeia (BP) is the official collection of standards for UK medicinal products and pharmaceutical substances.

There are songs that contain lines such as “Sometimes I get my breakfast right off of a mirror” and “Hey man there’s a hole in my arm where all my money goes” so that’s two right there but I think that trying to i.d a particular drug is missing the point. Jason (and Pete) throughout Spaceman and Spiritualized were often a little vague about the subject matter of the songs in as much that could be drug songs or love songs, I guess they left it up to us to decide for ourselves.

Jason has always said that that the record was never particularly about a specific event and has always vehemently denied it was about a split with his partner of that time, I believe him too. There is a definite theme to that record but I don’t hear it as a break up album particularly, probably more a documentation of the high and lows of his life at that point.

I don’t know if they will play Ladies and Gents again, doubt it though.

Get all of them but Lazer Guided Melodies should be next on your list, there are a few people on this board who maintain this is the best one and they have a strong case too.

Can’t help with the t-shirt thing, I guess you have had a look on e-bay?



Just my humble…

[runcible]

Well put Nick. I started a response but yours is much better than what I started to type and covered stuff I hadn't.

Also welcome Mr. Scorcho. I hope you find the answers to your questions as well as discovering a whole lot of new musical areas to dive into. You'll find us a welcoming and very knowledgeable bunch I think. I doubt any of the regulars would say they haven't found new bands they'd never head of previously that they now love and call their own. Enjoy!

[ryansocash]

I was lucky enough to be at the recent NYC show and it was heavily publicized as the last time they'd ever perform that record in its entirety.. sorry for the bad news.

[toomilk]

I was lucky enough to be at the recent NYC show and it was heavily publicized as the last time they'd ever perform that record in its entirety.. sorry for the bad news.

Well, the first LAG night was initially billed as a "one-time" thing...as was the second night.....then the december shows...then....then....

[jadams501]

I don't think we'll ever hear Ladies & Gents in its entirety again. Good thing, too, it's my least favorite Spz record and I'd rather hear some other material revived.

Other questions:

- Spz always plays with the intermingling of God/Love/Drugs, much as Ray Charles et al would mix up romantic and gospel material. References to drugs include heroin, pills, and alcohol -- but it's all symbolic and mixed up and for artistic effect, so I wouldn't take any of it necessarily as speaking of specific events.

- I also believe J when he says it isn't about a specific breakup. Previous Spz material of equal power had dealt with breakup issues -- I think it's a story that was superhyped by the British press (NME, et al) in search of drama and headlines in the post-Oasis lull when a story involving Richard Ashcroft was big news.

- I would def proceed next to Lazer Guided Melodies, by far my favorite Spz release and a true classic. From there probably to Let It Come Down (along the same lines as Ladies and Gents but more bombastic) and then the Complete Works, which has a mix of material from across the career and some truly essential material. From there to Pure Phase and Amazing Grace, and finally to the most recent release -- Songs in A&E

- I dunno about t-shirts but the site does have cool photographs of all their early records. Spz has always had a real sense of aesthetics so it's worth checking out. Great artwork.

[One Asian Under A Groove]

Ahhh, the wonderful musical journey you're about to embark upon! To add to the topic of whether LAGWAFIS is about a real love story & break up, Jason has often said that there's no importance to be placed in whether the song is about anyone in particular as it belongs to the listener (or words to that effect). I'm sure he mentioned Lou Reed's Perfect Day as an example, saying that you don't listen to that song and wonder about Lou Reed +1 drinking in the park, you think of your own life and who you'd share your perfect day with. Which I always thought was a nicer way of thinking about it. I know that I don't think of Kate Radley when I hear the song Ladies And Gentlemen... (if my missus is reading this, it's you that I think of. Not the girl from Slumdog Millionaire. Honest.)

[BzaInSpace]

Hi and welcome!

- what drug, if there is a specific one, is the album alluding to using? heroin? or is it pills since the casing looks like a prescription pill box?

"What is Spiritualized® used for? Spiritualized® is used to treat the heart and soul"

Drugs as a metaphor - like the religious imagery. 'Difference between love songs and gospel music is substituting the word 'baby' for 'lord'...'

- could it be argued that the whole album and its love story part are really all just about drugs and the love story with those drugs or is it for sure about a real love story and breakup with a woman along with subsequent drug use?

See all the answers above - I believe NickH totally nails it! I also think to pin the album on one specific event is extremely short-sighted and tastes just like the NME 'news' story that it was. Of all the music out there that album really deals with the bigger picture and the extremes of life.

- what should be the next album of theirs i check out?

I can only suggest you get them all! All worth hearing to say the least. Personally I'd suggest Songs in A&E and Let It Come Down next. Pure Phase as well - amazing album.

But they are all classics. If you can find it Live at Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997 is a supremely good live album, by turns scary and beautiful.

But yeah...get them all!

Let us know how you get on!

[mh]

Considering that Kate has been married to la Ashcroft since 1995, the split must have come sooner. It was just a case of the music press being lazy and picking up on the story as the news broke, nothing else to see here, move along.

I also agree with LGM as the next stop. In many ways it's very different to LAGWAFIS but you should definitely still be able to recognise it as being a Spiritualized record, and it will give you a good mixture of two different sides of the band's sound. It's also worth dipping your toes in the water with some Spacemen 3 stuff; I'd recommend Perfect Prescription as the definitive Sp3 record, but you'll need to be aware that it has relatively poor sound quality and that there are some seriously ropey reissues of it around (Taang, anyone?)

[nickh]

...

[angelsighs]

silly me, i always thought BP stood for 'blister pack'!

not much to add to the above really, but I am quite envious of someone discovering the band for the first time. Lazer Guided Melodies is another masterpiece which probably should be the next choice, but Let It Come Down would also be a good one as it does make sense as a more orchestral and bombastic sequel to 'Ladies and gentlemen..' but all the albums really are excellent. only Amazing Grace is anything close to being average.

I too think that Jason is never crude enough to write about specific events in his life (if for no other reason than he is obviously an intensely private man). he's very clever at making the lyrics mean something but also vague enough for us to read different things into it. I am not much of a drug user, and am not religious at all but I find the music intensely moving.

[bunnyben]

mods! you should have a FAQ for newbies. i'm sure i asked nearly all of the above questions and i can recall others doing so

[runcible]

Well there is this in the FAQ section:

Doing a search for the terms in brackets will bring up a wealth of information on the message board. Don't hesitate to ask your question here if your questions aren't answered there.

I've updated this a little as the old message board can't be linked to anymore. The search engine here works very well if you are looking for answers to various questions. And having said that look at how helpful everyone was on this thread when questions were asked! What a nice bunch we are!

[burningwheel]

amazing grace is pretty terrible, it should never have been released

[spzretent]

Nice one Jeff. Your opinion is one thing. But to say it shouldn't have been released?
Some who post here regard that as their favorite Spiritualized release.

[jadams501]

Amazing Grace is one of my top Spz albums... perhaps my favorite after LGM (competing with LICD). It doesn't break any new ground, but it boils down all of the Spz archetypes into concise, raw, energetic new songs -- with some of J's best vocal performances. And it rocks like nobody's business.

Less ambitious than Songs In A&E, but more consistent and successful in my opinion -- almost the culmination of J's career with the Spiritualized song forms filtered through the Spacemen garage aesthetic. I've never understood why it isn't more respected.

[BzaInSpace]

amazing grace is pretty terrible, it should never have been released...

What rubbish - that album is like a Spiritualized greatest hits, a primer to their sound, the distilled essence of everything they'd done prior...oh, and it fucking rocks!!!

You're wrong...

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU...YOU'RE A LIAR!"

I win!

[bunnyben]

Well there is this in the FAQ section:

Doing a search for the terms in brackets will bring up a wealth of information on the message board. Don't hesitate to ask your question here if your questions aren't answered there.

I've updated this a little as the old message board can't be linked to anymore. The search engine here works very well if you are looking for answers to various questions. And having said that look at how helpful everyone was on this thread when questions were asked! What a nice bunch we are!

i bow to your wisodm

[bunnyben]

amazing grace is pretty terrible, it should never have been released

that's my second favorite album. lazor guided should have been recorded live as it has much more to it live than the studio which i find a bit bland

[scratch]

amazing grace is pretty terrible, it should never have been released

so you hate it so much you are bothered that it even exists? That´s crazy.. if you don´t like it, don´t play it.
I think half of it´s brilliant.. although I can agree that parts of it are among the worst things spz has released (but still far from terrible)..

[TheWarmth]

I have issues with Amazing Grace. It lacks the attention to detail that make all of the other Spiritualized releases so fantastic. I know this was intentional on J's part, as the whole point was to record it very quickly, but I feel like AG really suffers as a result. To a certain extent, I would even call it a failed experiment. Here's how I break down the album.

"This Little Life of Mine": This is supposed to be a massive rocker, but the guitars sound too sludgy and J's voice is thin and strained. It never really goes anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, this is the weakest opening track of any Spiritualized album.

"She Kissed Me (It Felt Like A Hit)": I actually like this song quite a bit. It rocks really hard and I love the way the guitars sound. However, they lyrics are mostly throwaway and some never fail to make me cringe (Little baby gonna get real fucked!). I get the feeling that most of the lyrics were improvised, which makes sense and fits with the approach J was taking, but again, I would rather he spent time to come up with something more interesting.

"Hold On": I like this. It's quite heartfelt and the lyrics are great.

"Oh Baby": This one just bores me.

"Never Goin' Back": This is just a decent rocker. It's better than "This Little Life of Mine," but not as good as "She Kissed Me."

"The Power and the Glory": I have little interest in this kind of thing anymore. It's fine in the live setting, but not on record as a stand-alone track. The freakout that makes up the majority of "Cop Shoot Cop" is enough for me.

"Lord Let It Rain One Me": This song seems to be very controversial. I side with everyone who says it's Spiritualized-by-numbers and it certainly feels like a lazy song written by a Spiritualized enthusiast, not J. Spaceman.

"Richie Lee," "Cheapster," "Rated X." I like all of three of these songs, but I still feel like they could have been better had J. spent more time with them. The Zane Lowe Session version of "Rated X" is far superior to the album version.

"Lay It Down Slow" is alright, but most of his album closers are far more powerful.

[angelsighs]

Amazing Grace is my least favourite of the albums, but it still has a lot to recommend it. I reckon Cheapster and Rated X are cornerstones of recent setlists that I would hate to see dropped.

I think you put your finger on it when you said it needed a bit more attention to detail. The songs seem a bit scrappy and sketchy, and insubstantial. This would be okay if it was made up for by some real rock energy and spontaniety, but the album only partly succeeds on this count (it certainly does sound much better turned up very LOUD, but when I first heard about it I was expecting some real balls-to-the-wall MC5 style rocking, AG rocks but in a different, more restrained way..).

It is sort of a Fisher Price 'My First Spiritualized Album'. a great and succinct introduction to the bands various styles, but most of these styles are done better elsewhere (apart from Rated X which i think really does stand alone)

[jadams501]

For my money Cheapster and Never Goin' Back are the best rockers Spz ever recorded (with 12 Steps and Yeah Yeah close behind). And I think Amazing Grace has more energy than almost any rock album I've heard.

I also think Lay It Down Slow is one of the best lullabies, Hold On one of the best slow-burning romantic songs, and The Power And The Glory one of their most listenable instrumental freakouts -- more than anything on L&G.

[bunnyben]

It is sort of a Fisher Price 'My First Spiritualized Album'. a great and succinct introduction to the bands various styles, but most of these styles are done better elsewhere (apart from Rated X which i think really does stand alone)

it was mine and here i am

[toomilk]

does no one read the board FAQs??

[BzaInSpace]

does no one read the board FAQs??

Well there is this in the FAQ section:

Doing a search for the terms in brackets will bring up a wealth of information on the message board. Don't hesitate to ask your question here if your questions aren't answered there.

I've updated this a little as the old message board can't be linked to anymore. The search engine here works very well if you are looking for answers to various questions. And having said that look at how helpful everyone was on this thread when questions were asked! What a nice bunch we are!