The Sound Of Confusion

unkle_karl · Post by **unkle_karl** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:11 am

Until quite recently, I would've considered myself more of a curious spiritualized fan than a proper spacemen 3 fan. Hence I never bothered buying Sound Of Confusion - almost all the tracks on it are on other cd's I won (Taking Drugs.... etc), and it rarely gets mentioned in the same breath as PWF/PP (not to mention the almost mythical status of Recurring as discussed elsewhere).

Lately I've found myself really getting into the Spacemen albums though (PWF my favourite incidentally), so for completeness I went and bought SOC. When I listened I was totally blown away. Okay it's mainly an album of covers (and a not very long one at that), but the raw energy on this album is incredible. And the Rollercoaster/Mary Anne segue (complete with Jason's rock n' roll screams) is one of their finest moments in my opinion. I wondered what do the more Spacemen-inclined of you around here think of this album? It doesn't get mentioned much, but it seems like a perfect summing-up of what the Spacemen (and Spz) are all about, and perhaps the energy on here is what Jason was aiming for on the last album? Thanks.

Starfish · Post by **Starfish** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:38 am

I think it's a fantastic debut. All those phasers and flangers, along with the pounding repetitions, make it so hypnotic.
And a great companion to psychedelic drugs.
If you get Transluscent Flashbacks (as you may already have) you can hear the infamous 17-minute Rollercoaster.
Which, as some of you may not be aware, was played rather disparagingly by John Peel. I think he was going through one of his short bursts of punk pop phases and so, consequently, the idea of a psychedelic 17-minuter didn't appeal to him. So he played a couple of minutes of it, then faded it out - but kept it playing on the turntable - and played another record. When that finished, he somewhat sardonically said: "Let's see how the Spacemen 3 are getting on... (faded it back in) ... oh, yes, still going .. (faded it out).."
And so on, for about four different records.
Sonic Boom got the hump with him after this (unsurprisingly) and wrote him a letter telling him so.

edited to correct speeling

spacemanrich · Post by **spacemanrich** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:00 pm

I'm with you. 'Sound of Confusion' is my favorite SP3 album, even though most people prefer 'Perfect Prescription' and 'Playing w/ Fire' first. It is raw and I like the song sequences.

My order of preference is : SOC, PP, Recurring, PWF.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:34 pm

Sacrilegious though it is, I actually prefer Sound Of Confusion to Taking Drugsâ€¦ Quite what the Spacemen have against their official debut is beyond me. The songs are ace, the performances superb, itâ€™s sequenced perfectly, and I love it to bits.

Itâ€™s never going to knock The Perfect Prescription off the top spot in my estimation, but it frequently flip-flops with Playing With Fire for second best Spacemen album.

Love,

Ian

unkle_karl · Post by **unkle_karl** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 8:28 pm

I know what you mean Ian, from what I'd heard about it, I always assumed it was just a hastily put-together half an album. And maybe it was, but it sounds great. I do have an inexplicable soft spot for 'It's Alright', but I agree with you regarding the SOC songs on Taking Drugs....

dr. strangelove · Post by **dr. strangelove** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:50 am

[quote="Starfish"] was played rather disparagingly by John Peel. Sonic Boom got the hump with him after this (unsurprisingly) and wrote him a letter telling him so.

there was also an incident at Reading in '89 which caused some friction...something to do with skinning up next to 'John's Children' (TM)...ha-ha...so long hospitality tent hello rain

Jasonsmith · Post by **Jasonsmith** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:01 am

Maybe it's going to watch Ipswich that has affected John's judgement...

will this do? · Post by **will this do?** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:14 am

dr. strangelove wrote:skinning up next to 'John's Children' (TM)...

Remember Thomas A Beckett.

ursa · Post by **ursa** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 7:15 am

like i always say...the last great punk record

orgasm! · Post by **orgasm!** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 9:49 pm

will this do? wrote:
dr. strangelove wrote:skinning up next to 'John's Children' (TM)...
Remember Thomas A Beckett.

orgasm! Desdemona......lift up your skirt and fly.

Si · Post by Si » Sat Oct 02, 2004 12:54 pm

This record is sublime hypnotic trance at its best, play it loud, really loud.

The boys went on to more melodic tunes but this is where they cut there teeth.