time for one of those random detours as mentioned recently.
basically, up until a few months ago whenever my head required a period of comfort music i would head into my $tateside reissue archive (approx 84 hours of music according to my windows media listing), and all would become well with the world for a few hours. problem is even with so many hours of material, i have become overly familiar with the majority of the archive, so i started scratching around for a new sonic zone.
i knew what i wanted, but i was struggling to join the dots.
i wanted layered guitars, i wanted deep production values, i wanted easy on the ear melodies but with random outbursts of noise and sonic twists.
basically, i wanted the simplicity of the best material by the dandy warhols, with a great big f*ck off orchestra with production by david axelrod.
now, whenever a guitar band gets the budget for an orchestra, the result is often eye watering dreary stuff a la elbow, or embrace, and that is not something i wanted to hear.
then a couple of days ago i was rooting around in the archive when i chanced upon a long forgotten limited glow in the dark spiritualized album, pure phase.
and that’s when the penny dropped.
remembering i had a few other unloved spritualized albums scattered about ireallylovemusic hq i decided the time was right to reconnect with j spacemans ongoing quest for modern psychedelic spacerock.
from the warmth of the early low budget recordings of lazer guided melodies and pure phase, to the widescreen brilliance of the chart destroying masterpiece ladies and gentlemen, via the stripped back garage rock of amazing grace and then onto the physical breakdown soundtrack of a + e, it’s clear that i have missed out.
so, i have a new fixation.
better late than never.
then last night i recalled an old freebie nme cd which featured a dr john track, john gris, mixed by j. spaceman.
another 15 minute dig and i found it (no mean feat given it came out in 1998 !) and dropped the track on the stereo.
what a find.
late night swampy blues vibes with a low level funk and a growl that just sounds dirty.
back in ’98 this would have passed me by completely, as i was up to my neck in nappy changing duties.
in 2012 however, this is exactly what the doctor ordered.
enjoy.