It could be argued that this album is the birth of Spiritualized. As the two masterminds behind Spacemen 3, Jason Pierce aka. J. Spaceman and Peter Kember aka. Sonic Boom were so at odds with each other that neither could stand be in the studio with one another. This resulted in the final Spacemen 3 album, 1991's Recurring. The album's first half is entirely written and recorded by Sonic Boom, while Recurring's second half is written and recorded by Jason Pierce. The one song that features both men, is a cover of a Mudhoney song called "When Tomorrow Hits".
Jason Pierce's second half of Recurring basically laid the blueprint for what is now Spiritualized. For evidence of this, look no further then the beautifully, psychedelic haze of a song that is "Hypnotized". This isn't to say the first half of Recurring is lacking, quite the opposite. Just check out the ten minute epic album opener "Big City(Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)", and the bluesy shuffle of a tune, "I Love You". If you dig this record it's worth checking out Spacemen 3's 1987 Perfect Prescription(which is often hailed as their "classic" album), and 1989's Playing With Fire. Both are pretty terrific.
Obviously Jason Pierce has gone on to do wonderful things, including such classic Spiritualized albums as Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, and Let It Come Down. Sonic Boom has kept a relatively low profile, touring the UK and the States under different bands and names. I should mention that it's been confirmed that Sonic Boom is in the studio right now producing the new MGMT album Congratulations which is scheduled for a release sometime in 2010. (Download - Spacemen 3 "Recurring")
So I've found a lot of people are on the fence about Jarvis Cocker's latest solo record Further Complications. Me, I really dig it. Not quite on the level of his past efforts, but I've humbly feel that everything the man releases is worthy of your hard earned dollar bills. It's good to see that he's not retreading on old ground and bringing something new to the table. How well this album ages remains to be seen.
...and the film is shaping up to have quite a bit of potential. As the buzz around the film builds, the reviews coming in so far have been nothing short of extremely positive.
Nick Lowe has written some of my all time favorite pop songs, including but not limited to "Cruel To Be Kind", and "(What's So Funny 'Bout)Peace, Love, & Understanding"; the latter of which was obviously made popular by Elvis Costello. Just need to get that out there. And I suppose one way to to describe Lowe's prolific, yet criminally underrated, solo career would be to that of Brian Eno. What I mean is that Nick Lowe is to Elvis Costello, almost the same way Brian Eno is David Bowie. Lowe and Eno's earlier work share what some might describe as parallels. Eno produced three of Bowie's late 70s solo records(Low, Heroes, and Lodger), where as Lowe produced Costello's first five solo records. Both Lowe and Eno sort of lived in the shadows of artists they've collaborated/produced with earlier in their solo careers. Make sense?
That said, a true testament to Nick Lowe's terrific songwriting abilities as evidenced in his first two solo albums(both of which serve as ideal introductions into his catalog), 1978's Jesus Of Cool and 1979's Labour Of Lust.
There are in actuality two versions of Nick Lowe's debut album. You have the UK version, and then you have the US edition. Not at all unlike The Clash's self-titled debut, each version carries an alternate tracklisting. Although, when Nick Lowe's debut was issued in the United States, the title was changed from Jesus Of Cool, to Pure Pop For Now People. While both versions share the same bulk of songs, there are a few choice omissions to each version, much like the UK/US versions of The Clash's debut.
Where is often the UK version of The Clash's debut is referred to as the superior of it's two editions, as far as Nick Lowe's debut, I'd say I have to say the US version has the better tracklisting of the two. Now, I understand this is totally debatable and up the listener's opinion, but the few songs that are omitted from the UK version and included on the US completely make the difference. The most obvious to me is the terrific song "Heart Of The City", which was never included on Jesus Of Cool in the UK, and only as a one-off single.
Another notable difference is that the UK edition opens with the tune "Music For Money". And while it IS a great song in it's own right, the song works on a much better level when it is instead used to close the album like it is on the US version. Instead of "Music For Money" opening, Americans get the opener "So It Goes" which to me works a lot better in the front of the album. "So It Goes" is too great of a song to bury deep in the the middle of the album(which is where it's placed in the UK version). It works so much better to me as album opener. It is then followed up by the song "I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass"; and those songs combined together make for an excellent one-two punch opening. It's also worth mentioning that Jesus Of Cool was remastered and reissued last year in the United States, with all the omitted US tracks tacked on at the end(with loads of unreleased bonus material as well).
That said, here's the original US version of Nick Lowe's debut album, Pure Pop For Now People. If you enjoy this, I highly recommend picked up last year's CD reissue of Jesus Of Cool. You might be saying "Well, what about Mr. Lowe's second LP you mentioned, Labour Of Lust?" Well, it's an album that is equally as brilliant, but I'll save that for another time. (DOWNLOAD - Nick Lowe "Pure Pop For Now People")
Out November 3rd digitally and in compact disc form, is the soundtrack to Wes Anderson's animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox. And, while some of the songs that make the cut aren't not surprising (the Rolling Stones!? What are they doing on an Anderson sountrack?!), it makes for a pretty listenable mix at first glance.
You got aforementioned Stones tune, "Street Fighting Man"(which is pretty terrific I'd imagine thrown into the context of a children's story such as this), some Burl Ives(most famously known for the songs from classic Rudolph The Red Nose Raindeer stop-motion Christmas classic), and a couple of Beach Boys classics("Heroes and Villians"!!!) thrown in for good measure.
Oh, and lest we forget the inclusion of an original Jarvis Cocker tune written specifically for the film. Originally we were under the impression that Cocker had more a hand in the composure of the score but it would appear not. In interviews of past, Jarvis noted he was working on a couple songs for the film. So why only one turning up on the soundtrack? Kinda disappointing, but I'll take one new Jarvis Cocker song over none.
It could be argued that this album is the birth of Spiritualized. As the two masterminds behind Spacemen 3, Jason Pierce aka. J. Spaceman and Peter Kember aka. Sonic Boom were so at odds with each other that neither could stand be in the studio with one another. This resulted in the final Spacemen 3 album, 1991's Recurring. The album's first half is entirely written and recorded by Sonic Boom, while Recurring's second half is written and recorded by Jason Pierce. The one song that features both men, is a cover of a Mudhoney song called "When Tomorrow Hits".
