Lazer Guided Melodies
Encyclopedia
Lazer Guided Melodies was the first album by the British space rock
group Spiritualized
. Recorded by the inaugural line up of the band, consisting of Jason Pierce
(vocals, guitars), Mark Refoy (guitars), Will Carruthers (bass), Jonny Mattock (drums) and Kate Radley (keyboards). The album was recorded, mostly in VHF studios in Rugby, from 1990 to 1991, and mixed by Pierce in London. The album was first released on Dedicated Records in May 1992, on cassette, Compact Disc and Vinyl (2 x LP, with initial copies containing an additional free 7").
The album builds on band leader Jason Pierce
's contributions to Recurring
, the final album by his previous band Spacemen 3
, and further refines his approach to song craft (the creation of complex, intricate pieces from simple, repetitive phrases). Particular highlights are the opening, largely acoustic lullaby, "You Know It's True", the chiming guitars of "If I Were with Her Now" (used in a Toffee Crisp advert in the nineties), the bass-heavy "Take Your Time", "Shine a Light" (the latter two both Spiritualized concert staples to this day), and the closing "200 Bars", in which keyboard player Kate Radley
counts up the bars as the song progresses. Elsewhere, "Run" uses lyrics from J. J. Cale's "They Call Me the Breeze" (Lynyrd Skynyrd
released a famous cover). Also not fully a Pierce composition is "Sway", written largely by guitarist Mark Refoy, who left Spiritualized shortly after the release of the album to found Slipstream
.
Initially released on CD and on two 45rpm vinyl LPs, the album has since been reissued on CD. Several CD editions of the album segue the twelve songs together into four (occasionally cross-faded) "suites", mimicking the double-vinyl listening experience. Some US versions, on BMG
, have, since 1996, retained a skip on all copies, causing "Angel Sigh" to false-start after about one minute. This error is one of the longest-standing in the major-label CD era, at thirteen years and counting.
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
group Spiritualized
Spiritualized
Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
. Recorded by the inaugural line up of the band, consisting of Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce , also known as J. Spaceman or Spaceman, is an English musician. He was formerly the joint leader – with Peter Kember – of the alternative rock band Spacemen 3, and is now the leader and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized.In between his work with Spiritualized...
(vocals, guitars), Mark Refoy (guitars), Will Carruthers (bass), Jonny Mattock (drums) and Kate Radley (keyboards). The album was recorded, mostly in VHF studios in Rugby, from 1990 to 1991, and mixed by Pierce in London. The album was first released on Dedicated Records in May 1992, on cassette, Compact Disc and Vinyl (2 x LP, with initial copies containing an additional free 7").
The album builds on band leader Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce , also known as J. Spaceman or Spaceman, is an English musician. He was formerly the joint leader – with Peter Kember – of the alternative rock band Spacemen 3, and is now the leader and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized.In between his work with Spiritualized...
's contributions to Recurring
Recurring (album)
Recurring was the fourth and final Spacemen 3 studio album, finally released in February 1991, some time after the band had broken up...
, the final album by his previous band Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...
, and further refines his approach to song craft (the creation of complex, intricate pieces from simple, repetitive phrases). Particular highlights are the opening, largely acoustic lullaby, "You Know It's True", the chiming guitars of "If I Were with Her Now" (used in a Toffee Crisp advert in the nineties), the bass-heavy "Take Your Time", "Shine a Light" (the latter two both Spiritualized concert staples to this day), and the closing "200 Bars", in which keyboard player Kate Radley
Kate Radley
Kate Radley was a keyboard player for the British rock band Spiritualized, and was, for part of her tenure with the band, in a long-term relationship with the band's frontman and principal creative force, Jason Pierce...
counts up the bars as the song progresses. Elsewhere, "Run" uses lyrics from J. J. Cale's "They Call Me the Breeze" (Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
released a famous cover). Also not fully a Pierce composition is "Sway", written largely by guitarist Mark Refoy, who left Spiritualized shortly after the release of the album to found Slipstream
Slipstream
A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid is moving at velocities comparable to the moving object . The term slipstream also applies to the similar region adjacent to an object with a fluid moving around it...
.
Initially released on CD and on two 45rpm vinyl LPs, the album has since been reissued on CD. Several CD editions of the album segue the twelve songs together into four (occasionally cross-faded) "suites", mimicking the double-vinyl listening experience. Some US versions, on BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, have, since 1996, retained a skip on all copies, causing "Angel Sigh" to false-start after about one minute. This error is one of the longest-standing in the major-label CD era, at thirteen years and counting.
Track listing
- "You Know It's True / If I Were with Her Now / I Want You" - 13:12
- "Run / Smiles / Step into the Breeze / Symphony Space" - 14:45
- "Take Your Time / Shine a Light" - 14:09
- "Angel Sigh / Sway / 200 Bars" - 19:54
Personnel
- Jason Pierce - guitar (Fender TelecasterFender TelecasterThe Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
, Eko Rocket, acoustic guitar), dulcimer, autoharpAutoharpThe autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
, piano, vocals - Kate Radley - keyboards (Vox ContinentalVox ContinentalThe Vox Continental is a transistor-based combo organ that was introduced in 1962. Known for its thin, bright, breathy sound, the "Connie," as it was affectionately known, was designed to be used by touring musicians...
, Farfisa Compact, piano), vocals - Mark Refoy - guitar (GretschGretschThe Gretsch Company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a twenty-seven year old German immigrant recently arrived in the US. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums, until his death in 1895. His son, Fred, moved operations to Brooklyn, New York in 1916...
Country Gent, Epiphone CasinoEpiphone CasinoThe Epiphone Casino is a thinline hollow body electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. It is essentially Epiphone's version of the Gibson ES-330...
, Fender TelecasterFender TelecasterThe Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
, acoustic guitar, dulcimer - Will Carruthers - bass (Gibson ThunderbirdGibson ThunderbirdThe Gibson Thunderbird is an electric bass guitar made by Gibson.-Background and introduction:The Gibson Thunderbird was introduced in 1963. At the time, Fender had been the leader in the electric bass market since their introduction of the Precision Bass twelve years earlier.The Thunderbird was...
) - Jonny Mattock - drums, percussion, dulcimer
- Simon Clarke - flute
- Roddy Lorimer - trumpet
- Will Gregory - saxophone
- Colin Humphries - cello
- Martin Robinson - cello
- Owen John - violin
- Produced by Jason Pierce
- Mixed by Jason Pierce and Barry Clempson at Gooseberry Studio, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, January 1992 (except "Symphony Space" and "200 Bars", mixed at Comforts Place Studio) - Engineered by Angus Wallace, Barry Clempson, Declan O'Regan, Mike Long and Paul Adkins
- Mastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, January 1992 - Artwork by Gavin Lindsay
- Photography by Pete Gardner
- Sleeve design by Andrew Sutton and Albert Tupelo