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Rating: The Spacemen 3 were undoubtedly one of the most influential bands of the alternative music scene of the '80s and '90s. I have been a fan of theirs and consider albums like The Perfect Prescription, Playing With Fire, and Dreamweapon to be masterpieces. This nice little book by Stefano I. Bianchi (released in the Director's Cut series by Blow Up) finally takes stock of a group of paramount importance. The author associates them, in terms of importance, with Slint. Musically, comparisons can instead be made with the Loop, a group that followed a similar trajectory starting from psychedelia to arrive at isolationist ambient. But the book merits praise for not stopping at the Spacemen 3 alone, but for also exploring all the subsequent projects, namely Spectrum and E.A.R. by Sonic Boom (in addition to his solo albums) and Spiritualized by Jason Pierce. If there is a keyword to understand their music, that word is "minimalism". Devotees of the psychedelia of Red Crayola, the 13TH Floor Elevators, the Stooges, Can, and Suicide, the Spacemen 3 reinvented and updated psychedelia, anticipating the branch of isolationist ambient music. But throughout this, they also remained faithful to the roots of gospel, blues, and country music, contaminating them with contemporary music. The band was essentially divided between the creative personalities of Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce. Stefano I. Bianchi rightly emphasizes how what the two subsequently produced is inferior (though still valid) compared to what they did with the mother signature. Even though it seems that the great John Peel was a fan of the Spiritualized despite having also broadcast the Spacemen 3. Regarding Spiritualized, I still loved Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (of which I jealously keep the cassette purchased in London in 1998) while Sonic Boom perhaps devolved into a musical quest not always well-focused, though remaining interesting. Evidently, their artistic chemistry worked perfectly, but the irreconcilable fractures that were created ended up breaking the toy. After the first good album Sound Of Confusion (which some critics considered derivative and too noisy, although Stefano I. Bianchi points out that the previous tape Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To was superior), Spacemen 3 released a masterpiece like the aforementioned The Perfect Prescription, a sort of concept on the theme of drugs. It is pointless to deny that the members of Spacemen 3 have always admitted to using various types of drugs (such as heroin and ecstasy), considered important in their creative process. According to their theory, listeners should also hear the music in an altered state. On the other hand, some references in the lyrics are very explicit in this sense. The music changes compared to the debut and becomes more mellow. The Perfect Prescription contains a masterpiece like the cover of “Tranparent Radiation” by Red Crayola linked to their original piece titled “Ecstasy Symphony.” The effect is sidereal and cosmic and anticipates, as mentioned earlier, isolationist ambient. Playing With Fire also contains masterpiece pieces like the sweet and ecstatic “Honey” and the metaphysical gospel of “Lord Can You Hear Me?”. Then there would be Dreamweapon, recommended for lovers of hard and pure minimal music, the only track present being based on the repetition of a single chord with our Astronauts seeming completely spaced out, and the farewell album Recurring composed by separated collaborators. The reading of the volume flows pleasantly anyway (unlike the booklet on the Coil where the style of Paolo Bertoni was at least questionable).
Stefano I. Bianchi “Spacemen 3 – Astronauts of Inner Space” – Blow Up – Director’s Cut 24 – 124 pages – Euro 12
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