Some things need living in, rolling about on, abusing, scuffing up, stretching, to feel right. Like that clingy, itchy, static-riddled jumper. Or starchy cold, freshly-laundered bed-sheets. Or a droning repetitive paean to the hypnotism of hard drug addiction. There are four, you count ‘em (why not, you’ve got plenty of time), variations on ’91 single and ‘Medication’ EP track ‘Feel So Sad’ included on this rarities retrospective. Three of them back to back. It’s like he’s sprinkling seasoning of such slightly different varieties into identical bowls of gruel, stirring intently like a man with a task to do but a wandering mind, and urging (not commanding, but urging) you to eat with a steely stare. Which you do, and with a certain degree of relish actually.
Because this is an opportunity, not to reel in the immense shadow Jason Pierce casts, but to almost bed in with him, sprawl on your back, your front, your sides, explore the space, rub the sleep from your eyes and let the subtleties lap over you. It’s the first of two 2-hour hoards of far-flung fragments (b-sides, session tracks, rare vinyl) from his time as Spirtualized. This first episode deals with his first 3 years, post-Spacemen 3 and pre-roof-caving orchestral refrains and the masterpiece that was ‘Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space’. Given the circumstances you’ll be surprised at how little introspective cavity exploration rears its sun-starved head.
So the two versions of ‘100 Bars’ (basically involving Kate Radley steadily and mechanically reciting numbers 1 to 100, in order, to the sound of a black hole collapsing anonymously in the distance) may try your patience – in any normal frame of mind anyway. But the standouts here, of which there are many, are at least matches to the ‘Lazer Guided Melodies’ and ‘Pure Phase’ albums that this collection acts as a background to. From debut single ‘Any Way That You Want Me’ to ‘Why Don’t You Smile Now’ to ‘Good Dope/Good Fun’ to the incredible burgeoning 8 minute entirety of ‘Medication’. This is the bare bones of all the grandeur that you’ll be familiar with now, and even if the skins gone all sorts of funny colours they’re at least healthy and strong.