at a glance...

Hometown: Rugby/London/Surrey, England
Year Formed: 1991

Members:
Jason Pierce (aka J. Spaceman)-vocals, guitars, keyboards, effects
...joined by many others

Bands In The Family:
Spacemen 3, Spectrum, EAR, Spring Heel Jack, Julian Cope, Dr. John, Balanescu Quartet, The Verve, My Bloody Valentine

Jason Pierce has always been ambitious, but his attempt to up the ante from Ladies and Gentlemen... with a two-CD live spectacular seemed foolhardy. That he decided to record it at the end of a year-long tour, in the Royal Albert Hall, with a full gospel choir and orchestra only added to the suspicion that the Spaceman had made one journey too far.

Well, thank heaven Jason doesn't listen to naysayers like me. This album draws songs from all three Spiritualized albums but may be better than any of them - indeed, Royal Albert Hall may go down as the definitive Spiritualized document.

The song selection is faultless (I would have liked "Lay Back in the Sun"; "Walking With Jesus" more than compensates), the playing is splendid and the mix is pristine. Indeed, for someone alleged to be on the verge of overdose and/or emotional breakdown at any given moment, Pierce runs a remarkably tight ship. A year of touring chiseled the arrangements of songs like "Broken Heart" and "Electricity," allowing Pierce and the band to push them to impassioned heights. New perspectives on favorites emerge, too: "I Think I'm in Love" turns out to be a country ballad; "No God, Only Religion " has an irresistible guitar riff driving the free-jazz cacophony; and "Take Your Time" turns out to be the great lost Spiritualized anthem.

Remember the last decent live album you heard? Me neither. But trust me on this one. It is a mighty genius realizing his dreams in a single take, and you don't want to miss it.