Spacemen 3 - Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music

The now defunct band, Spacemen 3, was an English (proto?) shoegaze/psychedelic drone band formed in 1984. Then group was mainly comprised of two members, Jason Pierce (aka J Spaceman), and Peter Kember (aka Sonic Boom aka Spectrum). After the band called it quits Jason Pierce went on to form Spiritualized and Peter Kimber continued to record under the names Sonic Boom and Spectrum.
Dreamweapon is a part live album, part studio album originally released in 1990. The opening title track was recorded at Waterman's Art Centre in Brentford, London, on August 19, 1988. Coming in at an epic 45 minutes, the track is definitely not for the lighthearted. A slow building, massive wall of sound that can and will suck you in before you can do a thing about it. Simply great track that makes good use of it's lengthy duration. It has yet to bore me, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
The rest of the album is made up of three tracks (the fourth track was added to the 1993 re-issue). I don't really expect someone who just made it through the first track to jump right into the remaining 8-15 minute tracks that remain, but they should not be ignored. Crystalline, almost angelic tones threaten to wash you away if you aren't holding on. These tracks are every bit as good as the epic opener, just on a smaller scale. Floating is inevitable, especially if you happen to get a nice buzz going. Total comfort.
If you've never gotten into Spacemen 3 at all, this may not be the best place to start, but to be a fan and not listen to this album is a crime.

The now defunct band, Spacemen 3, was an English (proto?) shoegaze/psychedelic drone band formed in 1984. Then group was mainly comprised of two members, Jason Pierce (aka J Spaceman), and Peter Kember (aka Sonic Boom aka Spectrum). After the band called it quits Jason Pierce went on to form Spiritualized and Peter Kimber continued to record under the names Sonic Boom and Spectrum.
Dreamweapon is a part live album, part studio album originally released in 1990. The opening title track was recorded at Waterman's Art Centre in Brentford, London, on August 19, 1988. Coming in at an epic 45 minutes, the track is definitely not for the lighthearted. A slow building, massive wall of sound that can and will suck you in before you can do a thing about it. Simply great track that makes good use of it's lengthy duration. It has yet to bore me, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
The rest of the album is made up of three tracks (the fourth track was added to the 1993 re-issue). I don't really expect someone who just made it through the first track to jump right into the remaining 8-15 minute tracks that remain, but they should not be ignored. Crystalline, almost angelic tones threaten to wash you away if you aren't holding on. These tracks are every bit as good as the epic opener, just on a smaller scale. Floating is inevitable, especially if you happen to get a nice buzz going. Total comfort.
If you've never gotten into Spacemen 3 at all, this may not be the best place to start, but to be a fan and not listen to this album is a crime.
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