If you already have the 1994 Taang! reissue of "Playing With
Dave | United States | 07/20/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This IS nice reissue, but disappointing. It's 2 CDs--the first CD has the exact same track listing as the excellently-done Taang! reissue of "Playing With Fire", while the second disc brings together some alternate takes/ demos in very lousy sound quality. Although this is a fine addition to the collection of a diehard Spacemen 3 fan, you're really not missing out on anything by not owning disc 2. More than anything, the demos illustrate how crucial the execution factor is to this music, & to put it simply, they don't stand a chance against the originals, and again, the sound quality is really subpar. They were amazing at pulling their tracks off on record, making them one of the all time great bands. There seems to have been a bit of revisionism, with some fans saying their demos often surpassed the original versions (e.g. on "Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To") which goes right over my head--the demos tend to sound punchless opposed to the originals, but then again, if those fans are all a bunch of stoners who don't want to be jolted, maybe it makes more sense.
But back to this release. I don't really have too hard of feelings about this 2 disc set--after all, we ARE talking about Spacemen 3 here. But the single disc Taang! version is a much better value & also has a brief quote from Sonic Boom missing here. This disc also may understandably get people thinking, "Why are they releasing a watered-down version of this still available album instead of reissuing 'Recurring'?"
(Note: Disc 2 contains a demo version of "Anyway That You Want Me", a Troggs remake that was Spiritualized's debut single.)"