Spiritualized Electric Mainline* – Pure Phase

Fun fact: According to Tom Bejgrowicz’s “Should I Quit or Do You Want To Fire Me?” this CD version of Pure Phase was the inspiration for the custom jewel case Caroline Records designed for The Misfits’ debut album, Static Age. It was included in the first pressing of the Coffin boxset. The second pressing, referred to by Tom as “the accountant version”, included regular jewel cases instead.

Just announced as the next release on the Spaceman Reissue Program. As suspected, they've gone for glow-in-the-dark with the records, not sure about the green cover though, seems out-of-place...
https://www.spiritualized.com/collections/music/products/pure-phase-glow-in-the-dark-vinyl-lp

Granted, I’ve probably been on the planet far too long, as there’s nearly nothing I hear that I can’t personally trace the lineage of, who’s listening to what, what’s being lifted from others, and who seems to be stuck in a rut. To my way of thinking, there are two kinds of musicians, those such as the Beatles, who have moved through their career developing new sounds and visions, then there are those such as Jason Pierce, a man who seems to be forever honing something that existed far too long ago, where he’s content to reshape all that was laid down on Spacemen 3’s Perfect Prescription, an intoxicating album to say the least, where if that was Jason’s Rubber Soul, I’m still waiting on his Revolver.

I say the above with a bit of support, as in limited edition, the song “Pure Phase” was re-issued as “Pure Phase Tones For DJs,” a rendition comprising no less than sixteen versions of the song, four on each side, which were playable at both 33 rpms and 45 rpms, though I’ve no idea if the notion that the song worked at both speeds on purpose, or if this was merely a happy accident … nevertheless proving that Pierce is locked into anything that appears to work.

I was fortunate enough to score the luminous glow in the dark jewel case presentation, where from the onset, the album didn’t make much sense to me, probably because the music was already familiar, and Pierce seemed to be channeling the essence of Street Hassle by Lou Reed. The album suggests the same loneliness as Street Hassle, laced with the unending desire for Jason Pierce to be touched in some manner he’s never experienced before, as the drugs, his interpersonal relationships and his need to be recognized as the spirit that defined all that Spacemen 3 were and had become weren’t working anymore, leaving him sounding entirely disenchanted, disaffected and struggling to be defined as something greater than he was.

Pure Phase, where if you have the vinyl, gets retitled as Electric Mainline, and is perhaps the truest statement literally made on the record, as it’s actually printed on the spindle round. The opening track “Medications” is not comfortable, shifting from the smooth and melodic, to shrill organ manifestations, where in one breath the song is warm and inviting, and within the next, there is nothing less than grunge infected violence, creating a schizoid rambling bumpy ride that had this listener feeling rather fucked up inside. Then there’s “The Slide Song,” pure expansion of the conscious, a wobbly yet lush presentation that will slide you back to the beauty of Lazer Guided Melodies with its melodic mesmerizing sumptuousness. Of course Mr. Pierce isn’t content to allow you to simmer away the afternoon in this easy paced space, “Electric Phase” riddles you with roaming noise, like a jet plane revving its engines in the hangar with the doors closed. Other songs venture along the same avenue, defying to be categorized, that is until the cover of Laurie Anderson’s “Born Never Asked,” from her Big Science album comes into view, with pulsing chords that swoop slowly, where Jason’s music is as eschewed as Anderson’s lyrics, where the volume here does the original a great injustice. Then there’s the song “Good Times,” which simply had me rolling in the corner, great rock n’ roll for sure, though intrinsically entangled with that perky band The Cars, complete with lyrics that would have fit perfectly on any Cars outing, and again, with noisy irreverent guitars that continue to create an uncomfortable edge … a chaotic edginess that I was more than willing to jump off of, just to make it all stop.

This is not couch-bound psychedelic music, this is a bad trip, a Primal Scream therapy session where nothing gets worked out, yet Mr. Pierce is intent on giving me a front row seat into the demented jagged confused drug addicted persona he’s deeply into developing at this time. Listen, I’ve nothing against drugs, drugs can be a great deal of fun, yet if they’re making one’s life miserable, stop, don’t go justifying and rationalizing their effects because some folks find this a great listen. Pure Phase is sloppy, it’s pure misery, it’s Jason’s nightmares reaching out of the grave and consuming not only him, but those listening.

Pent-up emotions do not need to be visited on friends and the public, this album should have remained a private affair, only discovered after Mr. Pierce had died, giving us one of those defining ah-ha moments into his personal torment. Then on the other hand, maybe I’m being too tough, yet even so, it’s not a comfortable album.

Review by Jenell Kesler

great album - neopsychedilc (cd limited edit comes in night glowing neon cover) multiorchestred music beyond the those days contemporary brit pop

One of the best CDs in my collection, and my favorite Spiritualized album. "The Slide Song" moves me to tears every time