Spiritualized
Amazing Grace [20th Anniversary Reissue]
FAT POSSUM
Every human being on the planet resorts to some form of escapism in their lives for the sake of survival. Whether a person is broken-hearted after getting dumped, suffering from acute physical pain or mental grief, or stressed to the limit, escapism—like adrenaline—kicks in to reinforce, or even inspire, self-preservation of mind and body during times of severe distress.
Jason Pierce (a.k.a. J. Spaceman), the musical virtuoso and centrifugal force behind the interstellar experimental rock act Spiritualized, has a remarkable penchant for escapism. The frontman developed this knack before starting to battle a series of life-threatening medical issues, some caused by and most exacerbated by Pierce’s admission that he “take[s] drugs to make music to take drugs to.” In 1997, Spiritualized released the epitome of escapist records: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space still stands as Spiritualized’s masterpiece—and one of the most ambitious, tear-jerkingly touching, and masterfully executed records of the 1990s. A pox on the houses of those who pigeonholed the record as merely “space rock,” a now-outdated and goofy-sounding designation.
Ladies and Gentlemen’s successors weren’t anything to sneeze at, either. After returning from “outer space,” it became clear that Pierce had experienced the most extreme form of musical escapism imaginable. And he knew it, too, letting his artistic achievement settle in until Spiritualized’s 2001 follow-up Let It Come Down finally saw him touch down on terra firma. But it was 2003’s Amazing Grace that provided the bookend to the otherworldly travels Pierce had taken. One couldn’t help but wonder if it was Pierce’s vivid imagination and expert ability to keep his mind off the harrowing health experiences he faced that gave him not only a new lease but a renewed appreciation for life—and fresh ears as a musician to boot.
The frontman was so reinvigorated with love, joy, and relief after Amazing Grace’s two mournful predecessors that he enlisted a gospel choir for it (after all, the album title is lifted from a Christian hymn). With the lonely experience of Ladies and Gentlemen still fresh in his mind, the typically antisocial Pierce demonstrated his renewed appreciation for people by enlisting 20 contributors to join him for the often-but-not-always-celebratory affair. Indeed, Amazing Grace is as outward-looking as the first-person-heavy Ladies and Gentlemen is navel-gazing.
Ladies and Gentlemen is and will likely always be Spiritualized’s masterpiece, but the sheer exuberance of Amazing Grace is both uplifting and sad, loud and quiet. Infused with both garage rock and heart-wrenching piano passages, the album may not send listeners into the stratosphere quite like Floating in Space did. Still, Amazing Grace is laced with a sincere appreciation for the world and words of wisdom for those who haven’t traveled as extensively.
Now 58 years old, Pierce—in collaboration with Fat Possum Records—is reissuing Amazing Grace as the second installment in his so-called Spaceman Reissue Program series. Best of all, the album is remastered for vinyl, giving even more clarity and immediacy to the oodles of musicians and instruments featured on it.
“If you got dreams in your heart / Why don’t you share them with me?” Pierce sings on the album closer “Lay It Down Slow.” “And if dreams don’t come true / I’ll make sure that your nightmares are through.”
Thank you and godspeed, Spaceman.
