Spiritualized Album: “Complete Works, Vol. 1”

The title of this disc might be considered to be a bit misleading by some,as 'The Complete...' appears to pull one's attention toward the group's rarities/unreleased archives in their pre-'Ladies And Gentlemen...' days.Taking that into consideration,most fans of founder Jason Pierce and co. should find this compilation CD to their liking.I know I did.Some of the better cuts include "Feel So Sad",the motivational "Run","Lay Back In The Sun"(nice keyboard work),"Electric Mainline,Part 1" and the shoegazing "Good Dope/Good Fun".Nice very choice pickings from the band's personal vault.Recommended to all Spiritualized/Spacemen 3 fans.

Driving to this music can be hazardous to yourself and others on the highway. It is blood-pumping stuff, a beautiful aural assault on your ears that somehow finds its way to the gas pedal. A rare band that fools you with its tranquil overtures, while it really has your head locked into something resembling an F-16 engine on afterburner. When their outtakes sound this good, you know you're witnessing a band at the peak of its many powers.

I have only three gripes about an otherwise excellent (and thrifty) collection by one of my favorite bands...

1. The acapella version of "100 Bars" is unbearable. My wake & bake days are long behind me, and so is my boredom threshold.

2. "Don't Go" isn't on here. I've got a radio bootleg version of it, but no studio cut. What gives?

3. There's nothing to the packaging. No liner notes, no pictures. Jack-squat.

Still, I think anyone who is even a marginal Spiritualized fan should have this in their collection.

What more to say? It's a great introductory collection. It's perfect for those that have the albums and don't want to spend a small fortune and the rest of their days hunting down the singles. Last, it's oh-so-convenient for those that have the singles/promos to have them all in one place (besides, why would you want to carry all of those 1-4 track, and sometimes more, ep's and singles with you?).

While you're at it get Vol.2 (you know you want it, heh heh heh)

If you love Spiritualized like I do, buy this right away. I had some of these songs already from various EP's & singles, but the stuff I didn't have has proved to be either difficult or expensive to obtain. When I heard this was coming out, I was overjoyed! These songs are from Spiritualized's (IMHO) greatest era, and it's nice to finally have them all collected in one place. So go buy it now, or perish in flames, infidel!!!!