Recurring (album)

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Recurring
File:Spacemen 3 - Recurring.jpg
Studio album by Spacemen 3
Released February 10, 1991
Recorded 1990
Genre Neo-psychedelia
Shoegaze
Alternative Rock
Length 78:33 (international version)
Label Fire Records (UK) (original UK release)
RCA Records (US)
Dedicated Records (Germany)
Space Age Recordings (2004 UK reissue)
Producer Peter Kember/Jason Pierce
Spacemen 3 chronology
Playing with Fire
(1989)Playing with Fire1989
Recurring
(1991)
Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music
(1995)Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars link
Robert Christgau (1-star Honorable Mention) link


Recurring was the fourth and final Spacemen 3 studio album, finally released (after considerable delay) in February 1991, some time after the band had broken up. By the time the album was recorded, relations between the band had soured to the extent that the record is in 2 parts - the first side by Peter Kember, and the second by Jason Pierce.

The album included "Hypnotized", a Pierce composition that was a minor hit in the UK in 1989.

Versions

The original UK vinyl pressing had only ten tracks, with shorter edits of two tracks. "Big City" was cut in half and "Billy Whizz" faded out before its "Blue 1" crescendo. The cassette release contained the same track listing but with full versions of all tracks.

"Just to See You Smile" originally appeared on the B-side of "Hypnotized", in an alternate mix listed as "Just to See You Smile (Honey Pt. 2)", owning up to the track's melodic affinity to the earlier Spacemen 3 tune "Honey". Elsewhere, "Why Couldn't I See" is another song whose main guitar riff is largely derived from the 45-minute improvisation Dreamweapon (the others were "Honey" and "How Does It Feel"); and "I Love You" features an uncredited sample of a Jan and Dean radio jingle for Coca-Cola (possibly written or cowritten by Brian Wilson, from 1963.

When Tomorrow Hits

The only track on which both Pierce and Kember appear is "When Tomorrow Hits", a cover of a Mudhoney song, originally intended for a double A-side split single, with Mudhoney covering "Revolution" from Playing With Fire. This release was scotched when Kember caught wind of the fact that Mudhoney had fitted "Revolution" with somewhat irreverent lyrics about methadone suppositories. The Mudhoney recording eventually surfaced as a b-side. There's a subtle continuity between both tracks, specifically duelling references to The Stooges; the Spacemen 3 track opens with the "look out!" invocation that began "Loose", and "When Tomorrow Hits" is mostly a rewrite of "I Wanna Be Your Dog".

Track listing

Original vinyl release (Fire FIRELP23)
No. Title Length
1. "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)" (edited version) 4:45
2. "Just To See You Smile (Orchestral Mix)"   3:19
3. "I Love You"   5:32
4. "Set Me Free / I've Got the Key"   5:11
5. "Set Me Free (Reprise)"   1:50
6. "Feel So Sad (Reprise)"   2:46
7. "Hypnotized"   5:57
8. "Sometimes"   6:36
9. "Feelin' Just Fine (Head Full of Shit)"   4:33
10. "Billy Whizz / Blue 1" (edited version) 5:05
Original cassette release (FIRE MC23)
No. Title Length
1. "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)"   10:50
2. "Just to See You Smile (Orchestral mix)"   3:19
3. "I Love You"   5:32
4. "Set Me Free / I've Got the Key"   5:11
5. "Set Me Free (reprise)"   1:50
6. "Feel So Sad (reprise)"   2:46
7. "Hypnotized"   5:57
8. "Sometimes"   6:36
9. "Feelin' Just Fine (Head Full of Shit)"   4:33
10. "Billy Whizz / Blue 1"   7:33
Original CD release (FIRE CD23)
No. Title Length
1. "Big City (Everybody I Know Can Be Found Here)"   10:50
2. "Just to See You Smile (Orchestral mix)"   3:19
3. "I Love You"   5:32
4. "Set Me Free / I've Got the Key"   5:11
5. "Set Me Free (reprise)"   1:50
6. "Why Couldn't I See"   6:37
7. "Just to See You Smile (instrumental)"   3:19
8. "When Tomorrow Hits"   4:26
9. "Feel So Sad (reprise)"   2:46
10. "Hypnotized"   5:57
11. "Sometimes"   6:36
12. "Feelin' Just Fine (Head Full of Shit)"   4:33
13. "Billy Whizz / Blue 1"   7:33
14. "Drive / Feel So Sad"   5:34
15. "Feelin' Just Fine (alternative mix)"   4:30