Playing with Fire (Spacemen 3 album)

Playing with Fire
Studio album by Spacemen 3
Released	27 February 1989
Genre	Psychedelic rock[1] space rock[2]
Length	46:45
Label	Fire (original UK release) Bomp! (original US release) Rough Trade (Germany) Hitch-Hyke (Greece) Space Age Recordings (2001 UK reissue) Taang! (2009 US reissue)
Spacemen 3 chronology
Performance (1988) Playing with Fire (1989) Recurring (1991)
Alternative cover
When Taang! Records reissued the album on CD in 1994, the white background of the original was changed for a fiery interpretation. Later CD reissues have restored the original artwork.

Playing with Fire is the third studio album by Spacemen 3, released in February 1989. The original CD version included two live bonus tracks recorded in the Netherlands, and an ensuing release on Taang! Records included two more b-sides from the "Revolution" single. A reissued version from 2001 has an entire extra disc of demos and rarities.

In a similar musical borrowing to those on the band's prior albums, the song "Revolution" bears more than a passing resemblance to "Black to Comm" by the MC5.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Great Rock Discography	8/10[4]
Mojo	[5]
MusicHound	4/5[6]
NME	8+1⁄2/10[7]
Record Mirror	4/5[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Select	5/5[10]
Sounds	[11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10[12]

Playing with Fire was featured in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[13] Stereogum placed "Revolution" at twentieth in their list of the "31 Essential Shoegaze Tracks".^[1]

Track listing

Original release (Fire FIRELP16)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Honey"	Peter Kember	3:00
2.	"Come Down Softly to My Soul"	Jason Pierce	3:46
3.	"How Does It Feel?"	Kember	7:58
4.	"I Believe It"	Kember	3:20
5.	"Revolution"	Kember	5:56
6.	"Let Me Down Gently"	Kember	4:30
7.	"So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears)"	Pierce	2:38
8.	"Suicide"	Pierce, Kember	11:03
9.	"Lord Can You Hear Me?"	Pierce	4:34

2001 reissue (Space Age Recordings)

Disc 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Honey"	Kember	3:00
2.	"Come Down Softly to My Soul"	Pierce	3:46
3.	"How Does It Feel?"	Kember	7:58
4.	"I Believe It"	Kember	3:20
5.	"Revolution"	Kember	5:56
6.	"Let Me Down Gently"	Kember	4:30
7.	"So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears)"	Pierce	2:38
8.	"Suicide"	Pierce, Kember	11:03
9.	"Lord Can You Hear Me?"	Pierce	4:34
10.	"Suicide (Live)"	Pierce, Kember	12:25
11.	"Repeater (How Does It Feel?) (Live)"	Kember	5:31
12.	"Chè"	Martin Rev, Alan Vega, Kember	4:31
13.	"May the Circle Be Unbroken"	Traditional arr. Pierce	3:46

Disc 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Honey (Demo)"	Kember	3:24
2.	"Let Me Down Gently (Drum Mix)"	Kember	4:51
3.	"How Does It Feel? (Alternative Version)"	Kember	8:25
4.	"Suicide (Alternate Mix)"	Pierce, Kember	11:51
5.	"Lord Can You Hear Me? (Demo Vocal)"	Pierce	4:41
6.	"I Believe It (Alternate Mix)"	Kember	3:20
7.	"Chè (Maracas Mix)"	Rev, Vega, Kember	4:38
8.	"Any Way That You Want Me (Demo)"	Chip Taylor	3:21
9.	"Girl on Fire (Demo)"	Phil Parfitt	2:06

References

1. Schonfeld, Zach (14 June 2017). "31 Essential Shoegaze Tracks". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
2. Bonner, Michael (26 June 2015). "An interview with Spiritualized's Jason Pierce: "What we were doing... was morally and legally wrong"". Uncut. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
3. Raggett, Ned. "Playing with Fire – Spacemen 3". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
4. Strong, Martin C. (2004). "Spacemen 3". The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate Books. pp. 1415–1416. ISBN 1-84195-615-5.
5. Male, Andrew (January 2022). "Galaxy Quest". Mojo. No. 338. p. 35. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
6. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). "Spacemen 3". MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 1062. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
7. Kelly, Danny (25 February 1989). "Spacemen 3: Playing with Fire". NME. p. 31. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
8. Zeppelin, Geoff (18 March 1989). "Spacemen 3: Playing with Fire". Record Mirror. p. 39. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
9. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Spacemen 3". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 763–764. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
10. Wilkinson, Roy (July 1999). "Spacemen 3: Playing with Fire". Select. No. 109. pp. 92–93. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
11. Cavanagh, David (25 February 1989). "Altered states". Sounds. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
12. Strauss, Neil (1995). "Spacemen 3". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 371–373. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
13. Shade, Chris (2006). "Spacemen 3: Playing with Fire". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 612. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.

External links

• Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company