Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

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Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Studio album by Spiritualized
Released	June 16, 1997 (UK) July 1, 1997 (US)
Recorded	?
Genre	Post-rock, Space rock
Length	69:41
Label	Dedicated Records, Arista Records
Producer(s)	J. Spaceman (Tracks 5 and 8 produced by J. Spaceman and John Coxon)
All Music Guide link Pitchfork Media (7.6/10) link
Spiritualized chronology
Pure Phase (1995)	Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (1997)	Royal Albert Hall October 10, 1997 (1998)

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, the third studio album by Spiritualized, was released in June, 1997. A more symphonic affair than his earlier works, here Jason Pierce perfected his highly detailed and refined studio technique. As well as the traditional guitar/bass/drums/keyboard setup, he employed the sevices of the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr. John to help flesh out his vision.

The title of the album is taken from the philosophical novel Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder, the context being:

"Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of them fall off, but others cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink. 'Ladies and Gentlemen,' they yell, 'we are floating in space!' But none of the people down there care."

The album itself is a lovelorn, bittersweet affair, painfully tender and intimate in places. It was rumoured that it was about his breakup with his ex-girlfriend (and Spiritualized keyboard player), Kate Radley, who had secretly married Richard Ashcroft of The Verve. Despite the obvious heartache contained within the album, Pierce has continually denied this.

Originally packaged in a box designed to resemble prescription medicine, the album was complete with "dosage advice" and a foil blister pack containing the CD. An ultra-limited edition featured each song on its own individually wrapped 3-inch CD, in a large blister pack, further striving to convey the music's medicinal quality, and intending each track to be a sort of "tablet for consumption."

Original pressings had an alternative version of the title track, incorporating the lyrics and melody of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love". The Presley estate objected to this, however, and a remixed version of the track was included on the commercial release. Album closer "Cop Shoot Cop" references some lyrics from the John Prine song "Sam Stone," incorporating a key line from that song's chorus and then spouting several variations thereon. However, the serpentine melody of the jazzy, atonal "Cop Shoot Cop" bears no resemblance to that of Prine's folk song.

The album was something of a commercial breakthrough for Spiritualized, reaching number four on the UK charts. It proved immensely popular with the music critics, and won the NME album of the year award at the end of 1997, a notable accomplishment when considering that the British band Radiohead's critically acclaimed album OK Computer was also released that year. Additionally, the title track appeared in the film Vanilla Sky.