Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Things You Find In The Basement While You're Looking For Something Else: 3

The Polyphonic Spree: Days Like This Keep Me Warm (Good Records, 2001)
It had been an odd sort of day anyway, and then, last night, I found myself rooting around in the basement looking for a cake tin. Under a dusty colander there was a box with a load of old drum and bass singles in it and under that, I found this. I remember when my friend Billy first tipped me off to the Spree. They had such an amazing look and such a powerful, uplifting vibe about them that it seemed like everyone who came into contact with them came away feeling a little better about almost everything. I certainly did a year or two later when the now defunct X-Ray magazine sent me to Dallas to interview main Spree chap Tim (we stayed here and my room over-looked where JFK was shot, though, to be fair, I think all Dallas hotel rooms over-look where JFK was shot). Tim was a truly inspiring guy who had a wife and young kids and a record shop and this huge band to look after, but took time out to take me and their press officer (my old mate Lewis, now Elbow's representative on earth) and X-Ray's photographer to his favourite Mexican restaurant for lunch then drive us around a string of fantastic thrift stores and, finally, out for a long evening of cold beer drinking. What a chap. What a band. Of course, when they came back with their second album the British press went, 'Well, we've already done this lot!' and the wheels began to come off. But my love is still strong...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw them in Edinburgh around the time of the first album and we all left elated and thinking the world was a better place than it had been before they came on. Amazingly uplifting. I don't think they've ever successfully captured that on record though.

BLTP said...

we saw them at glastobury and it was great, my mate caught one the robes they threw into the crowd and wore it pride. I think there happiness sadly lead to there critical pasting.

Anonymous said...

Funny you should mention the Spree. I too had a cake-tin finding resurrection of that beloved band just this week. Switched on CBeeBies the other day... and they were on SPACE PIRATES (well the video for Days Like....). Thought.. well there's a cool TV producer, putting that on for the under-5'. Made my day. Trixie too was entranced (although might have had something to do with the 'angel' style robes) xx

Silvana said...

Ha, yes me and Scrap watched that episode too! And Rob, didn't we see them in real life from the back of the Brixton Academy when I was early-days expecting with our Scrap? Ruth, were you not there too? Donna and Simon were I think...