Spiritualized's Jason Pierce 'Not Crazy About' Full Album Concerts

For years, Spiritualized mastermind Jason Pierce has been trying to set the record straight: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, We're Floating in Space,' the classic 1997 album he and the band will perform on July 30 at New York's Radio City Music Hall, is not a breakup album.

While his interpretation certainly matters -- he did, after all, write the sprawling space-rock masterpiece -- it's not the definitive one. Music is subjective, and he's happy to let fans experience the album on their own terms.

"Yes, I think it can be their breakup album," Pierce tells Spinner. "I don't really mind. That's the good thing with this show. People come to it -- they already have a big connection with that record. It's quite amazing to be able to play these songs. People know what the first notes are going to be. It's a weird thing."

Backed by a choir, horn section and eight-piece string orchestra, Spiritualized have done two sets of 'Ladies and Gentlemen' shows, both in connection with UK All Tomorrow's Parties events. The Radio City gig, staged in conjunction with Spin magazine's 25th anniversary celebrations, is slated to be the one and only US performance.

While the forward-looking Pierce had been reluctant to revisit music he made more than a decade ago, he understands why so many people love full-album performances.

"I've felt it myself for records," he says. "I saw the Stooges play 'Raw Power,' and I know every little gap. I can tell you how long the gaps are between the songs, every little inflection of that music."

Asked if he has other favorite albums he'd like to see recreated live, Pierce draws a blank. It's one thing for Iggy Pop to do it, but too often, he says, aging artists dig out old material for the wrong reasons: Either they lack new material, or they want to make a quick buck.

"I don't know -- it's not something I'm crazy about," he says. "I don't have a list of people I'd like to see reassemble records."

Pierce has been working on a new Spiritualized album, a collection he hopes to release next year. He says he's not worried that performing 'Ladies and Gentlemen' live has led him to copy himself -- even subconsciously -- and write a sound-alike record.

"I certainly don't do that by playing the songs, but it's not a bad thing to review where you've been before you go any further," he says.