View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2018 Vinyl release of 'Highs, Lows And Heavenly Blows' on Discogs. Highs, Lows And Heavenly Blows (MR-079) by Spectrum. Wishlist in wishlist ».
SPECTRUM Spectrum was the most high-profile and straightforward of the projects undertaken by Pete 'Sonic Boom' Kember after the demise of the trance-rock avatars Spacemen 3. As his work as a member of the Experimental Audio Research coterie allowed Kember the opportunity to explore ambient textures and tonal constructs, Spectrum satisfied the singer/guitarist's more conventional pop. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Spectrum Highs Lows and Heavenly Blows 180g Red Color Vinyl LP Spacemen 3 at the best online prices at. Listen to Highs, Lows And Heavenly Blows on Spotify. Spectrum Album 1994 9 songs.
Historical note - this discography dates up to 2001. Updates coming soon.
Angel [S.B. single]Track Listing:
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Spectrum [S.B. album]Track Listing:
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The early vinyl has a neat swirly disc on the cover (officially called an 'op-art' sleeve). There is also a coupon inside for the free Sonic Boom single 'Octaves/Tremelos' available to the first 2000 buyers of the Spectrum LP. Among the other players on the album are Jason, Will Carruthers, and Mark Refoy of Spacemen 3, the Jazz Butcher, and Josephine Wiggs of The Breeders. Engineer Paul Adkins plays drums.
'Rock'n'Roll Is Killing My Life' is a cover of a Suicide song.
'Lonely Avenue' was a Doc Pomus song that Ray Charles recorded way back.
Octaves/Tremelos [S.B. 10' single]Track Listing:
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Limited edition released in several different coloured vinyls as a bonus offer available to purchasers of the Spectrum album. This 10' is playable at 16, 33, 45, or 78 rpm.
Drone Dream [S.B. single]Track Listing:
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US coloured vinyl picture sleeve 7' release of Silvertone freebie with a different version of 'Tremelos' and 'Ecstacy (In Slow Motion)' This EP came in 12 different colored vinyls, including a luminous version.
Guitarrorists [S.B. one track] First track is Sonic's:
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Various artists doing instrumentals. Includes most of Sonic Youth, Nick Saloman (of Bevis Frond), J Mascis, Two Nice Girls...
(I Love You) To The Moon And Back/Capo Waltz [Spect. single]Track Listing:
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This bonus 7' was given away free to people who attended Spectrum's first shows in April - May 1991. 'To The Moon And Back' is a demo from the following album. 'Capo Waltz' is an instrumental and was recorded live at Coventry Polytechnic on November 24th, 1990.
How You Satisfy Me [Spect. single]Track Listing:
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Also available in the 'squish-pack'. 7' and 12' pressed on clear vinyl.
True Love Will Find You In The End [Spect. single]Track Listing - 7':
Track Listing - 12':
Track Listing - CD:
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The 12' is pressed on yellow vinyl.
Soul Kiss (Glide Divine) [Spect. album]Track Listing:
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The first 5000 copies came in a special gel-filled package (a.k.a. 'the squish pack', for both the CD and the vinyl. Vinyl release does not include the first 'The Drunk Suite' cut.
The 'Play Twice Before Listening' inscription on the back cover was nicked from the first Silver Apples album, recorded back in 1968 and a major influence on Sonic's work.
True Love Will Find You In The End [Spect. double 7']Track Listing:
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Different versions from those previously released. Even though 'Drunk Suite' is labelled as a vocal version on the sleeve, 'Don't Go' is the song which gains vocals. 100 promo copies were pressed on colored vinyl.
Super Sympathy Spectrum Stocking Stuffer [Spect. 7' split single]Track Listing:
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Split 7' with the Field Trip, released Christmas 1992. Sonic also plays on the Field Trip's song. This is also the first Spectrum release to feature new guitarist Kevin Cowan (ex-Darkside) who replaces Richard Formby (who took over Kevin's spot briefly in The Darkside). Tony Lambert plays drums. Recorded Nov. 13, 1992
Spectrum/Moonshake [Spect. 7' split single]Track Listing:
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7' freebie given away with copies of the Independent 20 compilation LP
Indian Summer [Spect. EP]Track Listing:
Track Listing - Sympathy 10':
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EP of cover songs (from Beat Happening, Jan & Dean, Bo Diddley, and Daniel Johnston) Each disc is individually numbered. The Sympathy 10' is simply called 'Spectrum' and includes a 13th Floor Elevators cover recorded back when Richard Formby was still in the band. This 10' was released in a in 4 clear vinyl copies and at least one red vinyl copy.
Mechanical Man [S.B. 7' single]Track Listing:
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7' single with two different versions of the Charles Manson tune - one side Frank Kozic, the other side Sonic's. Sonic does play all the instruments on both sides. Limited first pressing on green vinyl.
Spectrum/Stereolab [Spect. 7' split single]Track Listing:
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Originally only three test pressings were ever manufactured. Silvertone later released twenty-five copies of this single which are now commanding big prices on the collectors market.
An article about this single goes into the details about how it came to be and why it's so expensive these days. Here's a scan of it, but I don't have the source info for which mag it came from.
Mesmerised [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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Quoting from the back of the CD: E.A.R. is a loose affiliation of non-resident 'sound makers' including from time to time Sonic Boom (Spectrum, Spacemen 3), Kevin Martin (God), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), and Eddie Prevost (A.M.M.) amongst others.Mesmerised is a Sonic effort.
The LP is limited to an edition of 1000.
Pocket Symphony [E.A.R. 5' single]Track Listing:
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Also credits Scott Riley, Tom Prentice (God) and Pete Bassman.
Undo The Taboo [Spect. EP single]Track Listing:
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Highs, Lows And Heavenly Blows [Spect. album]Track Listing:
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Hydroponic [E.A.R. 10']Track Listing:
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'Hydroponic' also appears on the Virgin compilation Ambient 4 - Isolationism which also features A.M.M., Seefeel, Aphex Twin, and others.
untitled [E.A.R. 8']Track Listing:
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Sonic with Graham Walker and Pete Bassman
Beyond The Pale [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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Recorded back in 1992, this was originally the first E.A.R. CD recorded that was endlessly delayed.
Spectrum and Jessamine - A Pox On You [Spect. EP]Track Listing:
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The New Atlantis [label sampler CD]Track Listing:
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Space Age Recordings sampler CD with a few exclusive tracks
Phenomena 256 [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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Songs For Owsley [Spect. EP]Track Listing:
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Songs for Owsley is dedicated to Augustus Stanley Owsley III, the famous 60's acid manufacturer referred to in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test?
The lyrics for 'The New Atlantis' are cited from the works of Sir Francis Bacon, but perhaps more telling is that the Bacon quote appears on the front cover of the original EMS Synthi A and VCS3 manuals. You can also find the quote in the opening of the book 'Synthesis' by Herbert A. Deutsch - a very good sourcebook on sound generation and electronic music.
The Köner Experiment [E.A.R. album]Track Listing (all pieces untitled):
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Sputnik [E.A.R. 7']Track Listing:
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Split single with Thurston Moore and Don Fleming. Dedicated to Joe Meek, the 7' is pressed on clear glitter vinyl.
Forever Alien [Spect. album]Track Listing:
*Appear only on the Space Age Records release Personnel: |
The vinyl edition of the album is pressed on a special 'glitter' vinyl material and is only limited to 100 copies or so.
The Reprise release further confuses the difference between 'limited' and 'unlimited' releases by releasing 'limited' edition which is identical to their 'unlimited' edition except that it comes in a digipak and cost four dollars more.
Feels Like I'm Slipping Away [Spect. single]Track Listing:
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What Came Before After [S.B. & Spectrum album]Track Listing:
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Compilation CD which compiles a lot of early tracks.
Tracks 1-4 are from the 'True Love...' 2x7' on Sympathy ('2 Chord 12 Bar' is actually 'Taste The Ozone')
Tracks 5-9 are from the 'Spectrum' 10' on Sympathy featuring the different mix of 'California Lullaby'
Track 10 is from the Kozik/Sonic Boom single on Sympathy.
Track 11 is the 'Drum Mix' of 'Help Me Please' from the Angel 12' on Silvertone.
Track 12 is from the 'How You Satisfy Me' 12' and/or the 'True Love...' CD single on Silvertone.
Tracks 13-15 are from the 'Drone Dream' 7' on Sympathy (or, 13 and 14 are from 'Octaves/Tremeloes' 10' on Silvertone, and 15 is from 'Dreamweapon')
Millenium Music [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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Recorded live direct to 24-track. Also released as a VHS video from Atavistic, and contains 2 songs 'Delysid' and 'Digitana'.
Transistor Music [E.A.R. 7']Track Listing:
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Death Of A Robot [E.A.R. 9']Track Listing:
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Electronic Devices: EMS VCS3 & Synthi AK5, Serge Modular Music System, OSCar, and Custom Human Voice Synthesizer
Produced by Sonic Boom
Engineered by Sonic Boom & Pete Bassman
Recorded at RCS Studios, Rugby
Data Rape [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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All tracks are untitled. Quoting from the CD booklet:
The sound collages on this disc were created using 8 human voice synthesisers, originally marketed by Texas Instruments as the 'Speak & Spell' range of toys during the 1970's. These instruments have been customized with added switches, buttons, knobs, and wiring to give phoneme looping, random phrase generation, various modulations, pitch shifting and other non-standard effects.
Some processing with equilization and effects was then added using a Morley phaser and a modified EMS VCS3.
This process, often called 'circuit bending', exploits the inherent instabilities in the circuitry of audio toys, radios, and other soundmaking instruments by sending electronic signals and data to and from previously unrelated circuit-board points giving unique, unpredictable, and highly unusual sounds.
Data Rape (Part 9) [E.A.R. 7']Track Listing:
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A limited 'blue cover' version of this is available also.
'Savage Scratch' isn't a song at all but an etching by Savage Pencil. Effectively, this is a one-sided single.
Spectrum & Silver Apples - A Lake Of Teardrops [Spectrum EP]Track Listing:
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E.A.R. & Jessamine - Living Sound [E.A.R. CD]Track Listing:
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Live album recorded at Moe's in Seattle, Washington on 8 August, 1996.
Spectrum & The Imajinary Friends - Interface/Come Out To Play [Spectrum EP]Track Listing:
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Split EP. The E.A.R. tracks are the last two.
Pestrepeller [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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The vinyl is limited to 1000 on glitter vinyl.
Live At The Dream Palace [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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Recorded during the Data Rape tour at the Dream Palace in New Orleans on 27 November, 1998.
271199 [compilation]Track Listing:
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Ochre Records compilation album features an E.A.R. track.
Interface [compilation]Track Listing:
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Space Age, Ochre, and Earworm compiliation.
Vibrations [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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The Sundowner Sessions [John Massoni and Sonic]Track Listing:
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Live Chronicles Vol. 1 [Spectrum album]Track Listing:
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Limited edition CD-R pressed by Sonic himself. Tracks 1-7 recorded at Newcastle Riverside Studios for Tyne-tees television on 29 May 1991. Tracks 8-14 recorded at the University Of London Union on 3 May 1990.
Live Chronicles Vol. 2 [Spectrum album]Track Listing:
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Limited edition CD-R pressed by Sonic himself. Tracks 1-4 from Radio 1 In Session, 27 July 1992. Track 5 from the Silvertone freebie 7' (SONIC2). Track 6 from Coventry Poly. 24 Nov. 1990. Tracks 7-8 from Cabaret Metro, Chicago on 24 Feb. 1995. Tracks 9-10 from Crocodile Cafe, Seattle 1 March 1995. Tracks 11-13 from Highbury Garage, London 10 Dec. 1994. Track 14 from the Volume Five CD/magazine.
Continuum [E.A.R. album]Track Listing:
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Other Stuff:
Volume Five
Various artists CD/magazine which includes:
1. Soul Kiss 4:40
Apparently this is an edit of a track Sonic gave the magazine, which they didn't use in it's entirety for reasons of space. The original was supposedly 10 minutes long.
Excursion In Ambience - The Third Orbit
Astralwerks ASW 6119-2
Compilation CD of various 'ambient' artists. Contains a new version of 'Pulse Drone (Neon Sigh).'
Set Me Free
A 7' from Moroccan Mayhem Records contains this track which originally aired as part of a BBC Radio Session on July 27, 1992. The single also includes some rare Spacemen 3 tracks.
How You Satisfy Me
Video on Melody Maker Video, vol. 1
Video was produced on a low budget by Sonic's friend who owns a computer. Also available as a radio station promo.
Soul Kiss (New version)
Video on Melody Maker Video, vol. 4
So, You Got Anything Else - Kirk Lake
LP/CD Che CHE 27
EAR provides some backing music to this spoken word album.
Volume Twelve
Various artists CD/magazine which includes:
'Space Theme (Tribute to John Cage in C, A, G, E)' an E.A.R. track
The Corners of the Mouth
Bubble Core Records BC-014 CD / LPX2
The compilation benefits The School of Sound, part of a non-profit organization called 'The Sound Healers Association' devoted to teaching the healing powers of music and sound. The E.A.R. track is called 'Orpheus (for Ghazala, Subotnik, and Zinovieff)'
Spectrum Highs Lows And Heavenly Blows Rare
Thanks to Chris Barrus for this discography