| The Perfect Prescription | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1987 | |||
| Recorded | V.H.F. in Rugby | |||
| Genre | Neo-psychedelia[1] | |||
| Length | 45:39 | |||
| Label | Glass (original UK release) Fire (various UK reissues) Genius Records (original US release) Taang! (1996 US reissue) | |||
| Producer | Sonic Boom & Jason | |||
| Spacemen 3 chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 1996 re-release | ||||
| Singles from The Perfect Prescription | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10[3] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 8/10[4] |
| Mojo |  [5] |
| MusicHound | 4.5/5[6] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10[7] |
| PopMatters | 10/10[8] |
| Record Collector | [9] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[11] |
The Perfect Prescription is the second studio album by British neo-psychedelic band Spacemen 3, released in 1987. It is a concept album, "a vision of a drug trip from inception to its blasted conclusion, highs and lows fully intact."[2]
Pitchfork Media listed it at #50 in their list of the greatest albums of the 1980s.[12]
The album was promoted with two singles, with the second single, "Take Me to the Other Side", releasing in July 1988 as a 12" single. It was recorded at VHF studios in Rugby, Warwickshire.[13][better source needed]
 | This section possibly contains original research. (September 2020) |
The music becomes progressively more orchestral and serene until the high of the trip, represented by "Ecstasy Symphony"/"Transparent Radiation (Flashback)," moving on to the moment of realisation where the high has faded and the comedown ensues, represented by the harsh opening guitar chords in "Things'll Never Be the Same." Coming down is represented in the blues-based "Come Down Easy," while the potentially fatal effects of an overdose are portrayed in the final track, "Call the Doctor." The music was written by the band, except "Transparent Radiation," which is a Red Krayola cover from the 1967 album The Parable of Arable Land. The band also borrows heavily from the gospel standard "In My Time of Dying" in "Come Down Easy," and it pays homage to Lou Reed in "Ode to Street Hassle."
All tracks are written by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Take Me to the Other Side" | 4:40 | |
| 2. | "Walkin' with Jesus" | 5:03 | |
| 3. | "Ode to Street Hassle" | 3:54 | |
| 4. | "Ecstasy Symphony" | 1:54 | |
| 5. | "Transparent Radiation (Flashback)" | Frederick Barthelme, Steve Cunningham, Mayo Thompson | 9:03 |
| 6. | "Feel So Good" | 5:24 | |
| 7. | "Things'll Never Be the Same" | 5:58 | |
| 8. | "Come Down Easy" | 6:42 | |
| 9. | "Call the Doctor" | 3:45 |
Adds b-sides from the "Take Me to the Other Side" single as bonus tracks:
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Soul 1" | 5:41 |
| 11. | "That's Just Fine" | 6:50 |
Adds two tracks from the "Walkin' With Jesus" single and the Transparent Radiation EP as bonus tracks:
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Starship" | MC5, Sun Ra, Kember, Pierce | 11:01 |
| 10. | "Rollercoaster" | Roky Erickson, Tommy Hall | 17:01 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Soul 1" | 5:41 | |
| 10. | "That's Just Fine" | 6:50 | |
| 11. | "Starship" | MC5, Sun Ra, Kember, Pierce | 11:01 |
| 12. | "Ecstasy" | 9:08 |
The vinyl edition of The Perfect Prescription includes liner notes by author R. Hunter Gibson:
 |
| Forged Prescriptions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2003 | |||
| Genre | Neo-psychedelia | |||
| Label | Space Age Recordings | |||
| Spacemen 3 chronology | ||||
| ||||
Forged Prescriptions is a compilation album by Spacemen 3 released on Space Age Recordings in 2003. It contains alternate and demo versions of songs from The Perfect Prescription, and some previously unreleased tracks.
In his liner notes, Spacemen 3 member Sonic Boom says this release presents the album's songs in their "full guitar laden versions with all the layers of beautifully streamlined guitar—considered by us to be too hard to replicate live and therefore reduced for the original release."
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Things'll Never Be the Same" | 5:54 |
| 2. | "Walking with Jesus" | 5:12 |
| 3. | "Come Down Easy (Demo Version)" | 6:02 |
| 4. | "Transparent Radiation (Single Version)" | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Ode to Street Hassle" | 4:45 |
| 6. | "Call the Doctor" | 4:11 |
| 7. | "Ecstasy Symphony" | 9:06 |
| 8. | "Feel So Good" | 5:28 |
| 9. | "Soul 1" | 5:44 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Transparent Radiation (Demo Version) (cover of "Transparent Radiation" by Red Krayola)" | 7:52 |
| 2. | "Come Down Easy" | 6:43 |
| 3. | "Walking with Jesus (Demo Version)" | 3:58 |
| 4. | "Things'll Never Be the Same (Demo Version)" | 5:54 |
| 5. | "We Sell Soul" (previously unreleased, cover of "Don't Fall Down" by The 13th Floor Elevators) | 4:56 |
| 6. | "Starship (Demo Version)" (previously unreleased, cover of "Starship" by MC5) | 5:01 |
| 7. | "Take Me to the Other Side (Demo Version)" | 3:50 |
| 8. | "Velvet Jam" (previously unreleased) | 4:46 |
| 9. | "I Want You Right Now" (previously unreleased) | 6:10 |
