FILTER REISSUES
Various ★★★★
Moon unit: Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh goes orbital.
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Jon Savage’s Space
CTR. CD/LP
Cosmic compilation from key cultural astronaut.
NO SPACE Oddity or Satellite Of Love here. The 16 space-related tracks assembled by this premier cultural commentator, and MOJO contributor, take us to less familiar musical quadrants – fascinatingly and instructively so. The ion-drive Hawkwind classic Space Is Deep is about as familiar as it gets. More rarified transmission comes with the ghostly 1968 track Moon Maid, from Dutch electronic music pioneers Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan, then Sun Ra beams in with the alien jazz vamps of 1982 B-side Outer Space Plateau. In less esoteric zones, The Byrds ponder extraterrestrial life on C.T.A.-102 and, with Space Junk, Devo imagine an earthbound paramour being struck down by orbital debris. The weightless house music of Mr Fingers’ Distant Planet takes us to off-world pleasure domes, before the compilation closes with more relative familiarity in Tim Buckley’s Starsailor. The double vinyl is limited to 500 copies.