Playing With Fire (studio album) by Spacemen 3

Playing With Fire by Spacemen 3
Year: 1989
Overall rank: 2,678th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 126 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1989 (35th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (415th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,678th)
Product Details
Availability

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Spacemen 3 Playing With Fire (Vinyl) 12" Album Coloured Vinyl
Condition: New


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eBay
Spacemen 3 Playing With Fire (Vinyl)
Condition: New


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Spacemen 3-Playing With Fire Uk '99 Limited To 100 Copies Directonly Reissue Flu
Condition: Used

$346.42


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Spacemen 3 bestography

Playing With Fire is ranked 2nd best out of 13 albums by Spacemen 3 on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Spacemen 3 is The Perfect Prescription which is ranked number 1677 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,019.

Spacemen 3 album bestography « Higher ranked (1,677th) This album (2,678th) Lower ranked (4,536th) »
The Perfect PrescriptionPlaying With FireSound Of Confusion

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Playing With Fire track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 81 (24 votes)Comments: 0
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4.
Rating: 79 (22 votes)Comments: 0
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5.
Rating: 82 (25 votes)Comments: 1
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8.
Rating: 80 (23 votes)Comments: 0
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Playing With Fire rankings

Playing With Fire collection

Playing With Fire ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 126 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 126 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 Report rating
02/28/2024 19:08 Gavin Cook  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 24965/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
02/07/2024 05:45 juanr1096  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 5,23978/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
01/24/2024 22:47 BorderFreeAndrew  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 10,68675/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
11/01/2023 20:06 MetalMan67  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,81271/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
09/12/2023 13:16 scoob73  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,62071/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.3/100, a mean average of 77.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.0.

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Playing With Fire favourites

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Playing With Fire comments

Showing all 6 comments |
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Rating:  
70/100
From 02/20/2022 10:24
Sounds like desperation. Sonically dark and unforgiving.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/03/2019 18:18
According to Discogs, this album was released in 1989, not 1988
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/19/2015 08:54
Gorgeous stuff. Reminds me of Suicide, but with a real soul.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 05/17/2015 23:50
There's really something beautiful about these albums, about everything J Spaceman and Sonic Boom do. An existential longing for meaning, comfort, home. They don't seek concrete answers, just disparate feelings and emotions. Like a last gasp, trying to find one small reason to live, with failed escapism and convictions left behind. It's all tenuous, nothing certain, but there's vitality. It's living music, music to be alive by. I know I can always find empathy in Spacemen 3, in Spiritualized, in Spectrum, really it's my go to music for whatever crisis I may have, existential or identity, etc.. Not entirely sure why I'm leaving this comment aside from just putting this album at #1 on my chart and being unable to listen to anything but Spacemen related stuff lately, but god do I love it.

Honeeeeey won't you take me home tonight?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/10/2013 13:40
Pretty solid. Not as good as The Perfect Prescription but it still great. I really dislike "How Does It Feel?" though.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 08/05/2012 13:08
Spacemen's best album, highlight's include Honey, Revolution, Let Me Down Gently, & Suicide.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1989
1. Doolittle by Pixies
2. Disintegration by The Cure
3. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
4. Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
5. On Fire by Galaxie 500
6. 3 Feet High And Rising by De La Soul
7. Bleach by Nirvana
8. Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails
9. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty
10. New York by Lou Reed
11. Technique by New Order
12. The Real Thing by Faith No More
13. Like A Prayer by Madonna
14. The Sensual World by Kate Bush
15. Hats by The Blue Nile
16. 13 Songs by Fugazi
17. Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson
18. Floating Into The Night by Julee Cruise
19. Pump by Aerosmith
20. Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan
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