This was how I discovered country gospel standard Will The Circle Be Unbroken, bent out of shape by Jason Pierce of Spacemen 3 / Spiritualized into a sluggish blues of addiction, ecstatic repetition and the shadow of the grim reaper.
This version keeps the original chorus - Will the circle be unbroken /By and by Lord,by and by? Is a better home awaiting / In the sky Lord, in the sky? - and sandwiches it between the grim tale of a junkie funeral; no direct lyrical reference needed to work out how the celestial harbour is going to be reached.
Pierce has had a long and artistically satisfying career out of juxtaposing keep-your-eyes-on-salvation with the psychedelic experience. But this is my favourite thing he's been involved in.
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