Music for William Egglestons Stranded in Canton

In 2015, Spiritualized founder J Spaceman and several of his bandmates performed in London at Doug Aitkens Station to Station festival, playing an original live score to American photographer William Egglestons 1974 film Stranded in Canton. Along with additional guitarists Tony Foster and John Coxon, as well as drummer Rupert Clervaux (all of whom have ties to Spiritualized), Spaceman played loosely structured cosmic blues themes as the film rolled, controlling the audio output of the movie with a volume pedal. Music for William Egglestons Stranded in Canton captures this performance, providing a sonic equivalent for the films raw, rowdy portrayals of Memphis in the 70s and the lawless inhabitants of both the city at that time and Egglestons impressions of it. The album consists of ten pieces, which vary from the slow-paced meandering of "Its Not Gospel" to ambient interludes like "Mothers Milk" to full-steam psychedelic burners like the dense "Love for the Asking." The sound here is far more along the lines of Spacemen 3s tremolo-soaked minimal blues confusion than Spiritualizeds orchestrated bliss rock. Snippets of dialogue from the film intermingled with the music reinforce just how tuned in to the movie the music is, as the instrumental sounds provide a perfect complement for characters who come across as frustrated, drunk, desperate, and amorous, all painted with a particular shade of Deep South after-hours depravity. Stranded in Canton will especially delight those whose gateway to Spiritualized was the bluesier side of Spacemen 3, and there are slight echoes of Spacemen 3s live instrumental theater-lobby experiments from 1988 that were released a few years later as their Dreamweapon album. The way Spaceman, Coxon, and the rest interact with the films unhinged characters and grainy scenes feels almost pre-ordained, perfectly reflecting back the brokenness, the simple joy, and the struggle playing out on the screen. ~ Fred Thomas