Playing With Fire (studio album) by Spacemen 3

Playing With Fire by Spacemen 3
Year: 1989
Overall rank: 2,629th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 130 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1989 (32nd)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (398th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,629th)
Product Details
Availability

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SPACEMEN 3 - PLAYING WITH FIRE NEW CD
Condition: Brand New


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Spacemen 3 Playing With Fire Vinyl LP 2017 Space Age Records EX
Condition: Used


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Spacemen 3 Playing With Fire (CD) Expanded Album
Condition: Brand New


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Spacemen 3 bestography

Playing With Fire is ranked 2nd best out of 14 albums by Spacemen 3 on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Spacemen 3 is The Perfect Prescription which is ranked number 1786 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 941.

Spacemen 3 album bestography « Higher ranked (1,786th) This album (2,629th) Lower ranked (4,498th) »
The Perfect PrescriptionPlaying With FireSound Of Confusion

Upcoming concerts

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20:00
Viagra Boys - The Infinite Anxiety Tour of 2025
The Union, Salt Lake City, United States. United States
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23
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19:00
ThxSoMch
Marquis, Denver, United States. United States
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Oct
16
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18:30
In This Moment: Black Mass Tour
Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee, United States. United States
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Listen to Playing With Fire on YouTube

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Playing With Fire track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Rating: 82 (26 votes)Comments: 0
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4.
Rating: 79 (23 votes)Comments: 0
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5.
Rating: 82 (26 votes)Comments: 1
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8.
Rating: 79 (24 votes)Comments: 0
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Playing With Fire rankings

Playing With Fire collection

Playing With Fire ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 130 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 130 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 Report rating
07/01/2025 23:03 Nacho212  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,84072/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
03/16/2025 16:01 Jboy69  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 33979/100
 
10/100
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01/21/2025 05:57 Proto  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,42734/100
 
45/100
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01/03/2025 09:23 marcoserra1966  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 64157/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
09/18/2024 08:52 TheWongs  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 73771/100

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 77.2/100, a mean average of 76.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.3.

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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. Like A Prayer by Madonna
13. The Real Thing by Faith No More
14. The Sensual World by Kate Bush
15. Floating Into The Night by Julee Cruise
16. Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson
17. Hats by The Blue Nile
18. 13 Songs by Fugazi
19. Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan
20. Wrong by NoMeansNo
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