If you simply loved the first Shpongle CD, entitled "Shpongle" - well, so did we all. Has it withheld the "test of time"? Fairly well, despite being massively overplayed.

Then along comes "Nothing Lasts..." Everyone who loves Shpongle hates it. I don't, but I can't say I care for it either. Until I found "The Key... the Holy Grail... the Key to All Humanity...."

Forget the first Shpongle CD. That is, file it away under Shpongle v1.0. This is Shpongle v2, and it's a major upgrade. Just like "Ineffable Mysteries..." it is simply impossible to appreciate this release to the fullest extent on the first listen.

That key? Give it a listen every day... in different set & settings & time & weather and tired or awake... halfway through the week? "Hmmm, different, but not bad." End of a week - "OK, this is quite good. It's just different than Shpongle v1." Two weeks? "Oh my [deity of choice], this is SO MUCH BETTER!"

And live? Saw Mr. Posford weave his magick, and between the musick and crazy visuals (8-bit fractals to 4D projects on a 3D Shpongle mask) my mate and I, who were on a major combo of things... were getting tripped out by the sounds/sights. Yes, Shpongle live... may they never release a CD!

The experience? Like 10 doses of the craziest acid mixed with my top fave half-dozen research chems with booze and mescaline thrown in. We left the show, three hours later, sober, tripping from the show. Got home, and started tripping again about 30 minutes later, on substances. Seriously.

Shpongle has become my "drug of choice." And musically - once you give their 2nd to 4th CDs enough time, you'll likely listen to the first one, as I did, and go "Sure, it's OK, but it's just OK." Now where's "Nothing Lasts...?"