One of the things that Richardson is so good at here is context. He establishes the fact that Zaireeka arrived at a perfect moment: just as music was about to leap into the age of the iPod, Zaireeka required four CD players to play it properly. And it established a midpoint break in the Flaming Lips' career, transforming the public perception of the band from a minor alternative rock act to an art-rock band with pop tendencies. Richardson takes a long view of Zaireeka, focusing on the origins of the Flaming Lips, what led to the creation of the album, and what the album has meant for their career.

Richardson is clearly a fan of the band (although he notes in the beginning of the book that this is a rare entry in the 33 1/3 series, because he hasn't listened to Zaireeka endlessly; he's only heard it the way the Flaming Lips intended "a handful of times"), and by viewing them through their most ambitious project, he makes the reader a little more of a fan, too. There are a few annoying problems with the book—most notably, Richardson tends to repeat details a lot, giving a few passages a twice-told-tale flavor—but all in all, it's a damn fine essay. Zaireeka is probably my second favorite 33 1/3 title to date (following Carl Wilson's extraordinary Let's Talk About Love, which is virtually unbeatable.) I'd recommend it for music-lovers, for musicians who have spent time in the recording studio, for people who are even vaguely interested in the Flaming Lips.