Tickets for a Prayer Wheel opens with two new versions of "Within a Room Somewhere," one a Radio Edit and one a Demo. Although "Within a Room Somewhere" is one of my favourite Sixpence songs, these tracks feel awkward when played right next to each other at the very beginning of the EP, and it probably would have faired better without them. Tickets also collects several b-sides that didn't make the cut of This Beautiful Mess, the best of which are "Healer" and "Dresses," two original Sixpence songs that are wonderful additions to their library, but just didn't have the right feel to fit on This Beautiful Mess. Following these two surprisingly good tracks are two covers, a delightful rendition of "Love Letters in the Sand," where Sixpence successfully combines their sound with a more surf-rock approach, and a slightly exhaustive yet artful version of Sam Phillips' "Carry You." Following these are two fairly good instrumental tracks, "Alisha's First Steps" and "Solomon the Mystic," the latter of which sounds strikingly familiar to their later hit, "Love." In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if "Solomon" was an earlier rendition of what would later become "Love." These tracks are nice surprises considering they are missing Leigh's signature vocals. Following these tracks is a remix of "Love, Salvation, The Fear of Death," which is unnecessarily split into two tracks. It's slightly corny, but I can't complain, because it's really just an added bonus anyway. Following this are two consecutive hidden instrumental tracks. So, needless to say, this album packs in more than is even really necessary. And even though this album is more of a This Beautiful Mess bonus disc than a follow-up album, it had a distinct sound that falls somewhere in between This Beautiful Mess and their self-titled album, helping usher in the magnificence that was to come. Although not entirely necessary, Tickets for a Prayer Wheel is definitely worth a listen.

JFH Reader Review: written by David Denis, 1/9/07, for Jesusfreakhideout.com