: Rev. Keith A. Gordon
: Spirit Every Album, Every Song
: Sonicbond Publishing
: 9781789524895
: 1
: CHF 7.90
:
: Musik
: English
: 144
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

Even in an age of unparalleled innovation and artistic freedom, Spirit stood head and shoulders above their 1960s-era rock 'n' roll contemporaries. Perhaps only Love shared the same sort of expansive and adventurous artistic vision as the five guys in Spirit, whose disparate and diverse musical backgrounds led them to explore the outer regions of rock 'n' roll as the band incorporated elements of the blues, folk, R&B, and jazz into their heady brew of psychedelia-tinted hard rock. Although they never experienced the level of commercial success that their talents and innovative music deserved, few bands since have matched Spirit in eccentricity, originality, intensity, and instrumental virtuosity.
For all their creative accomplishments, Spirit's legacy is that of a half-forgotten band whose name is seldom brought up in 'classic rock' discussions. Spirit on track corrects this oversight, revisiting the band album by album, song by song, from their ground-breaking self-titled 1968 debut and their masterpiece, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus , through the break-ups and reunions and solo efforts of the lean years until their resurgence in the 1990s with albums like Tent of Miracles. More than a mere album guide, this book recounts 30 years of the trailblazing artistry of Spirit.


The 'Reverend of Rock 'n' Roll,' Rev. Keith A. Gordon has been writing about classic rock and blues music for 50 years, his words appearing in over 100 publications worldwide including Creem, Blues Music Magazine, Live! Music Review, and the Rock and Roll Globe. A former All Music Guide contributor, Gordon has written 25 previous music-related books including Anarchy In The Music City!, The Other Side of Nashville, and Scorched Earth: A Jason& the Scorchers Scrapbook. The Reverend lives in Buffalo, NY, with his wife of 33 years and their two 'boogaloo' beagles. You'll find him online at www.thatdevilmusic.com.
Chapter2

Spirit (1968)


Personnel:

Jay Ferguson: vocals, percussion

Randy California: vocals, guitar

Mark Andes: bass, vocals

John Locke: keyboards

Ed Cassidy: drums, percussion

Additional personnel:

Marty Paich: string and horn arrangements

Producer: Lou Adler

Engineers: Eric Wienbang, Armin Steiner, Mike Leitz

Label: Ode Records

Release date: January 1968

Chart position: US: 31

CD reissue produced by Bob Irwin; remixed and mastered by Vic Anesini at Sony Music, NYC

Current editions: US: Sony Legacy Recordings, 2017 (CD), UK: Music On Vinyl, 2019 (LP)

In June 1967, Spirit was playing gigs around the Los Angeles area, looking for a record deal while holding down a regular Monday-night gig at The Ash Grove. The band’s friend and roommate Barry Hansen recorded a demo tape of the band, which they shopped to labels around town. They auditioned for producer Lou Adler (The Mamas& the Papas), who’d formed the new label Ode Records, which was distributed by CBS subsidiary Epic Records. He signed Spirit to Ode in August 1967, and rushed them into the studio to record.

Spirit’s self-titled debut album was released in January 1968 to a receptive audience. The album was experimental, with an innovative blend of psychedelic rock, blues and folk with jazz undercurrents.Spirit spent more than six months on theBillboard album chart, peaking at 31: impressive for a debut by an unknown West Coast band. When reissued in 1973 as part of a two-disc set with their 1969 albumClear, it inched back into the Top 200 at 191.

While not the band’s most influential work, the debut nevertheless inspired a number of musicians, with Led Zeppelin regularly covering ‘Fresh Garbage’ in concert in their early days, and The C.A. Quintet playing the song for theirLive Trips 1971 album. Art rock band Paranoise reimagined ‘Mechanical World’ for their 2000 albumPrivate Power, while Australian psychedelic outfit Tyrnaround included ‘Uncle Jack’ on their 2019 compilationColour Your Mind. Artists like Brian Eno and Soft Machine have also citedSpirit as an influence.

The album was generally well-received, with Hansen writing aRolling Stone review sayingSpirit ‘is a most uncommon album: one that defies some recent fashions. It’s not a frontal assault on the eardrums, and it’s not a return to rock and roll. These musicians use their chops in the most imaginative way possible,