Spirit

[bertrand]

I just downloaded the first album and Dr. Sardonicus by this apparently forgotten band. How are the two other albums with this original line-up, Clear and Family That Plays Together? Are there any albums worth picking up with later line-ups?

Thanks,

Bertrand.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

the later albums are stylistically different than the classic 4, youll have to see which ones you dig. one of them 'feedback' is cass w/ different guys + no randy! sprit has had like 30 lineup changes, i saw a family tree once it made the yes family tree look easy by comparison.... the MUST HAVES: the kapt'n kopter & the faboulus twirly birds lp (Cass + Randy + noel redding) and cass + randy's POTATO LAND. these two are not spirit albums by name, per se but they are by far absoulute must haves past the classic 4. im not exteremly versed in the other 70s spirit albums, and theyre not on cd so you have to be a vinyl guy to find them, one of them is a double album and they do a jam on 'america the beautiful'....if you can find it, the reunion cd from 1984 is good, they do the classic hits rearranged with additional personel, in a live in the studio fashion. its one of the rarest cds however, and will set you back at least 50 dollars unless you encounter a record store miracle. you can find it for cheap on lp, but it is digitally recorded so the cd is kind of truer to the 'spirit' of the album. i love sprit, i love spirit, long live john locke, randy california and ed cassidy, as of recently, now jammin together again in heaven.

[bertrand]

How did John Locke die? There is nothing on the web. Randy California is really tragic.

Bertrand.

[Head Man]

The 2xCD "The Mercury Years" is a terrific compilation of the group's later work. Plenty of used copies going at Amazon for reasonable prices.

Oh, and one "left-field" release that I've always loved is "Future Games". It was released as a "two-fer" with "Spirit of '84" by BGO a few years ago. Again, plenty of used copies available at Amazon.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Head Man

[BFrank]

Yeah, Kapt Kopter is interesting. Not sure it's a GREAT album, but worth a few dollars if you can find it.

You should get Clear and 'Family' to round out the collection, for sure. Clear is a little more jazzy than the others and 'Family' has their classic tune "I Got a Line on You".

Spirit of '84 is interesting - recorded in '82, they re-recorded many of their early tunes plus a few new ones. It's actually pretty good.

The first Jo Jo Gunne album is a must-have, if you like the rockin' side of Spirit.

[Joe]

The three original Ode LPs are all essential listening... the debut features some string and horn arrangements by Marty Paich (which were not, as it turns out, entirely to the band's liking) as well as some of Jay Ferguson's strongest songs... FAMILY is probably the most overtly psychedelic of these 3... CLEAR I have a soft spot for, but it is a bit padded out by cues from the band's score to Jacques Demy's THE MODEL SHOP (finally available on DVD, I believe)... Sundazed has also compiled all the MODEL SHOP material on a recent release.

Of the 70s LPs, more votes for the SPIRIT OF '76 2fer and FUTURE GAMES, which is really a California solo album.

I believe John Locke passed away from lymphoma.

[mjzee]

The first 5 albums are available in the Original Album Classics series, very reasonably priced. Family That Plays Together is a great album, Clear is a little more forgettable. I love Kapt. Kopter (but definitely not a Spirit album), and a big two thumbs up for Spirit Of '76. At the time, I could not understand why it wasn't a huge hit. Little bit of trivia: the napkin on the front cover was drawn by Marshall Berle, Milton's nephew.

[J.A.W.]

I got the first two albums (Spirit in 1968 and The Family That Plays Together in 1969) when they came out and still like them. Never cared for their later stuff.

Edited November 20, 2013 by J.A.W.

[Noj]

In trying to track down all the music Led Zeppelin ripped off, I picked up their self-titled debut (the track "Taurus" might have inspired the intro to "Stairway To Heaven"). Haven't explored much further, but interesting to read about them here.

Here's a wiki entry on them.

[mjzee]

Did you see this in the wiki entry?

They capitalized on the success of their first album with another single, "I Got A Line On You". Released in November 1968, a month before their second album, The Family That Plays Together, it became their biggest hit single, reaching No. 25 on the charts (#28 in Canada). The album matched its success, reaching No. 22. They also went on tour that year with support band Led Zeppelin, who were heavily influenced by Spirit—Led Zeppelin played an extended medley during their early 1969 shows that featured "Fresh Garbage" among other songs,Jimmy Page's use of a theremin has been attributed to his seeing Randy California use one that he had mounted to his amplifier,^[1] and it is now widely accepted that Page lifted the descending guitar figure from Spirit's instrumental "Taurus" for Led Zeppelin's signature tune "Stairway To Heaven".^[2]

[Noj]

Ha! I went there for the discography info, but had yet to read through it. So it's not a "might" at all.

[felser]

I agree that 'The Family That Plays Together' is their best, followed by their Debut and then '... Dr. Sardonicus'. I like their later live stuff fine, find the later studio stuff very hit-or-miss. But all the later stuff is really Randy California solo using the Spirit name (which he had every legal and ethical right to do). The four Jo Jo Gunne albums (the group Ferguson and Mark Andes formed when they left Spirit) are available on a low-priced 2-CD set, and well worth picking up. But start with those first four albums, which really form the canon. The fifth, 'Feedback', really had nothing to do with the "real" spirit, as neither California nor Ferguson had any involvement. Sort of like the James Gang without Joe Walsh, or Mott The Hoople without Ian Hunter.

Edited November 21, 2013 by felser

[Clunky]

I agree that 'The Family That Plays Together' is their best, followed by their Debut and then '... Dr. Sardonicus'.

That's the order I like them in too. I've got an early compilation LP ( Best of Spirit) which is accurately titled. It probably gets the most play in this house.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

Yeah, Kapt Kopter is interesting. Not sure it's a GREAT album, but worth a few dollars if you can find it.

You should get Clear and 'Family' to round out the collection, for sure. Clear is a little more jazzy than the others and 'Family' has their classic tune "I Got a Line on You".

Spirit of '84 is interesting - recorded in '82, they re-recorded many of their early tunes plus a few new ones. It's actually pretty good.

The first Jo Jo Gunne album is a must-have, if you like the rockin' side of Spirit.

spirit of 84 is what i was talking about, but the orig us cd vers is titled THE THIRTEENTH DREAM

[B. Clugston]

Interesting band whose members brought a lot of diverse styles to the table—jazz, psychedelia, pop, etc. I liked them best when Jay Ferguson was in the band. A very good live band. The original band briefly reunited in 1976--there's a bootleg of a concert floating around which is great until a drunk Neil Young stumbled on stage and things promptly went haywire, ending the reunion.

[bertrand]

The Model Shop sessions are proving a mess to sort through. I will post a thread in discography in a couple of days.

Bertrand.

[felser]

The Model Shop sessions are proving a mess to sort through. I will post a thread in discography in a couple of days.

Bertrand.

Yeah, I have cuts from those sessions on the Model Shop CD, the Time Circle anthology, I think on the "Clear" album CD, that don't seem to overlap.