Why doesn't anybody ever remember THESE guys?

Wow! Why doesn't anybody ever remember THESE guys? They have almost vanished without a trace off this planet, and they were good. Spirit were one of these rare Sixties' American bands who wanted not just to be psychedelic: they wanted to churn out intelligent psychedelia, with a professional, laid back and restrained approach, carefully combining pop, rock and jazz elements to form a vehicle that might not always have been genial, but that was certainly always interesting, to say the least. Not to mention that Spirit are the only rock band I know of to have combined members of different generations: the band featured both ace guitarist Randy California and his stepfather - drummer Ed Cassidy. Can you think of something more cool? I can't.​

Their debut album is said not to have been their best, but if it ain't, I'm seriously baffled - by all means, it doesn't deserve anything less than a 12, and if they really did better, wow... anyway, I'm all for it, and I'll write more about these guys when I get around to acquiring more of their catalog. And believe me, it's really worth hunting for. Now on to the long-awaited review.
Spirit released their self-titled debut record in 1968, when the LA psycho/acid scene was already in full blossom (and it would already come to its decline a year later); maybe that is why it's so often overlooked. But in many ways, it blows all competition away, and for a short while the band managed to really make it big due to their accomplishments. Compared to the Beatles, Spirit is definitely not ear-shattering; but compared to contemporary Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service (not to mention, ooh, the Grateful Dead), this record's a marvel. It is diverse, going from moody acoustic shuffles to psycho chants to fusion jams to straightforward pop ditties. It is vastly professional: Randy California's guitar chops (which he learned straight from Hendrix, by the way) are just about the best guitar sound you could hear from an LA band at the time, Ed Cassidy's jazz-trained drumming style is flawless, and bassist Mark Andes throws out astute lines that put him at least in the same league as Jack Casady, if not higher. And finally, these guys do know how to write their material, especially lead vocalist Jay Ferguson: the hooks are not immediately obvious, but after a couple listens almost every song on the album stands out on its own, and its brilliant eclecticism is completely adequate with its catchiness and melodicity.
And, of course, there's 'Taurus'. All of you certainly know this song even if you have never heard it before. How? Simple. After a brief, gentle strings and Mellotron introduction, Randy California picks up his acoustic and plays a melody that was... yeah, sit up straight: almost perfectly, note-by-note nicked off by Jimmy Page for the main acoustic riff of 'Stairway To Heaven'. Okay, so he changed a couple of chords to make it impossible for Randy to sue him, but that doesn't change the essence - and since it is historically documented that Led Zeppelin once used to open the show for Spirit and Page took a particular interest in 'Taurus', the fact may be considered proved. Now do you understand why I only gave Led Zeppelin a band rating of three? Not that 'Taurus' is really better than 'Stairway To Heaven' - but it's just different, a short, moody instrumental, with none of 'Stairway's epic magnificence, but also with none of its banal pretentions.
Out of the individual songs, it's hard to pick a favourite - they are all professional, memorable tunes. Currently, I'm mostly impressed by the grim pessimistic monotonousness of 'Mechanical World': in an attempt to mimic the Doors, the band actually delivers something in a slightly different style - an anthemic, angry rave-up with a two-chord sequence being endlessly repeated and Jay Ferguson wailing in the background: 'Death fall so heavy on my soul... Death falls so heavy makes me moan... Somebody tell my father that I died... Somebody tell my mother that I cried...', until he is being replaced by California's impressive Hendrix impersonation. The pessimistic notes are reprised for 'Grammophone Man', which is, however, more Kinks than the Doors: it's 'light', 'non-depressive' melancholia and a 'character song' so typical for Ray Davies. The main vocal melody is tear-inducing, and the irony (the song's about the downs of record industry, of course) is quite acute. Not to mention the great jazzy instrumental break, of course.
Then there's pure groovy psychedelia. 'Fresh Garbage' is one of their best-known numbers, a stage favourite that's said not to be as energetic and revealing in the studio version; well, maybe, I still like it very much. Isn't it fun to hear Ferguson chant 'freeeeeeeEEEESH GARBAGE' in a 'fresh papers!' intonation?
And then there are all those poppy ditties, so derivative yet so original. 'Uncle Jack'? Love it, maybe not as much as the Who's 'Happy Jack', but with all the Britpop harmonies, double-tracked guitar solos and funny lyrics, it comes very close. 'Girl In Your Eye'? Here they bring on a sitar which sounds very appropriate, too, although the song itself is more in the folkish vein; plus Randy changes his guitar tone to this stingy poisonous rattle which is vastly at odds with the gently sounding melody and provides a great counterpoint. And on 'Water Woman' the guys actually go country, with stupid water bubbles all around and a giddy, highly amusing atmosphere of its own.
Maybe a couple short tunes are weaker than the others, but that doesn't really get in my eye. What does get in my eye is the only serious misstep - the lengthy ten-minute fusion suite 'Elijah' (by pianist John Locke). The main riff is very good, and some of the solos are good, too, but the composition is definitely overlong; I could easily live without the lengthy guitar, organ, and drum drones going on and on and on with not much poignancy to them. Even so, the jam is definitely tons more involving than, say, some Quicksilver Messenger Service compositions I could name.
Don't bother about the CD re-issue, though: the bonus tracks include two rather lacklustre instrumentals, one pretty lame Randy composition called 'If I Had A Woman' (apparently, as a pop composer, Ferguson was the band's main star), and an alternate take on 'Elijah', all ten minutes of it. But I'm pretty much worn out by the first version already, so it's hard for me to notice the differences.
Please take the time to find the record, still. It's very important in that it has vastly changed my conception of American Sixties' rock: contrary to what I thought before, there were professional, eclectic bands on the West Coast that could have made good competition to the British ones. It's all the more frustrating to realize that pretty few people really know who these guys were.

 

thats alot of writing

 

i have add, you should make a five sentence summary.

 

yes jimmy page ripped off stairway to heaven notes from randy california..

tis true.. led zepplins first american tour they opened for spirit,,an jimmy sat stage side every show an watched randies every lick..

least thats what jeff carlisie,(38 special) says..

luv n lite..

 

Most people don't know about Love or Spirit (two awesome Cali bands). I read your post hillbilly and i also agree that the Band was great.

 

man i dig Spirit and they were a great band with stellar musicians with backgrounds in rock, pop, folk, blues, classical, and jazz. it was their diverse taste that really produced a hybrid style and very much like Love, their style proved too wide-ranging to attract a mass following