Spirit (band)
Spirit | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1967–1973, 1974–1979, 1982–1997 |
Labels | Ode, Epic, Repertoire Records, Mercury, Rhino, Beggars Banquet, Line Records |
Past members | See below |
Spirit was an American rock band founded in 1967 and based in Los Angeles. Their most commercially successful single in the United States was "I Got a Line on You". They were also known for their albums, including their self-titled debut album, The Family That Plays Together, Clear, and Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus.
Original lineup
The original lineup of the group evolved from a Los Angeles band, the Red Roosters, which included Randy California (born Randy Craig Wolfe; guitars, vocals), Mark Andes (bass) and Jay Ferguson (vocals, percussion). With the addition of California's stepfather Ed Cassidy on drums, and keyboard player John Locke, the new band was originally named the Spirits Rebellious (after a book by Kahlil Gibran), but the name was soon shortened to Spirit. Before returning to his native state, California previously played with Jimi Hendrix as a member of Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1966. Hendrix gave Randy Wolfe the nickname "Randy California" to distinguish him from Randy Palmer, whom Hendrix named "Randy Texas".[1]
Cassidy was recognizable by his shaved head (hence his nickname "Mr. Skin", later the title of a Spirit song) and his fondness for wearing black. Born in 1923, he was about twenty years older than the rest of the group. Although his earlier career was primarily in jazz (including stints with Cannonball Adderley, Gerry Mulligan, Roland Kirk, Thelonious Monk and Lee Konitz), he had served as the founding drummer of Rising Sons, an early blues rock vehicle for Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder.
1960s
Early demo recordings by the band were produced by their
The band 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,
After the success of their early records, the group was asked by French film director Jacques Demy to record the soundtrack to his film Model Shop, and they also made a brief appearance in the film.[13] Their third album, Clear, released in 1969, reached No. 55 on the charts.
"1984" and the Sardonicus era
"The
sci-fi (they have a sense of humor), the derivations more jazz than classical. The big plus here though, is that great shining 2:39 of hard rock guitar, Randy California's 'I Got a Line on You.'"
—The Best of Spirit review in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[14]
After the release of Clear, the group recorded the song "1984", written by California and produced by the group on their own. After being released in February 1970, it placed at No. 69 on the Billboard charts and No. 66 on the RPM charts.[15] The song would finally see general release on The Best of Spirit in 1973.
In 1970, Spirit started working on their fourth LP
Epic also released an early mix of "Animal Zoo" as a single, but it too only made it to No. 97 on the charts. Like The Who's Tommy and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is critically regarded as a landmark of art rock, with a tapestry of literary themes about the fragility of life and the complexity of the human experience, illustrated by recurring lyric "life has just begun", and continued the group's pioneering exploration of environmental issues in their lyrics (cf. "Fresh Garbage"). The album is also notable for its inventive production and the use of a modular Moog synthesizer.
1971–73
After the group undertook a promotional tour to support the album Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, Ferguson and Andes left the group, forming Jo Jo Gunne. California had accused them of plotting to take over the group. Their final gig with Spirit occurred on January 30, 1971, which almost ended with a fist-fight.[17]
John Arliss initially took Andes' place. California was still in the lineup, but he had suffered a head injury from a horse riding accident and was unable to tour. Shortly thereafter, bassist and recent University of Texas School of Law graduate Al Staehely was recruited by Locke and Cassidy to replace Arliss. The trio toured briefly before deciding that they had to add a guitarist to do the music justice. Al's brother, John Christian (Chris) Staehely, auditioned for the band and was quickly brought on board, departing the Texas rock group Krackerjack.
The Staehelys, Cassidy and Locke recorded the 1972 album Feedback in Columbia/Epic's Hollywood studios. It was a different turn for the group, showing more of a country rock influence pervading their jazzier tendencies, but it only met with a mild commercial response, also reaching No. 63 in the charts. While the tour for Feedback proceeded very well for much of that year, Cassidy and Locke lacked an affinity for roots-based music and soon left the lineup. The Staehely brothers completed the critically successful tour with drummer Stu Perry before dissolving the group in mid-1973 and releasing their own album, Sta-Hay-Lee.
California, meanwhile, had recorded and issued his first solo album,
In 1973, Epic Records decided to re-issue the group's first and third albums as a two-fer entitled Spirit in response to Sardonicus continuing to sell well as a catalog item; eventually, Sardonicus earned the band's only
The Mercury years (1974–79)
In 1974, Cassidy made it a point to find and re-establish contact with his stepson. He eventually persuaded California to return to the mainland and give the band another shot. Andes worked with the duo for a while, but never intended to stay, as he was in the process of forming the group Firefall at the same time. Andes was replaced by former Frank Zappa sound engineer Barry Keene.
In early 1975, the group was scheduled to open for Ten Years After at a show in Florida, but when the headlining band backed out at the last minute, Spirit was granted permission to take over the theater for the evening. After going around to local radio stations to promote the show and setting a low ($3) ticket price, Spirit managed to sell out the 3,000-seat theater. Using the profits from the show, they blocked out as much time as they could at Studio 70 in Tampa, Florida.
After recording a large amount of material at the studio, manager Marshall Berle (the nephew of
For the tour in support of Son of Spirit, Locke re-joined the group. Eventually, Andes returned to the lineup as well, and though Ferguson declined to participate in the group reunion at first, the band (with the addition of Mark's brother Matt Andes as a second guitarist) recorded an album entitled Farther Along, released in late 1976.
First full reunion and Future Games
The album returned the group to the U.S. charts one last time, peaking at No. 179. For a few shows at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Ferguson re-joined the group. Neil Young created an incident during the final show's encore of "Like a Rolling Stone" when he walked on stage inebriated. California would later claim that he did not recognize Young, but at the time was angry with Young for upstaging what he saw as his own comeback. California moved over in front of Neil and began pushing him backwards, away from the microphone, back past the drumkit and offstage. Young, along with other influential artists including New Hollywood director Hal Ashby, had been visiting the band backstage before they went on, and Locke (a friend of Young) had invited the guitarist to join them in their encore. When Locke saw California pushing Young offstage, he got up from his piano and said that he had had enough and didn't ever want to play with California again, walking off stage. Cassidy initially quelled the situation by leaving his kit and physically pulling both California and Young back onstage to the microphone to close out the song, asking the audience to sing along with them. After finishing the song, the band members argued backstage over what had unfolded leading to the end of the reunion.
Afterwards, California assembled
Return to trio
In a reprise of the Kapt. Kopter-era trio, California, Cassidy and Larry "Fuzzy" Knight toured extensively as Spirit throughout 1978; an English leg saw the band headline a triple bill that included post-punk ensemble Alternative TV and The Police. Throughout the tour, California doubled on the foot-controlled Moog Taurus to partially compensate for the lack of a keyboardist. The German TV/radio programme Rockpalast recorded and broadcast Spirit's entire show of March 4/5, 1978, including the encore jam where Dickey Betts joined the band. This trio lineup also recorded a heavily-overdubbed live album (also released in 1978) that was released in slightly different configurations in several countries by different independent labels. It was not a commercial success, and after the tour's end in 1979, California left the group again.
The 1980s and beyond
After Spirit's demise, California put together another group with the short-lived intent of restarting his solo career. While in England, a fan presented him with a petition of 5,000 signatures requesting the release of the Potato Land album from 1973. Consequently, in 1981, California released an overdubbed selection of tracks from the original album alongside several unrelated songs dating from the late 1970s. Contrary to the intention of the original sessions, it was released under the imprimatur of Spirit in the United States by
On February 14, 1982, Spirit, performed as a three-piece band, Randy California, Ed Cassidy and an unknown bass player, at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, MO. The show was sponsored and heavily promoted by local rock radio station K-SHE 95 and billed as; "K-SHE 95 presents the 5th Annual St. Valentine's Day Massacre," JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF, w/special guests; SPIRIT. The show was a near sell out with a little over 8,000 in attendance. California's second solo album, Euro-American, was released in 1982 by Beggars Banquet. It featured a lineup including drummer Preston Heyman. During this period, California performed on the second tier at the 1982 Glastonbury Festival. When the power generator failed—allegedly because the operator had fallen asleep stoned and neglected to refill the fuel—Heyman performed a twenty-minute solo while the situation was rectified.
In December 1982, the original Spirit lineup re-formed and recorded several songs from their first four albums (as well as a few new tracks) live on a soundstage. The band was joined by several guests, including Jeff Baxter and Bob Welch. The resulting Spirit of '84 (released internationally as The Thirteenth Dream) was initially recorded for an audiophile label; however, Mercury Records re-signed the band (including a California solo deal) and released the album in 1984. The album was only a moderate critical success and failed to chart. While some of the original members went on to do other projects, California and Cassidy continued touring with new members Scott Monahan on keyboards and Dave Waterbury on bass.[18]
California headed to England and recorded his third solo album, the contemporary hard rock effort Restless, for which Heyman (who played on the track "Jack Rabbit") secured a deal with Phonogram for in late 1985. Following a few live dates in England, California returned to the United States and resumed touring extensively with Cassidy, Monahan, and Waterbury. There was one more solo album from California: a collection of material entitled Shattered Dreams that was released in 1986.
In 1988, California secured a deal for Spirit with prominent independent label I.R.S. Records (best known for cultivating R.E.M. and The Go-Go's), leading Locke to rejoin the band. They recorded an album entitled Rapture in the Chambers at the Malibu, California, recording studio Nileland, where studio owner/engineer, bassist and vocalist Mike Nile was asked to join the band. Although the group (including California, Cassidy, Locke, Nile, Monahan, and George Valuck on keyboards) toured extensively in support, the album failed to chart. California, Cassidy, and Nile continued to tour as a power trio while self-releasing Tent of Miracles in 1990. Nile contributed heavily to the album, writing songs and sharing lead vocals.
Spirit continued working almost continually for the next six years. Although they only released one album after Tent of Miracles, the group was always either recording or touring.[19] California had his own home recording studio since the early 1980s, though he had been making home recordings for years prior to that. This came to an end on January 2, 1997, when California drowned off the coast of Hawaii. He had been surfing with his son, who got caught in a riptide. He managed to push his son to safety but ended up losing his own life.
While Cassidy played a few dates with Spirit alumni under the name "Spirit Revisited" in 1998, California's death was effectively the end of the group. Locke died of complications resulting from lymphoma in August 2006. Cassidy died on December 6, 2012, in San Jose, California, at age 89.
Posthumous
California's death, however, did not mark the end of the emergence of Spirit material. Starting in 2000, there have been five collections of previously unreleased studio and live material, four of which were two-CD sets. California had also prepared an anthology of material from the group's first stint with Mercury Records entitled The Mercury Years. The two-CD set was released in early 1997, though it raised the ire of some fans who did not care for the fact that some of the material had been re-edited or featured overdubbing that was not present on the original releases.
Likewise, nearly all of Spirit's original albums are currently in print on CD. This is thanks to the efforts of Sony Music (with the Epic catalog, though Collector's Choice Music was the first to reissue Feedback on CD in the U.S., following a brief release on disc in France in the late 1990s) and Beat Goes On alongside Edsel, both UK labels (with the Mercury catalog, some of which had made it to CD prior to Beat Goes On and Edsel reissuing all of their Mercury albums). Their later independent albums are available through the group's website. The one album that is unavailable at this time is Rapture In The Chambers, which has not been reissued since the original 1989 release, though it was released on CD at that time.
Spirit has also found its work
"I Got a Line On You" was most recently covered by Alice Cooper's super group the Hollywood Vampires on the album of the same name, released on September 11, 2015.
Musical style
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2023) |
According to
Band members
- Original lineup
- Randy California – guitar, vocals (1967–1972, 1972–1973, 1974–1979, 1982–1997; his death)
- Ed Cassidy – drums (1967–1972, 1972–1973, 1974–1979, 1982–1997; died 2012)
- John Locke – keyboards (1967–1972, 1976, 1982–1985, 1988–1989; died 2006)
- Mark Andes – bass, guitar, vocals (1967–1971, 1974, 1976, 1982–85, 1988–1989)
- Jay Ferguson – vocals, percussion, keyboards, guitar (1967–1971, 1976, 1982–1985)
- Later members
Following Sardonicus, many musicians passed through the group's ranks. Most of them did not make a huge contribution to the group's sound, but some did. The most important of the later group members are listed here:
- John Arliss – bass (1971)
- Al Staehely – bass, lead vocals (1971–1973)
- John Christian Staehely – guitar, vocals (1971–1973)
- Stu Perry – drums (1972–1973)[23]
- Scott Shelly – guitar, vocals (1973–1974)
- Donnie Dacus – guitar, vocals (1973–1974)
- Steve Olitski – keyboards (1973–1974)
- Steve Edwards – guitar, vocals (1973–1974)
- Barry Keene – bass (1974–1976)
- Benji – keyboards (1975)
- Matt Andes – guitar, vocals (1976, 1995–1997)
- Larry "Fuzzy" Knight – bass, vocals (1972–1973, 1976–1979)
- Terry Anderson – vocals (1976–1977)
- Scott Monahan – keyboards, bass, vocals (1985–1988, 1990–1995)
- Dave Waterbury – bass, vocals (1985–1988)
- Mike Nile – bass, vocals (1988–1993)
- George Valuck – keyboards (1990–1995)
- Steve "Liberty" Loria – bass, vocals (1993–1997)
- Gordon Patriarca- bass (1995–1996)
- Rachel Andes – vocals (1995–1997)
- Walter Egan – bass, vocals (1997)
Timeline
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | US Top 200 | UK Album Chart[24]
|
Canada | Certification | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | Spirit | 31 | Ode | |||
The Family That Plays Together | 22 | 46 [25] | ||||
1969 | Clear | 55 | 29 [26] | |||
1970 | Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus | 63 | 29[27] | 49 [16] |
|
Epic |
1972 | Feedback | 63 | ||||
1975 | Spirit of '76
|
147 | Mercury | |||
1975 | Son of Spirit | |||||
1976 | Farther Along | 179 | ||||
1977 | Future Games
|
|||||
1981 | The Adventures of Kaptain Kopter & Commander Cassidy in Potato Land | 40 | Rhino
| |||
1984 | The Thirteenth Dream / Spirit of '84 [U.S. title] | 206 | Mercury | |||
1989 | Rapture in the Chambers | I.R.S. | ||||
1990 | Tent of Miracles | Dolphin | ||||
1996 | California Blues | W.E.R.C. C.R.E.W. | ||||
2005 | Model Shop (Soundtrack) | Sundazed |
Live albums
Year | Album | US Top 200 | UK Album Chart[24]
|
Label |
---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | Live | Potato | ||
1978 | Made in Germany | Kinghat Records | ||
1992 | Chronicles, 1967–1992 | W.E.R.C. C.R.E.W. | ||
1995 | Live at la Paloma
|
W.E.R.C. C.R.E.W. | ||
2003 | Blues from the Soul | Acadia | ||
2004 | Live from the Time Coast | Acadia | ||
2006 | The Original Potato Land | Acadia | ||
2007 | Salvation – The Spirit of '74 | Acadia | ||
2008 | Rock and Roll Planet...1977–1979 | Acadia | ||
2009 | California Blues Redux | Audio Fidelity | ||
2010 | The Last Euro Tour | Floating World | ||
2011 | Tales from the Westside | Floating World | ||
The Original Potato Land | Floating World | |||
2012 | Two Sides of a Rainbow – Live at the Rainbow, London 1978 | Floating World | ||
2016 | Live at the Ash Grove 1967 Volume 1 | Flashback |
Compilations
Year | Album | US Top 200 | UK Album Chart[24]
|
---|---|---|---|
1973 | The Best of Spirit | 119 | |
Spirit (reissue of 1st & 3rd albums) | 191 | ||
1975 | The Family That Plays Together/Feedback | ||
1991 | Time Circle, 1968–1972 | ||
1997 | The Mercury Years | ||
2000 | Cosmic Smile | ||
2002 | Sea Dream | ||
2005 | Son of America |
Singles
Year | Song Titles | US |
CAN |
Label |
---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | "Mechanical World" | 123 | 77[29] | Ode / Columbia |
"I Got a Line on You" | 25 | 28[30] | ||
1969 | "Dark Eyed Woman" | 118 | ||
"1984" | 69 | 66[31] | ||
1970 | "Animal Zoo" | 97 | Epic | |
"Mr. Skin" | ||||
1971 | "Nature's Way" | 111 | ||
1972 | "Mr. Skin" [reissue] | 92 | ||
"Cadillac Cowboys" | ||||
1975 | "Lady of the Lakes" | Mercury | ||
"Holy Man" | ||||
1976 | "Farther Along" | |||
1980 | "Turn to the Right" | Rhino
|
References
- ISBN 978-1-58465-303-5.
- ^ "Articles". Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-7119-5307-9.
- ^ Wall, Mick (2008). When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin. London: Orion, p. 99.
- ^ "Whammy Bar". Guitar World, April 1997, p. 19: "California's most enduring legacy may well be the fingerpicked acoustic theme of the song "Taurus," which Jimmy Page lifted virtually note for note for the introduction to "Stairway to Heaven."
- ^ "Obituary: Randy California". The Independent. January 17, 1997. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022.
'Stairway To Heaven', the Led Zeppelin classic, bears more than a passing resemblance to 'Taurus'...
- ^ "Copyright row over Led Zeppelin classic Stairway to Heaven". Bbc.co.uk. May 21, 2014.
- ^ "Led Zeppelin loses first round in "Stairway to Heaven" plagiarism lawsuit". Cbsnews.com. October 21, 2014.
- ^ "Led Zep respond to Stairway lawsuit". Teamrock.com. May 26, 2015.
- ^ BBC News, "Led Zeppelin cleared of plagiarism in Stairway case", 23 June 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016
- ^ "Led Zeppelin ordered to go back on trial in 'Stairway to Heaven' copyright lawsuit". NBC News. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
- ^ "Led Zeppelin Prevails in "Stairway to Heaven" Appeal".
- ^ "Model Shop (1969)". IMDb.com. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles – March 21, 1970" (PDF).
- ^ a b "RPM Top 100 Albums – February 27, 1971" (PDF).
- ^ Bell, Max (June 18, 2014). "California Dreaming". Classic Rock. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ^ Allmusic review of Spirit of '84
- ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Spirit Biography by William". AllMusic. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Allmusic review of Spirit
- ^ Christgau, Robert (August 14, 1969). "Consumer Guide (3)". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Perry is best known for portraying the drummer who was crushed by the grand piano in The Poseidon Adventure.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7535-1700-0, p.256
- ^ "RPM Top 50 Albums – March 31, 1969" (PDF).
- ^ "RPM Top 50 Albums – September 27, 1969".
- ^ "Spirit: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ "RPM 100 – July 6, 1968" (PDF).
- ^ "RPM 100 – March 24, 1969" (PDF).
- ^ "RPM 100 – March 24, 1970" (PDF).
External links
- The unofficial Spirit homepage: Tent of miracles
- Randy California and Spirit
- Spirit discography at Discogs
- Spirit at IMDb