SPIRIT - Classic or dud?

Based on their best-of, a Classic. They had their own unique style, different from other arty California rock - no freaky hippie getdowns for these boys. Their songs had little discernible blues or folk influences (except "Nature's Way") and had instead more of a jazz feel, without getting wanky or chaotic - more like cool and hard. I even hear hints of Roxy Music in "Morning Will Come" (in 1970 !).

Plus their drummer (I think) was a jazz guy who was the uncle of another bandmember, and was also completely bald - at the height of the hippie era, how cool is that ??

Spirit's drummer, Ed Cassidy, was Randy California's father-in-law, would you believe. Pretty weird!

x0x0

Spirit = the best ethos of the era

love, love, love.

Wow. This album's pretty incredible. I just listened to some of it at the music store after reading an article on the new Mojo issue. Why are these guys so neglected? They beat the mierda savagely out of Led Zep, at least for me.

The first four albums were all rereleased on cd by Epic in the 90s in deluxe editions, remastered with bonus tracks and expanded liner notes, etc. I'd say get 'em all in this order: Spirit (1st album), Twelve Dreams, Family That Plays.., Clear. Among the best records of the 60s for sure, and a personal favorite.

I should really get around to picking up that Time Circle set for the unreleased stuff..

When I was a stoner teenage kid me and my stoner teenage friends used to sit around and laugh at how dumb my friend's dad's Spirit records were. Most opinions I had during that period were stupid, but this one remains true.

Which, finally, I've been doing. Very good stuff indeed and the slew of comments above from others are spot on. What strikes me about them all is how non-ponderous they were most of the time, instead aiming at a careful serene bliss -- not in an ambient or minimal way, more in a gentle coast while still playing strongly. The addition of orchestrations on various songs was an inspired touch, I think.

Musician John Locke, 62, dies
The '60s rocker died at friends' Oak View home

By John Mitchell,
August 11, 2006

John Locke, a jazz/rock musician and songwriter who gained some notoriety with the group Spirit in the 1960s and 1970s, has died.

Locke died from complications caused by lymphoma. He was 62.

He died at the Oak View home of his friends Ricky and Cindy del Toro.

"He was here the last nine days of his life," said Ricky del Toro. "He had had the lymphoma 14 years ago and was given six months to a year to live then. He was divorced, but he had custody of his little boy and brought him to Oak View. The cancer went into remission and it didn't come back until late last year."

Ricky del Toro said his friend had been staying with his 92-year-old mother this summer.

"But she didn't have air conditioning and we had that terrible heat wave," he said. "He was frail and called me. My wife, Cindy, and I have air conditioning and we got him a bed and built him a hospital room in our house. And that's where he died at 8:30 in the morning on Aug. 4."

Fellow musician Jay Ferguson said he met Locke when both were students at UCLA.

"We were sitting on the lawn," said Ferguson, a resident of Montecito. "I was 19 and he was 25. In those days, UCLA was a hotbed of rockers. The Doors and other groups came out of there."

Ferguson said Locke had already established himself as a musician. He was a jazz club pianist and Ferguson was into the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Somebody thought they should get together.

"I remember John's great smile," Ferguson said. "He started calling me Fergy and, when he did, he smiled. I can still see that smile."

Spirit was formed in 1966. The original group was Randy California on guitar and vocals; Ferguson on vocals, percussion and tambourine; Mark Andes on bass; Ed Cassidy on drums; and Locke on keyboards.

"You can hear John shine in the first couple of albums. The entire center of the song ¿Fresh Garbage' was an excuse to let him take flight on the keyboard."

As time went by Spirit became tense.

"It was a tumultuous group," Ferguson said. "John truly was the balance in the band. He was the peacemaker, the one who found common ground."

According to the online source Wikipedia, the group's most popular single was "I Got a Line on You." Its best album was "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus."

By 1971, the problems grew too big and the group began breaking up. Replacement musicians arrived. In 1975, Locke returned to help a promotional tour for the album "Son of Spirit."

"We all stayed in touch and reunited a couple of times," Ferguson said. "Everyone had long since outgrown the feuds and we enjoyed each other.

"The last time I saw John was in my studio," he said. "We played some of his recordings, which were jazz-fusion. They were excellent. They were classic John Locke, great technique, modern and very musical.

"An Englishman I knew characterized him as a most gracious man, and I believe that is a good term for him. He was very gracious."

Ricky del Toro said he and Locke became best buddies over the past seven to eight years.

"He enjoyed playing music at a small recording studio here," del Toro said. "He talked about his dreams of writing beautiful music and recording it. I had a passion for it, and he did, too."

Locke's father, Charles, was a classical violinist and his mother, Marty, sang opera and was a composer and arranger. She gave her son classical piano training.

"But he didn't go that way," del Toro said. "He wanted to do rock and roll and that's what he did."

Locke is survived by his mother, Marty, and by his son, Alex, 18.

A private memorial will be held later.

Copyright 2006, Ventura County Star. All Rights Reserved.

is Ed Cassidy still around? if so, he must be in his 80s?

He's still chugging along (and yeah, he's 83 now). This video is pretty cool

picked up 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus last nite...wow what a strange/awesome album...

it's so out there and psych but they have this kinda pro LA session dude vibe to them...they remind me of some mix of like SF Sorrow, Three Dog Night, and Steppenwolf...or something. nothing really sounds like this actually

Great band.

The way California died was very sad, but truly heroic.

how did he die? i don't know much about spirit

"On January 2, 1997 he drowned in the ocean while rescuing his twelve-year-old son from a rip current near the home of Randy's mother at Molokai, Hawaii. He managed to push his son Quinn (who survived) towards the shore but sadly could not save himself from the strong undercurrent that swept him away."

... wow, I didn't know full story

woah that's sad : (

and heroic though, good dad

Watching Model Shop right now. Forgot about the whole scene with Spirit and a slightly stoned Gary Lockwood tooling around west LA and Venice in his MG looking for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl he gave a ride to earlier. Los Angeles aesthetic + French New Wave = gold. The film ages remarkably well. So does Spirit.

Spirit still under appreciated. They deserve a cult following every bit as strong as Arthur Lee's.

For any guitar nerds or Spirit fans out there, when Randy California plays those cool harmony sounding solos like in Mechanical World, Is he double tracking in the studio, or using some nifty two string technique?

I've always wondered about that. I play a little, but not enough to figure things like that out.

wow first time i heard about the drowning-while-saving-his-son thing- what a dude. also 'model shop' sounds great.

I saw Model Shop a few months ago at the Aero theater in LA. I believe it's now out on DVD (and I noticed that TCM aired it a few weeks back, too)... so it seems to be getting the full revival treatment (as all Jacques Demy films should!).

It's actually a really great film - really captures LA in an understated but beautiful way. The scene with Spirit, though... I mean, that scene goes on forever. It drags so long it feels really awkward, like the actors are pretty much ready for the scene to be over but Demy just won't cut.

(Speaking of Demy... he did another film called the Pied Piper which has also just been re-released. It stars Donovan in the title role.)

For any guitar nerds or Spirit fans out there, when Randy California plays those cool harmony sounding solos like in Mechanical World, Is he double tracking in the studio, or using some nifty two string technique?

Double tracking I would say. Love his guitar.

Was playing Kapt. Kopter the other day, his guitar is just blazing away on that one eh?

"Twelve Dreams....." is ace!

The first three albums were great to, but that fourth album is in a league of its own.

"Street Worm" is the jam.

Awesome track. That Jay Ferguson had some good tunes!

Zoom Lens!

Disembodied Heads!

I had no idea Jay Ferguson was composing TV themes now (most notably, he wrote the theme for the US version of The Office)

"Topanga Windows" on random play right now. Wonderful late night listening for eternal staring out mid-Wilshire apartment. Geffen's Wrecking Crew could only dream of writing something like this.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510UD2MgpBL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Coming September 8th.

I don't regret a lot of the stuff I've sold off over the years, but I wish I hadn't have sold the reissues of these guys' first four albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_5uud0vJwM

I don't regret a lot of the stuff I've sold off over the years, but I wish I hadn't have sold the reissues of these guys' first four albums.

:(

Was just listening to Clear last week. I stole it from my parents. Hadn't spun it in a year or so.

That second track "Apple Orchard" really stood out this time around.

I need more.

'the other song' was my holy grail for the longest time. finally found it for super cheap.

also, "Salvador Dali Parton". this was my nickname at the last mustache party we had where i had a waxed, curled stache.

lol, i come up twice on the GIS results for that

That weird guitar "pulse" sound on "Rougher Road" is so great!

According to the Sundazed FB page, Ed Cassidy has passed away. Haven't found another confirmation yet.

If so, RIP Mr. Skin.

From http://ultimateclassicrock.com/spirit-drummer-ed-cassidy-dead-at-89/

Ed Cassidy, the drummer for the classic rock band Spirit, died in San Jose, Calif. on Thursday (Dec. 6) of undisclosed causes. Notable for his shaved head (which inspired the nickname “Mr. Skin”), head-to-toe black wardrobe and massive drum kit, Cassidy was considered very influential on other drummers of the ’60s rock era. He was 89 years old at the time of his death.

Born on May 4, 1923 in a rural town outside of Chicago, Cassidy began his career at an early age in 1937, after his family moved to Bakersfield, Calif. He served in the Navy during World War II and thereafter held a series of jobs before returning to music full-time in the ’40s, working steadily in a succession of show bands, country and western acts, and big bands. He also worked on film soundtracks and played briefly with the San Francisco Opera.

Cassidy spent the ’50s working primarily in jazz in California, playing with such historically important performers as Art Pepper, Roland Kirk and Gerry Mulligan. He played with Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder briefly in a band called Rising Sons before forming a new group, the Red Roosters, in 1965. That group comprised Cassidy, his stepson Randy California on guitar, Mark Andes on bass, and singer Jay Ferguson.

Changing their name to Spirit with the addition of keyboardist John Locke, that ensemble created a sound that was an amalgam of jazz, hard rock, and psychedelic influences. Signed by ’60s L.A. music impresario Lou Adler, the group released their self-titled debut album in 1968. They followed it up with ‘The Family That Plays Together’ later that year, which featured their highest-charting single, ‘I Got a Line on You.’

In 1969 they toured successfully with a then-little-known band called Led Zeppelin as their opening act, and their impact on the new group was substantial; Cassidy often performed his live drum solo with his bare hands, which reportedly influenced John Bonham’s performance on ‘Moby Dick,’ while Jimmy Page reportedly began using a theramin to alter the tone of his guitar after seeing Randy California doing it on stage. Many fans and critics have noted the similarities between Spirit’s song ‘Taurus‘ and the intro to Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ which appeared several years after.

After the release of their landmark fourth album, 1970′s ‘Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus,’ the original lineup of Spirit fell apart. Cassidy would continue with the group through various lineups over the course of decades until Randy California’s untimely drowning death in Hawaii in 1997. After that he continued to play with surf musician Merrell Fankhauser until he retired from performing. In later years he was also involved in acting, appearing in ’2010′ and ‘The Escape Artist’ on the big screen, and twice in minor roles on the television soap opera ‘General Hospital.’

Spirit bassist Mark Andes paid tribute to Cassidy in a Facebook post Thursday, writing, “RIP Ed Cassidy, one the worlds greatest drummers…loved you cass…” and posting a picture of the pair together.

Bob Irwin produced a series of Spirit re-masters, starting at Sony in the ’80s and eventually carrying over into vinyl re-issues on his own label, Sundazed Records. He recalls his friend and colleague fondly. “What can I say, other than Ed was a friend, a consummate professional and mighty-ass drummer,” he tells Ultimate Classic Rock in an email. “He was close – and stayed close – to his entire body of work, and certainly took great pride in the band’s recordings and accomplishments.”

I have Sardonicus and Clear. Still need the first two, and apparently, some beyond.

RIP super classic drummer man

As I've written on more than one occasion, Dr. Sardonicus was, along with a couple of Neil Young LPs, my favourite album in the world when I was 16 or so. Total fluke that it found me--the influence of some drug-addled senior basketball players. My favourite songs were "When I Touch You" and "Nothin' to Hide." Mysterious older-brother music par excellence.

RIP great drummer, awesome dresser.

Still need the first two

You totally do! First one has Fresh Garbage, Uncle Jack and Mechanical World (amazing song), followed by Taurus, which some people will have you believe Led Zeppelin jacked for Stairway to Heaven.

Bob Irwin remembers more on the Sundazed FB page:

Folks have been asking me about Ed Cassidy and Spirit today. This is the quick backstory... Along with the startup of Sundazed, I started producing releases for CBS/Sony Music/Legacy Recordings in 1989. Among my earliest projects there was the Spirit "Time Circle" double CD Best-of release. I did the conception, tape archeology, A&R and production on the release - and was excited to work with Randy and Ed on the project. I had been an uber-fan since I was a kid, so it...was a thrill to build the anthology in line with their vision and expectation. During those sessions, Ed said to Sony engineer Vic Anesini and myself that "no one had ever made my drums sound bigger or better!" We were most proud.

This relationship soon led to a complete overhauling of Spirit's original album catalog. Again working with engineer Vic Anesini at Sony, Ed and Randy came to New York and for several days we locked ourselves into a beautiful room at Sony's studios, combing through countless reels, mixing away, unearthing all kinds of gems along the way. The early Spirit albums were soon issued as "expanded editions" (original albums with bonus material) by Legacy. We were starting on the second leg of this series in late 1996. It was right around this time that Randy was heading to Hawaii for a vacation with his son. Most sadly, he never returned. Ed and I finished the pending releases together a few months later, and we stayed in touch throughout the years. Eventually, Sundazed also reissued the group's entire Ode/Epic catalog as 180gm vinyl editions - a very proud moment for us.

Ed was a friend, a consummate professional and mighty-ass drummer. He was close - and stayed close - to the group's entire body of work, and took huge pride in the band, their recordings, their accomplishments. On one of the final mixing days at Sony, Spirit music was blasting in the room and Ed sat behind the credenza in the studio, serious look on his face, shaking his head. I asked him if anything was wrong - he just looked up at me and said "Damn good band, man."

http://pastdaily.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/ed-cassidy-1968-resized.jpg

every time is see this thread title i start wondering about the spirit airlines tixx i bought for the holidays

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tama-Rockstar-Drum-Kit-Spirit-/221189275677?pt=Vintgae_Drums_Percussion&hash=item337fe8801d

Do listen to the later stuff. At least to Potatoland and Son Of. As a favor. To yourself and the band.

― Jon Vought, Monday, December 31, 2001 1:00 AM (11 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Can't vouch for Potatoland (haven't heard it), but FUCK, Son Of Spirit is a terrific album. Unbelievable songs and sounds. Maybe the best record you haven't heard that can be picked up for less than six bucks.

NOBODY TOLD ME ED CASSIDY DIED!!!!!!!!!! RIP Mr. Skin.

... and, while I'm here, has anybody else ever noticed the similarities between the intros of "Mr. Skin" by Spirit and "Mamma Mia" by ABBA?

hard to think of many jazz rock odysseys that are earlier than "elijah"

Ed Cassidy's advanced years when Spirit were formed are often remarked on (including on this thread), but what about the fact that Randy California was 16 when they recorded their first album AND had only been playing guitar for a couple of years!

Serendipity! Literally just read this sentence in Manson by Jeff Guinn: "Charlie distinguished himself from the other Topanga wannabes by being pushier. He tried to catch the attention of the popular band Spirit by crashing one of their home rehearsals, and was sent packing with shouts of, "Man, you got bad karma!""

"Ice" off of Spirit's Clear is such a beautiful instrumental. I'd have to think that track has been sampled over and over.

You would think so wouldn't you?

Been seeing a lot of vintage Spirit lps in the used bins lately, usually in the $15-20 neighborhood (except for Sardonicus, which is closer to $5-12). So I have to hand it to whatever early '70s Epic label lackey that came up with those twofers of Spirit/Clear and The Family.../Feedback, which are still quite the bargain. Picked up both recently for less than $15 total. Currently jamming the debut..."Canyon's Burning!"

the spotify algorithm threw this at me the other day. i'd somehow never heard it but it's p fucking dope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWCxAElOSxM

Why would Sardonicus be cheaper? Is it just more common? I always thought that was their consensus masterpiece. Maybe the consensus was just me and my high school friend Steve.

Yeah, most common probably. It was pretty much continuously in print up until the end of the vinyl era (my copy is Epic blue label from I assume the '80s), as opposed to the others, which got bundled into the twofers with different artwork. Also that white cover gets dirty pretty easily, so filthy ones are cheaper.

Recently uploaded: Spirit doing a live "1984" on Beat Club.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du1fM0pSGwY

Maybe the only clip I've ever seen of the original band actually playing live.

Excellent. Those are some pretty big floor toms Ed Cassidy has there!

Comical toms!

IIRC, those were field drums he used on live versions of "Elijah".

Cool story from http://www.drumforum.org/threads/spirit-ed-cassidy-drum-kit.70261/

I saw Spirit in 1972 who had the unfortunate task of playing right after The Mahavishnu Orchestra tore the roof off of Cincinnati's Xavier University Fieldhouse.

Ed was playing his gargantuan Psychedelic Red Ludwig set with matching Psych Red concert bass drums to his left and right.I think he may have had a triple tom set-up on the bass drum in a pyramid formation.Pretty sure he had 2 floor toms as well. The snare drum I couldn't see yet I was standing in the front row center stage.How many cymbals I can't remember.I do remember this though: there was an 11PM curfew.Spirit was in the middle of a tune when the power was cut and the house lights came on.The band didn't know WTF was up.Ed Cassady took charge of the situation and began playing a solo which saw him play every drum and cymbal,rims, and ultimately after getting up and walking around his kit while playing,he crouched down and played the stage...he lead the rest of the band off the stage still playing.

No encore.No explanation.Now go home.