Model Shop or Eventide?
Michael L. Knapp | Placerville, CA United States | 03/14/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"While it would be nice to say we have a previously unreleased album by the original Spirit, it wouldn't be exactly true. For the most part this is another version of the vinyl album Sundazed released a couple of years ago called "Eventide" combined with the version of Fog from their companion Sundazed album "Now Or Anywhere". Five of the songs were also released on the retrospective CD "Time Circle". Aren't You Glad doesn't really add anything to the originaly released version. Not to say this isn't a very good CD. The fact that they could write such great music for such a godawful movie is a tribute to their talent. These songs really showcase the talents of John Locke, both as a performer & a songwriter, like none of Spirit's other albums. This CD is worth having, just be aware that almost all of this material has been available before."
The Jazzy Improvisational Smokey Night Club Spirit
zaytox | Buffalo, NY USA | 03/05/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I heard about this recording, the fact that it was a film soundtrack, and the fact that it was recorded in 1968, and the first thing I thought of was The Family That Plays Together-- everything but I Got A Line On You. And that's what it is like, but more jazz inflected. It's still got the trademark California guitar that soars at times but this album doesn't outright rock as much as it simmers; it does a slow boil. It's more of a smokey fire than a roaring blaze. Real fans of Spirit's first three recordings (this music relates not much at all to Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus)should be able to appreciate this. Spirit was not a one dimensional rock band. They were subtle; they were sublime. They were a perfect vehicle for a film score. If you were of that time, and if you know what it was like at the end of 12 hours of sunshine and watching the emergence of the new dawn, you get a sense of the space this recording inhabits. It's a terrific and totally unexpected find."