Treasures from the Time Coast
John L. Pinkston | Santa Fe, New Mexico | 12/25/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Released last October (well a little earlier in the UK)Salvation- Spirit of 74, is a new collection of music by Spirit, which is one of the best ever retrospective releases of live songs by the band.As Spin over in the UK notes: " From the same label (Acadia) that brought you 'The Euro-American Years', this is a 3 CD set made up of live and studio material all taken from the archives of Randy California. CDs One and Two are made up of tracks recorded in the Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ebbetts Field, Denver, Colorado and the Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, Texas. CD three is all unreleased studio material."
From looking at the track listing from discs 1 and 2 what you are getting is live versions of most of the songs found on Spirit of 76, only these are from live performances in 1974, with a Spirit line up consisting of mainly Randy California, Ed Cassidy, and Mark Andes.
For Spirit fans, it is as if the temple has finally opened to treasures we didn't even know existed.
Look at the listing for Disc 1:
1 Veruska
2 Storm In The Night
3 Like A Rolling Stone
4 I've Got To Use My Imagination
5 Fresh Garbage
6 Devil
7 Kristee
8 My Road
9 Old Blue
10 Joker On The Run
11 So Little Time To Fly
12 All Along The Watchtower
13 I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)
14 Same Old Thing Urantia
Some of these songs, I don't believe 'live' versions have been available before. Veruska has to be one of the more powerful pure pyschedelic songs ever recorded .Highlights for me from Disc 2 are :'Electro Jam/Mr Skin ', On The Road Again ,Happy , Guide Me , It's All The Same , Goin Down, and Hey Joe. Disc 3 are studio recordings and has a Spirit cover of Dylan's 'Positively Fourth Street', something I had no idea they had ever done.Other cuts that intrigue me are: Maybe You'll Find , Looking Into Darkness , Circle , It's Time Now , So Happy Now , Miss Lani , and You're So Beautiful .
On Disc 2 I have found that on Randy California's version of the old Freddie King number "Goin Down", he lets loose with his Stratocaster, and it is one of the hottest numbers of the set. It smokes. So also does both versions of Sunrise.
I have now been listening to Disc 3 on my car stereo for some time and I notice from So Happy Now on, it is like a Hawaiian suite of songs. Likely highly influenced by Randy California having lived on Maui in 1973. Very mellow tunes, but heartfelt, and with nice arrangements. Listening to Sparkling Sands makes you feel like you are on a Hawaiian beach. Also both Future in My Hands and Salvation are enjoyable rockers on this disc.
For me personally, I am discovering songs I have never heard before, and had no idea Spirit had ever done them. In a way it's a shame such Spirit releases didn't come out earlier, say in the late 70's or early 80's. One can speculate about a live version of Veruska being played on radio, and I believe if this had been released by the mid-80s it would have sparked a lot of interest in Spirit as it was in its Tent of Miracles phase.
For hard core Spirit fans it has to be a must have , and for others who might be interested in how this unique band sounded at live concerts in 1974, this could be a revelation, if not salvation. I have found that getting this 3 disc set is worth it just for Disc 3 alone. It also comes with a nice booklet written by Mike Skidmore that goes into detail about how this set was arranged and remastered for sound, plus information about the concerts. All in all a major plus for Spirit fans.
"
I'm saved
rainman | joyzee | 04/09/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"randy california never got his due. the man not only was a great guitarist but also a great composer. this disc has it all. lots of live material and quiet studio cuts. this set is a steal!!! you should get it asap!!!"
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1