Search - The Free Spirits :: Out of Sight & Sound

Free Spirit

Richard E. Barnes | 05/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is such an important recording, here you have a group of young players who never gave it a second thought just to do something they just did it. It was a carefree time this group features Larry Coryell on guitar, Jim Pepper on sax, Bob Moses on drums, Chris Hill on bass and Columbus Baker on 2nd guitar. Produced by Bob Thiele who must have held on for dear life. Flashes of psych sounds are found on this album. Larry plays sitar on I'm gonna be free. But this is not a pop album nor is it mainstream. It really provided the basis for fusion found in the early 1970's , Bitch Brew and Nucleus from the UK kind of music. The cd reissue features detailed notes and photos. I was pretty surprised they could dig that much material up on this group. The remastering sounds very good given the age of the material. Fans of late sixties music will enjoy this music as well as folks into early fusion music."

Jazzpop Oddity

Peter Baklava | Charles City, Iowa | 04/07/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Long ago, my guitarist friend plunked the needle down on "Lady Coryell", saying "Be forewarned... Larry Coryell CAN'T SING."



So, I feel I should issue the same caveat. Larry Coryell can't sing. But, having said that, let me say that Coryell's strained vocal cords don't prevent the Free Spirits' "Out of Sight and Sound" from being a trippy, delightful artifact of 1966.



Coryell (guitar) joined with two other aspiring jazzers, Jim Pepper (sax and flute) and Bob Moses (drums) to create this wacky but inventive attempt at a pop album. Whatever you call this, don't call it FUSION. It's a giddy, often goofy mix of garage psychedelia, folk, and a sprinkling of jazz. The lyrics are clever and jokey, the music is creative, but it's very much 1966--a mixture of "go-go jazz" and introspection. Remember, nothing much innovative was yet on the pop horizon... the Beatles, the Mothers' "Freak Out", "Fresh Cream". I'm sure that people who have never heard "Out of Sight and Sound" will be surprised at how poppy it sounds.



Enjoy this album for what it is, a quirky fluke, a good party record. But for a better indication of the musicians' talents, visit Coryell's early work with Gary Burton or Chico Hamilton. Moses, the drummer, later became a respectable jazz composer ("When Elephants Dream of Music"), and Pepper established himself as a sought after tenor man."