Spirit - The Best of Spirit

No one took the late-'60s East Coast sound further than (the aptly named) Randy California and his band mates in Spirit, who brought jazz, blues and classical into the psych-rock mix. Here's their 1973 ''best-of'' remastered plus five bonus cuts 'Silky Sam', 'Aren't You Glad', 'I'm Truckin', 'So Little To Fly' & 'Taurus'. 16 tracks in all! Epic/legacy. 2003. Album Description

Best Of ?

Best of albums are always something of a crapshoot. Spirit crammed so much sheer talent & unbelievable songwriting into their first 4 albums that that distilling it into a single disk would have to be a thankless task. I bought it because it was remastered but when I listen to any of the songs I immediatly want to hear the songs before or after it on the original album and even remastered, I prefer the original vinyl albums. I use this cd mostly for listening to in the car rather than when I'm home & in the mood for some serious listening. If you're unfamiliar with their music then it's a fairly decent place to get your feet wet but if you're ready to jump in head first go for the whole albums, even Feedback & all the later Randy California/Ed Cassidy stuff. Your ears will thak you the rest of your life. This is classic music that stands the test of time with the best of them (which they are). May 6, 2008

did not stand the test of time

We all dug Spirit in the 60s but unfortunately they don't translate very well today. But, to hear "Fresh Garbage" again,was a treat March 23, 2007

Sound quality very spotty - some rock, others roll (over and die)

Got a Line on You, Nature's Way and a few others on this DVD are outstanding.
But I feel Spirit's music has not aged well. Their tunes that sounded great in the
70's (60's?) are today sounding pretty dated and poorly mastered. Song quality
ranges from "Rockin'" to "Yikes!". I think my old vinyl sounded a lot better..

A worthwhile trip back in time for those of us who enjoyed Spirit at the time,
but my impression is that they had trouble filling up a DVD with "Best Of"-quality
tunes. If you spend money on an old Turtles or Spanky and Our Gang DVD
instead you may be happier with the result. Just go to iTunes Music Store (or
whatever you use) and buy "Got A Line on Me" and "Nature's Way" individually. December 16, 2006

the best of spirit

I t hink its one the better 60s classic rock bands around for its time. July 25, 2006

Not your Average 60s west coast band!

Listening to this disc from beginning to end, there is nothing about this band's music that would ever suggest to you that they hailed from California--or even the US, for that matter! These guys were obviously not listening to fellow L.A. bands like the Buffalo Springfield or The Doors (the closest they ever come to sounding anything like Jim Morrison and Co., is "Fresh Garbage"--which does sound somewhat like a Doors outtake upon first listen!) No, this west coast band had their ears plastered to the speakers listening to all the Beatles albums--post 1965, to gain their musical insight. Of course, the liner notes keep putting forth the argument that this band was "America's Pink Floyd". I don't know that I would ever go that far. To me, Spirit is more like America's version of Traffic. The smart-and-witty, sing-along lyrics, the sweet melodies with occasional soul-and-jazz leanings, and a hot, horn section all lean more toward Traffic as Spirit's prime influence, rather than Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd had none of that, and always came off as more "up in the clouds", musically and lyirically, while Traffic was more down-to-earth, and easier to understand. So was Spirit. And while guitarist Randy California could make his guitar wail-on forever like David Gilmour on a number like "Aren't You Glad", it is the funky chops of Steve Winwood he more closely resembles on a song like "I'm Truckin'". Certainly, some British musicians could relate more to the sophistication of the band's musical stylings--not the least of whom was Jimmy Page--who, because of the influence of Randy California, a man much younger than himself, decided to take on the idea of having acoustic solo performances in Led Zeppelin's shows--even going so far as to claim a portion of Mr. California's Opus, "Taurus", for himself--in the form of (you guessed it!) "Stairway to Heaven". Yes, the newly-expanded "Best of Sprit" does include that song, "Taurus", as a bonus track at the end. Take one listen to the opening licks on the acoustic guitar, and you're tempted to start singing: "There's a lady who's sure..."
One more thing that makes Spirit unique among their comtemporaries is, while most American bands were trying to get the most out of their organ as the primary keyboard instrument, Spirit's music is mostly piano-based.
But I defintely hear a band on this album striving for more musical sophistication than the average American group in the sixties. And although Spirit's music throughout this collection conjures up more images of the dark-and-dreary, rain-dampened sidewalks of Carnaby Street, and tall buildings of downtown London, rather than the palm trees, surf boards, sunny skies, and convertibles cruising down the Sunset Strip of this band's native L.A., you can still hear a band seeking to be original, with a good dose of humor. A band with more musical ambition than the average west coast band. And to that, I salute them! March 25, 2006

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