This has been a busy week – we apologize for the gap in posts but we plan to ride this thing into Record Store Day tomorrow and beyond. I had some ideas for this week’s posts scribbled on a scrap somewhere and I’ve lost it … so let’s freestyle with a couple of personal faves from the psychedelic daze.
One of my all-time favorite bands from those fuzzy days of yore is Spirit, the California rockers led by guitarist Randy California and master singer/songwriter Jay Ferguson. Formed in 1967, Spirit was the American answer to Brit rockers Traffic (Steve Winwood) – their music encompassed rock, pop, folk, blues, classical and jazz. Best known for their hits “Animal Zoo” and “I Got A Line On You,” as well as the classic Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (1970), the band was certainly one of the best of their era.
In 1968, French film director Jacques Demy asked Spirit to write and record a 
soundtrack to his movie Model Shop. Demy was seeking to make a film that captured the “vibe” of Los Angeles, and after seeing Spirit perform in a local club he decided they would be the perfect musical counterpoint for his movie. In Ferguson and California, Spirit had two strong songwriters but they rarely collaborated – except on the Model Shop soundtrack.
The band’s jazz leanings come to the fore on “Eventide” and a few other songs. In fact, most of the songs cut for the soundtrack were instrumentals, only “Green Gorilla” and “Now Or Anywhere” have vocals by Ferguson. When the movie was finally released in 1969 it was a flop, so the soundtrack album release was scrapped. Because Spirit cut the soundtrack between sessions for their second and third albums, there’s a bit of continuity – two outtakes from The Family That Plays Together (1968) – “Fog” and “Now or Anywhere” – turn up on the soundtrack.
And later in 1969, some material for Clear came from the unreleased soundtrack. For example, “Model Shop II” became the title song and “Song for Lola” was used as part of “Ice”. Nevertheless, a lot of the material here remained unheard until 2005, when Sundazed Records got their hands on a set of long-lost master tapes and reassembled the soundtrack for a CD release.
MP3: “Now or Anywhere” by Spirit
30 Days Out 