Customer Reviews

Isle Of View

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am sad but not surprised to see that on this date there are only seven copies of this CD available on Amazon and that they are selling for $136. Yes, Jimmie's works were finally made available on CD a few years ago, but now due to legal complications they are no longer being issued. I encourage you to check out the "Jimmie Spheeris Online Forum" for lots of information about this artist and funding efforts to get his music newly re-released. If you have $136 to spend, I encourage you to get the CD if you want, but also contribute an equal amount to this fund to help make this special and important music available to everyone at a normal price.

I assume that you are already familiar with this music or you would not be scanning reviews for an obscure 1971 album selling for $136, so there is no need for description. You love it, so do I, but you might be interested in my own personal "Jimmie story", to add the stories listed here. I was first introduced to Jimmie, and this album in particular, in the mid-70s, living in a large "group house" in Palo Alto, CA when I was 21. It was a house favorite and "spun" many times during the year I lived there, but I never heard or even heard of Jimmie again, until this spring. While shopping at the legendary "Plan 9" music store in Richmond, VA, I found an old vinyl copy for $1. It was a "wait a minute, I KNOW this!" moment, and I have been enjoying it ever since. There is some "crackling fire" in the old grooves, but I consider myself extremely lucky to have it in any form. Curious about Jimmie, I discovered the above-referenced website, learned of his commercial "failure" as an artist through the early 80s, his fatal motorcycle accident in 1984, the current legal issues complicating the distribution of his music, and the dedication of his fan base. If he were alive today, it would certainly please him to see what has been written about him here and elsewhere. This is the kind of success every artist should wish for.

Jimmie Spheeris is one of the most underrated songwriters of the seventies. Isle Of View was his debut album back in '71. The song "Let It Flow" was featured in a movie sung by another artist. The Nest and Esmaria are the strongest tracks and still leave me shivering. The man effected me quite deeply and carried me through some emotionally rough, spiritual times in my life. He passed away when he was hit by a druck driver on 7/4/1984. Rain Records is an organization brought into existence by Jimmie Spheeris fans. This company and Sony had a falling out. Thus, all Jimmie Spheeris CD's are out of print. The original Tap-Dancing Kid, Dragon is Dancing are all good, but not the same ingenuity of this record. Ports of the Heart stands on its own.

(...) I had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy and seeing him live in concert. I helped set up a couple of small concerts for him in New York City in the early 70's. As for live performances I have never encountered any more moving than his.

Through a common aquaintance I knew that Jimmy was not pleased with the mix on this album -- I believe it had something to do with using some shorter versions of some of the songs and/or the way the audio mix came out -- but it quickly became my favorite album. I owned two copies in vinyl, one of which was only played only once just to record to audio tape, which I then used to listen to in the car and on my walkman -- over and over and over again. After my record collection was destroyed I only had the audio tape (thank God for that). Then I discovered this CD and quickly bought a copy. Unfortunately, I also found out that Jimmy had died in a car accident.

About the album, Jimmy's songs are the most aesthetic I've ever encountered. The more you listen to them the more comes through to you from the songs and the more you like them. The original vinyls had the words to the songs on the back of the album cover and I was really pleased to find that this CD has an insert with the words included. The lyrics to Jimmy's songs are so good you can even enjoy reading them without the music.

I was a bit disappointed that this album never caught on and made it very big (actually, I wasn't at all sure that my purchase of two vinyls wasn't a major blip in the sales curve back then) but I loved listening to it more than any I've ever owned and it's still my favorite today. Jimmy captured the very essence of art, beauty, sensitivity and love and put it all into his songs. Experiencing that is worth more than all the money in the world. I especially like playing it at the start of spring. It kinda gets me in the mood. Ya know what I mean? Anyway...

Thank you, Jimmy. The angels now have a valuable addition to their ranks.

In 1971 I (along with Art Hadley and Joe DiBello), were in charge of programming KBEY-FM in Kansas City, Missouri.

As a progressive rock station, we broke a lot of new artists, and without a doubt, one of the most requested was Jimmie Spheeris's Isle Of View on Columbia. Jimmie was considered a "minor" artist by the label, but not in Kansas City. The local independent record store, would sell 200-300 copies a week, week after week. How does one descibe a magical LP, cut after cut, that 30 years later, remains a masterpiece?

The stations copy was "borrowed" as jocks left for other stations in other markets, and without exception, Isle of View became popular in these other markets too!

In this day and age of "one hit wonders" and artists who can't spell CAT if you spot them the C and the T, it is nice to be able to return to a time when quality was the norm, not the exception. Take a chance on Jimmies Debut LP, it will be worth it.

Joe Milliken
Santa Clara CA

I discovered Jimmy Spheeris when I lived in Kansas City in 1971. I listened to a radio station that played the most wonderful music and I would record on the reel to reel recorder that my husband and I had ( I still have the recorder and reels of music). The station was KBEY FM (a station that was quite liberal at the time) and the most incredible music was played; music that you didn't hear on a popular station for the most part. I bought Isle of View after listening over and over again to find out who it was because music was played for at least and hour and then at the end the disc jockey would give the name of the artist of all the songs. Needless to say, I played the album until it was scratched and a mess but I did find a new one, after searching for quite some time and had to special order it. I do still have the second album and it is in mint condition but have not listened to it in years. I am thrilled that I found it on Amazon and on CD and am ordering it immediately. It is wonderful, mesmerizing and unforgettable. I'm glad to see that Jimmy Spheeris is still recording and cannot wait to get Isle of View on CD.

This was one of the truly great albums from the 70's. A guy could put it on for a date, and convince a lovely lady that he wasn't just a shallow bag of hormones, but actually cared about lyrics, romance, etc. I'll never forget walking on the rim of the Grand Canyon, for the first time ever, and listening to Jimmie on headphones; he was so good, I made sure I had one of his tapes ready, when I was going to enjoy something I knew would be extra-special. During the long years when Jimmie's albums weren't available on CD, I occasionally scoured old record stores, hoping to fill out my set of played only once (while transferred to digital tape) LP's. Now that these are available on CD, I'm buying the whole set. A perfect return to one of the best memory lanes I ever strolled along. Fans of Jimmie's should put enough 5-star reviews on this album to balance out "Gina from Ohio", who only gave it 4 stars. She must not have been listening carefully, while it was playing.

First released on vinyl in the early 70's, this was Jimmie's first (and some say best) album. That his fans banded together to get his catalog issued on CD speaks for itself. And this newly remastered disc sounds better than you can imagine. A whole new generation can now marvel at this legendary singer/songwriter whose most recognizable song, "I Am The Mercury", is included here. Other high points include "Seeds of Spring", "Let It Flow" and "Come Back". Let this CD be your initiation into the rewarding world of Jimmie Spheeris. Unless you have ice water in your veins, you won't be disappointed.

Every song but 1 is "a Perfect 10". This is the most beautiful record ever. You want to relax, be romantic or just feel great, you Must have this record. I have never played anything so much, and I own over 1600 records/cds collected over 38 years. I wanted this to come out on cd more than any record ever, so I could hear it in it's cleanest, purest sounding brilliance. Jimmie's voice...smoother & much more beautiful than Dan Fogelberg. His songs...more intimate than Jackson Browne. His guitar playing...more intricate than the finest tunings of David Crosby. The Moody Blues loved this man & had him open for them on tour. You & whomever you share this record with will be forever touched by the beauty of his music.
Now if they could just put the only existing footage of Jimmie in concert onto dvd, we could all see & feel what it was like to be mesmerized by him in concert. Though he was killed by a drunk driver many years ago, everyone who heard his music is forever grateful that he was here at least for a while.

Now if someone would just release Lazarus 1st Lp onto cd. Talk about beautiful harmonies & melodies. One of the guys from Peter Paul & Mary produced the Lazarus LP around 1971, but I've never seen it on cd. It's probably my second favorite record after Jimmie Spheeris' Isle of View.

Like many of the reviewers here, I've been searching for Jimmie's work since the 1970s, when I literally wore out my copies of his albums. Bravo to Rain Records for bringing the work of this brilliantly talented musician back to us. Songs like "I Am The Mercury" and "Seeds of Spring" bring back the very best of what the 1960s and early 1970s represented. Jimmie's enchanted lyrics and gorgeous voice are a treasure that deserve to re-introduced to a wholenew generation of listeners. And his music, his soaring, take-you-out-of-yourself, magical music! I've been humming many of these to myself for the last 25 years, and to hear them again on this CD is a gift. If you've never heard Jimmie's work, start with this one, and be prepared to be enchanted for life.

If you're a true music fan this is one album you can't afford not to add to your collection. This CD is a true musical treasure. If you're lucky enough to find a copy, snap it up. You can get a download, but that's like xeroxing a copy of the Mona Lisa.