Customer Reviews

Mercury Years

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

 

 

This CD would be the one I'd choose on a long car ride if I could take only one CD. Spirits rendition of Like a Rolling Stone is worth the cost of the CD.

When I heard this had some updates to the masters, I figured I'd get it. "Farther Along" was pretty much my first album where I started to like "Post Golden 4" Spirit and Randy California. The I got "Future Games" and I was all in. The last piece of the puzzle was "Spirit Of 76" and that release grew on me as well.

So, this set has far too many good things to list, music alone. Compared to the BGO releases, these songs seem they are remastered from original multi track tapes rather than a two track master. Not all sound better but the majority... Just for the fact that "Farther Along" does not have the static that plagues the copy of that song on BGO, superb. Disc One is made up of most of Spirit Of 76 with a reshuffled order. It seems like the best stuff "Like A Rolling Stone", "Victim Of Society" , "Joker On The Run", never sounded better. If there are overdubs or extras dubbed in, you really can't tell.

Another plus to the set are the inclusions of raw tracks from "Future Games" Disc 2 includes "Would You Believe", "Detroit City" "Maybe You'll Find" without collage of the original album. (If only they would have included the clean cut of the ending track "The Journey Of Nomad")

The factor that keeps this set from five stars is well, overdubs. Randy felt he needed to enhance a few of the original tracks. Of course, the enhancements are well enough done. "Mega Star" and "Phoebe" are the most noticeable. Maybe the fact that, up until then, there was little interest to put those masters on CD and Randy felt he needed to go up a notch with the masters. That would explain the inclusion of "Green Back Dollar" which has nothing to do with the Mercury releases and sounds as if it would be better on "Cosmic Smile".

Overall, this set is an almost complete document of what Spirit was up too in the 70's with great songs with a few outstanding tracks. Dr. Demento and Randy wrote the liner notes as well, icing on the cake.

Unfortunately the leader of Spirit, Randy California, will probably be known as one of the genuses that becomes famous after his death. This album proves yet another forgotten legend, ignored by both radio play and the ignorance of a major label premotion (as if we hadn't heard that one enough)...well, it's usually bands like this that prove the true likings of absolute music fans. Here is yet another great band ignored by the masses etc.etc...Spirit's "Mercury Years" is yet living proof that the "12 Dreams of Dr. Sardinocus" is nothing but a beginning of what Randy California's Spirit would eventually become...this album conjoins "Spirit of 76," "Son of Spirit" "Farther Along" & "Future Games" of the Mercury label together. Unfortunately disc one is entirely devoted to "Spirit of 76" -- a great but repetitious album, hey...Randy California was for the first time without the rest of the band (besides his stepfather Cass)... disc 2 proves to be both brilliant and addictive. You thought Todd Rundgren was the only one in the 70's making heart-felt melody? Disc 2 of Spirit's "Mercury Years" is what's on the other side of the Rainbow. "Looking Into Darkness" "Gorn Attack" & "Circle" are all refreshing and ahead of their time. "The Other Song" is the most addictive here & reflects his influence of his former friend Jimi Hendrix. For those Spirit fans who might of ignored Spirit after the "12 Dreams of Dr. Sardinocus" -- "the Mercury Years" is a slap in the face of what the latest fad and premotion is worth. Randy California was a true leader, that is just why he was ignored.

To be sure, there are certainly some good songs on this set. But there's an awful lot of really weak filler too. The collection would have been much better as a single disc collection representing the best of their time at Mercury. Nothing here stands up to the work on Spirit's first four albums. For completists only.