Customer Reviews

Son of Spirit/Farther Along

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

 

 

After the original line-up of Spirit broke up quite a few people ignored their releases. It' really a shame because they continued to release great albums and these two are no exception. Son Of Spirit is basically Randy & Ed continuing what they started on Spirit of '76 while Farther Along is a reunion of all the original band except Jay Fergeson. Having the two as a set just makes it better. The songs go from strength to strength with the only clinker being a rather limp version of Yesterday. Rock, jazz, blues, country, folk all rub shoulders with incredible musicianship in a band that should have been superstars but are more remembered by their influence on others.

I had both vinyl releases of each of these albums before getting the CD. I will say the sound quality of the CD suffers a tiny bit from age of the masters (most notably in the sound glitches in the song "Farther Along") but they are small gripes. When I first got/heard both of these albums, I didn't think much of either. Ahh, like all "post golden 4" primarily Randy/Ed releases, these grew on me fast and the songs on both I'd raise to 5 star status.

Son Of Spirit is often said to be leftovers from "Spirit Of 76", and I'd say they are some tasty leftovers. "Holy Man" and "Looking Into Darkness" are two songs that I first heard and stopped listening. Now I think them some of Randys finest. "Magic Fairy Princess" seems like a mess at first, but likeable after. "The Other Song" is really a true flashback tune which could have slotted in the first four rather nicely. Favorite track is "Family", again, a silly song at first but I find myself singing along every time I hear it. "Yesterday" is the only song I tend to zone on. Original is best, period. Still, Randy's version is the typical slide guitar sound that spoke of his 70's guitar work.

Farther Along is four out of five original Spirit members giving a great effort, if way too short. On first listen, "Mega Star" was the song that stuck out. It's a 70's anthem that I thought might be directed at the 5th member of Spirit that didn't join the reunion. It doesn't seem that way now that I'm more in the Spirit "know". Still it could have been a big hit. "Farther Along" eventually became my favorite. Light rock but Spirit flavored, it became another sing along every time song. "Atomic Boogie" is credited to all in this version of Spirit. It's got a disco flavor, big horn rock, but it's fun lyrics make it special. "Diamond Spirit" is a short burst of brilliance at the end. "World Eat World Dog" has great harmony and a fun "lounge" break. Other than some serious disco-era 70's studio sound which dates this a bit, almost every tune should have gotten more notice but disco was everything and the radio had long forgotten Randy and Spirit.

Overall, both discs together make this the "must have" of the Spirit "post 4". Sure I would have liked them on separate discs with extras but we have the excellent "Spirit Of '74" retrospective set (with a good portion of tracks from Son Of Spirit in alternate form.

Been looking for this everywhere! Great Band! Finally on CD! Best and greatest band of the 70's! Brings back many great memories!

Great product!!! Excellant recordings of this group. Very dynamic, and vast range of song types