‘Rebel’ Rod’s Revisitation – Little has been written lately, but Spirit’s “The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” inspires
Rod Ames
Posted On March 4, 2011
Since I started writing as a favorite past time a few years back, I have discovered that sometimes the words just come in floods, and sometimes the flood changes into a drought. Words become a premium and you just sit there trying to force them out. This rarely, if ever, works for me.
Ultimately, if I just stop thinking about it so hard, and put on a good record, the words will come. The music finally inspires, and the words eventually appear.
Thus was the case yesterday when I was digging, almost literally, through a stack of dusty records, sitting on an equally dusty shelf. There it was, almost glowing, Spirits’s, “The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus”.
This album, recorded in 1970 and released by Epic Records, is arguably one of the best records of that decade. The 70’s would become completely overflowing with classic album after classic album, but this album still holds up today.
The original release included, twelve tunes, “Prelude (Nothing to Hide)”, “Nature’s Way”, “Animal Zoo”, “Love Has Found a Way”,”Why Can’t I I Be Free”, “Mr. Skin”, “Space Child”, “When I Touch You”, “Street Worm”,”Life Has Just Begun”, “Morning Will Come”, and “Soldier”. Each song literally holds up on its own. In fact, “Nature’s Way” was a bona fide hit for the band. “Mr. Skin” charted as well but not until three years after the album was released.
Spirit is Mark Andes, Randy California, Ed Cassidy, Jay Ferguson, and John Locke. “The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” was eloquently produced by David Briggs. These five fine artists together with such high production standards are what has helped this recording hold up and seem as fresh today as the day it was released 41 years ago.
This coming Saturday night on “Rebel’ Rod’s From Under the Basement” on KOOK 93.5 in Junction, Texas and streaming on the ‘WWW’, Spirits’s, “The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” will kick off a brand new segment on the show entitled, quite simply, “After Midnight”, where I will play the record in its entirety.
Fellow audiophiles out there in radio-land, you are absolutely not going to want to miss this one.
See you on the radio this Saturday night from 10 pm until 2 am on KOOK 93.5 in beautiful Junction, Texas.
