Tag Archives: Spirit

Covers of Classic Bands – The Turtles and Spirit Get Revived

Back in October an all-star lineup including Beck, Jakob Dylan, Fiona Apple, Cat Power and others staged “Echo In The Canyon” in Los Angeles, paying tribute to bands and songs from the early days of Southern California rock and roll.  The concert was timed as a 50th Anniversary celebration of the release of The Byrds’ debut album, “Mr. Tambourine Man”.  

A studio album is due out sometime in 2016, and the first track available is “You Showed Me” performed by Jakob Dylan and Cat Power.  The original was The Turtles’ last big U.S. hit in 1969 and was written by Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark of The Byrds.  Listen to the cover then enjoy a studio performance of the original – complete with vintage 60’s hairdos.

Hollywood Vampires is a super-group of classic rockers built around Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, with Johnny Depp thrown in for good measure.  The band’s name harks back to a drinking club formed by Cooper in the 70’s, with members that included a fair bit of rock and roll royalty.

“I Got A Line On You” covers the incredible band Spirit. Headed by guitarist/vocalist Randy California, Spirit also included Randy’s stepfather, Ed Cassidy. Cassidy was a well known jazz drummer, who just before joining his stepson played in Rising Sons with Taj Mahal and a 17-year-old Ry Cooder. Check out the Hollywood Vampires’ take and the original, and if you want to hear a bit more by Spirit, refer to this earlier post.

Dave Grohl Documents the History of Sound City

Dave Grohl’s 2013 plunge into documentary filmmaking “Sound City” mines the history of the recently shuttered studio where Nirvana’s “Nevermind” was recorded.  Grohl weaves many story lines together in his film, from the people who built and ran Sound City, to the technology that made the studio famous and the later technology that doomed it, to the string of major artists that passed through its unassuming front door.  He concludes with a strong statement about the virtues of musicians hunkering down in a studio till inspiration and perspiration get it just right, and shows us what he means by releasing “Sound City 606”.

Check out the trailer for “Sound City”, then listen to one of the first songs released from the CD featuring Paul McCartney rocking as hard as he has since “Helter Skelter”.

Here’s a link to page on the Sound City Studio website that lists every album recorded there: Sound City Recordings.  It is an amazing list,  and the very first album ever recorded there was Spirit’s masterpiece “Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus”.  If you’re not familiar with that album or have forgotten what a tour de force it was, listen to “Nature’s Way” and “Mr. Skin”.

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