Family That Plays Together

Spirit - Family That Plays Together

Family That Plays Together
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Music CD Cover

Artist: Spirit
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1996-10-22
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
  1. I Got a Line on You
  2. It Shall Be
  3. Poor Richard
  4. Silky Sam
  5. Drunkard
  6. Darlin' If
  7. It's All the Same
  8. Jewish
  9. Dream Within a Dream
  10. She Smiles
  11. Aren't You Glad
  12. Fog [*]
  13. So Little to Say [#][*]
  14. Mellow Fellow [#][*]
  15. Now or Anywhere [*]
  16. Space Child [#][*]

Free Music Notes for Family That Plays Together

Free Music Review: I should've tried Spirit much earlier
Hit: 5 Stars

OK, so I've been aware of this band for ages. After all, turn on the classic FM rock dial and you're bound to hear "I Got a Line On You" or "Nature's Way". It's only now that I bought any of their albums. I have acquire The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, and this one, The Family That Plays Together.

The Family That Plays Together was their second album and gave Spirit their first wide exposure, because the album's opening song was none other than "I Got a Line On You", which became a hit for them. This band is odd for one having one member a generation older than the rest. The band featured guitarist Randy California, who was at that point 17 years old, and drummer Ed Cassidy, who was his stepdad (married to his mother), and around 20 years or so older than the rest of the band. Most other people Ed Cassidy's age were more likely to yell at their kids to "Turn off that noise" (like when they're listening to the Beatles), but in Randy California's case, that was different, Ed Cassidy encouraged his music habit and both helped form a band. Of course, lets not forget the rest of the band: Jay Ferguson, John Locke, and Mark Christopher-Andes. Most other people Ed Cassidy's age were more into Lawrence Welk and Bing Crosby and thought rock and roll, like of the Beatles (or Spirit for that matter) was the downfall of civilization.

There is so much more to this album than just "I Got a Line On You". "It Shall Be" is a wonderful, atmospheric number with John Locke giving us some electric piano, and nice use of orcestrations. There are some more rocking passages as well with horns. "Silky Sam" is another one of those mellow orchestrated pieces, with the unexpectedly dissonant passage in the middle (much like what many prog rock bands a few years later would be doing). "The Drunkard" has a rather baroque feel, with an even stronger classical-feel, as it's very dominated by strings. "All the Same" is a rather fun number, with lots of nice electric piano and catchy melodies, one of my favorites on this album and for some reason often overlooked. "Jewish", penned by Randy California, is a real odd number. It's sung in Hebrew (how often do you come across a rock song sung in that language?). We should also know that California himself was Jewish (his real name was Randy Wolfe), so I guess he was exploring his Jewish roots in that song. The final song, "Aren't You Glad", ends in a rather dramatic fashion, more or less the album's epic. When I hear the more mellow, orchestral numbers like "It Shall Be" and "Silky Sam", I keep imagining that John Locke should be using a Mellotron, Spirit would have sounded great using one, but they used real strings (which still sounds great) after all the Mellotron wasn't made commercially available in America until around 1972, but the Chamberlin was available then (and only a band like the Beach Boys made the occasional use of one at that time).

Spirit is one of those few West Coast psych bands that would appeal to people who otherwise are generally not fans of that genre. They avoided the most of those psychedelic cliches (ie. "flowers and beads" and "canyons of your mind"), probably because they realize in even just a couple years time, people would laugh at that stuff if they wrote "canyons of your mind" type of music. So their music ended up not being so dated as so many of their West Coast contemporaries of the time.

The Family That Plays Together is a wonderful album, if you never heard this album, get it, you'll find out there's much more to Spirit than just "I Got a Line On You" as this album proves!
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Family That Plays Together Poster

Spirit wrote the book on the sound they created: a potent synthesis of high-voltage rock, folk, jazz, blues and avant garde electronica. The groundbreaking Los Angeles quintet hit their stride with The Family That Plays Together, whose mega-hit "I Got a Line On You" practically defined underground FM radio in 1968. Spirit's 1969 album Clear found them polishing their art to a fine sheen with dusky jewels like "Dark Eyed Woman and "So Little Time to Fly." Sundazed is knocked-out to present perfect recreations (including Family's striking gatefold sleeve) of both LPs on high-definition vinyl, from the absolute master tapes.
One of the most adventurous bands of the late 1960s, Spirit never really found as wide an audience as they deserved for their eclectic blend of rock, jazz, blues, and pop. The closest the group came to mainstream acceptance was this, their 1968-released second album. Propelled by guitarist Randy California's catchy riffing, his stepfather-drummer Ed Cassidy's rock-solid beat, and Jay Ferguson's bluesy vocal, "I Got a Line on You" became a Top 40 hit single, and listeners who were interested enough to buy the LP were rewarded with such broad-horizoned fare as keyboardist John Locke's jazz-flecked "Space Chile," Ferguson's string-aided "Silky Sam," and California and Cassidy's frisky "It's All the Same." --Billy Altman

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