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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
 Posted - 16/02/2015 : 21:26:43
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SPIRIT-The Original Potato Land
All Music Guide
Review by William Ruhlmann
Full album play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xKawrC5gok
Like other "lost" rock albums such as the Beach Boys' SMiLE, Spirit's Potatoland has been "found" periodically, notably in 1981, when a version of it was released, eight years after it had been rejected by Epic Records and shelved. According to Spirit scholar Mick Skidmore, however, that version "was to all intents and purposes a bastardized version of the original concept" for which Spirit leader Randy California recorded numerous overdubs in an attempt to update its sound. Skidmore prefers the acetate he heard -- and taped -- on a BBC radio show in 1973, and now that he is in charge of the Spirit archives, he has attempted to reconstruct the album as it was originally intended for this reissue. In his annotations, he explains that Potatoland was not actually begun as a Spirit album per se, for the simple reason that, at the time, California and drummer Ed Cassidy, the only other original member of the band involved, had lost the rights to the name Spirit.
California had recently released his debut solo album, Kapt. Kopter & the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds, and having reconnected with Cassidy, began the project as a duo album. (The full title is sometimes rendered as The Adventures of Kaptain Kopter & Commander Cassidy in Potato Land, and a revised, still unissued version was called Randy California and Ed Cassidy -- Back Together Again.) The concept, as delineated in spoken word interludes between the songs, had the two veering off the highway to a mysterious place called Potato Land, where they encounter, among other things, a giant chocolate eclair. These bits of dialogue, reminiscent of the stoned interplay of Cheech & Chong, served as introductions to the songs, a typical collection of catchy, guitar-driven pop/rock, including, in this version, reprises of such old Spirit songs as "1984" and "Nature's Way."
Skidmore has refurbished the sound, at least to the extent of removing pops and clicks, but much of the disc still sounds like a demo. Still, that helps it retain its period charm. It is hardly a masterpiece, but it certainly is entertaining and lighthearted. Whether it would have been "a huge hit" and reshaped Spirit's career if it had been released in 1973, as Skidmore asserts, is impossible to say, though the band clearly was poised for a commercial breakthrough that never happened. Recognizing that this release will appeal mainly to "die-hard Spirit fans," Skidmore has stretched the disc out to nearly 80 minutes by including alternate takes, live material recorded at the time, and even a bit of the conversation from that radio show he heard in 1973. Some of the live tracks, notably the covers of Junior Walker's "Shotgun," Allen Toussaint's "Get Out My Life Woman," and Mance Lipscomb's "Miss This Train," all from September 1972 Kapt. Kopter shows, provide proof of Skidmore's statement that "Randy was THE natural successor to [Jimi] Hendrix"; on these occasions, he definitely played a lot like his old boss.
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"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
-Aldous Huxley |
Edited by - lemonade kid on 16/02/2015 21:31:02 |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9873 Posts |
Posted - 16/02/2015 : 21:40:19
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SPIRIT
The Original Potato Land (1973) & The Adventures Of Kaptain Kopter & Commander Cassidy in Potato Land (1981)
© willardswormholes.com
The Original Potato Land (1973/2006)
Label-Rejected 1973 Stoner Concept Album
Still have any pot lying around the house? Maybe in back of the nightstand drawer or in that old tin in the garage? NowÕs the time to dig it out. Potato Land is a (once) lost album from Spirit, or, at least, the last vestiges of the beloved L.A. band. Without getting too deep into the morass of SpiritÕs history, Randy California split in Õ72 to go solo while Ed Cassidy & John Locke soldiered on with the Spirit name Ð along with hired hands, The Staehely Brothers (whom Cassidy & California would eventually pay to buy the rights to that name back). That version of Spirit released Feedback in 1972, an interesting album in itself. But, only a year later, California was back in the fold, Õcause the family that plays together stays together, and he and Cassidy (stepdad & stepson) masterminded this stunningly stoney concept album that ended up being rejected outright by Epic Records. I wonÕt bore you with Potato LandÔs plot, but you can read the albumÕs bizarre story HERE. Musically, itÕs a wonderfully freeform trip, filled with song snippets, random dialog (some of which the AMG compared to Cheech & Chong) and reworkings of a couple of Spirit staples, Ò1984Ó and ÒNatureÕs Way,Ó to tie it all together. A pop/psych/stonerÕs delight, though there are plenty of inconsistency issues to quibble about. To confuse the Potato Land issue even further, California & Cassidy first released a bastardized version of this concept (altered, shortened & overdubbed as 1981Õs The Adventures Of Kaptain Kopter & Commander Cassidy In Potato Land, below), which is why this one Ð the original Õ73 session material Ð is called The Original Potato Land. Spirit archivist Mick Skidmore recorded this from a 1973 BBC broadcast of the original tapes, then cleaned up the sound for an official 2006 CD release (with bonus tracks). The quality is lacking, though itÕs not awful, while the just-surfaced 2011 version, HERE (with an additional disc), doesnÕt appear to be any different, sonically speaking. Either way, despite all the personnel & version variables, this is a strange one worth the time of any Spirit fanÉ stoned or not. Find it at Amazon.
Introduction (0:43)
1984 (3:49)
Exit 27 (Dialogue) (1:23)
Turn To The Right (3:44)
Everything Talks To Me (Donut House) (3:44)
Fish Fry Road (3:24)
NatureÕs Theme (0:45)
Information (3:11)
My Friend (2:49)
WalkinÕ The Dog (3:02)
Giant Potatoes (Dialogue) (0:32)
Lonely In Potatoland (Mashed Potatoes) (3:05)
NatureÕs Way (2:38)
Salvation/Matter Of Time/Suite (5:30)
1984 (Reprise) (0:44)
Oil Slick/Million Years Suite (4:32)
Information Reprise (1:46)
ItÕs Time Now (4:53)
You Know (1:30) Ð Bonus Track
Donut House (Alternate Version) (3:40) Ð Bonus Track
AinÕt That Too Bad (3:17) Ð Bonus Track
Devil (Live) (4:49) Ð Bonus Track
Shotgun (Live) (4:36) Ð Bonus Track
Get Out My Life Woman (Live) (5:54) Ð Bonus Track
Miss This Train (Live) (3:13) Ð Bonus Track
Interview Clip with Randy California, Ed Cassidy & Bob Harris, April 1973 (2:28) Ð Bonus Track
The Adventures Of Kaptain Kopter & Commander Cassidy in Potato Land (1981)
For All You A/B Types
The sound is cleaner and the stylistic updates, some seven years after the fact, make for a better sounding record, but much of the stoned, demo charm of the ÒoriginalÓ Potato Land got lost in the translation. Randy California, Ed Cassidy and John Locke had not lost the Spirit spirit by 1973, but the ÒbandÓ changed radically after this music was first recorded, then rejected for release. By 1981, California took the tapes and overdubbed them to make them more compatible with the times, but listeners Ð and especially fans Ð had already moved beyond stoned giddiness in general, and concept albums in particular. StillÉ a little cherry picking will yield some nuggets of vintage 70s Spirit. Find it at Amazon
WeÕve Got A Lot To Learn (2:16)
Potatoland Theme (5:09)
Open Up Your Heart (4:58)
Morning Light (3:42)
Potatoland Prelude (2:11)
Potatoland Introduction (2:28)
Turn To The Right (5:51)
Donut House (3:00)
Fish Fry Road (3:52)
Information (2:55)
My Friend (2:15)
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"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
-Aldous Huxley |
Edited by - lemonade kid on 16/02/2015 21:42:11 |
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SPIRIT's lost album-Potato Land 1973-finally found
