I was mad this morning when I saw that the New York Times called Spirit a psychedelic band. It was in an article about intellectual property. They were too good for that. Psychedelic bands couldn’t play well, so they played trippy, such as the Amboy Dukes and Iron Butterfly. I looked Spirit up in Discogs and saw that’s what they called Spirit. Those folks should have known better, because they must have listened to 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, a wonderful power pop LP. Nothin’ to Hide is a cheery pop confection about heroin addiction. Nature’s Way bops along looking at death—it’s nature’s way of telling you something’s wrong. Mr. Skin is the catchiest tune I’ve heard in a while—I’m Mr.-Mr. Skin, I know where you’ve been. Morning Will Come has the coolest falsetto this side of Richard Manuel. Love Has Found a Way and Animal Zoo are classics. How could folks not get it?
Then I noticed the cover. I have always thought it was ugly and never stopped to look closely. It’s a photo of the band looking like a Bruegel painting copied by Dali. Ugly, at the risk of repeating myself, and very surreal. That’s the psychedelic part. Don’t judge this record by its cover.
converselyspeaking 