8.08.2006

Some bands just can't contain themselves. I don't mean that they have a history of outbursts. Sometimes the talent in a band can just be its own undoing and the members stray to other projects leaving a fully formed idea behind. The following bands both suffered from this problem. The ambitions of its members ended Scorpion after only one album, while the musical meanderings of members of Spirit led it to countless lineup changes that often times diminished the quality of the group.

Scorpion - Scorpion
What might have seemed like a great name choice at the time in hindsight now renders this Detroit combo even more obscured by history, sharing the essence of their moniker with 80's rockers Scorpions. Scorpion is far and away
a greater being than their latter day counterparts. Their sound fused funk, soul and explosive psych-rock into a powerful sound that led members to be highly sought after session musicians. Bob Babitt and Andrew Smith went on to play on albums with Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Yoko Ono and the Temptations while Ray Monette went on to join up with Rare Earth. Obviously their cumulative talents couldn't be contained by just one output but this single album stands as testament to why they were respected as musicians.
Download:
[MP3] Scorpion -Please Make My Mind Right
[MP3] Scorpion -Great Day

Spirit - Spirit
Spirit achieved a modest amount of success during their career. Their debut produced by Lou Adler and released on his Ode Records imprint, was a mix of rock, folk and jazz. This amalgam of styles while ambitious sometimes thinned their
fanbase. Randy California formed the band along with his step-father Cassidy, a long time jazz drummer. California played for a bit with Hendrix's pre-experience band Jimmy James & the Blue Flames and was asked by the guitarist to accompany him to England but had to decline since he was only 15 at the time. Though only a teenager at the time of their debut, California developed a signature sound of heavy sustained tones. His ambitions eventually led him to stray from the band on the basis of starting a solo career. Other members of the band also followed suit over time. Mark Andes went on to play in Firefall and Heart while John Locke would join Nazareth. Other albums would achieve some higher level of success but their debut still stands as a powerful fusion of styles and sounds. Incidentally while most of the songs on the first album were not written by California, his touching acoustic track "Taurus" would go on to inspire the opening bars of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."
Download:
[MP3] Spirit -Uncle Jack
[MP3] Spirit -Taurus
Buy Spirit
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posted by dissensous at 9:52:00 AM

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