Credits:
The Free Spirits
Description:
The only album by the first jazz-rock band with guitarist Larry Coryell! This is the only reissue of the 1967 album by The Free Spirits, a Yurok-based group featuring Larry Coryell, a guitarist who fused jazz and rock and was also a pioneer of fusion music. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, the group's diverse sound approach includes jazz-rock, garage, raga, and psychedelic. It is a masterpiece that conveys the adventurous spirit and enthusiasm of the members with jazz backgrounds at that time. Two additional single tracks are included as bonus tracks. The following is an excerpt from the commentary: "This is a great reissue. This is the only studio recording album by The Free Spirits, a group of visionaries consisting of Larry Coryell, Chip Baker, Jim Pepper, Chris Hills, and Bob Moses.This may be the first Japanese release of this album since 1969, when it was released on King Records under the Japanese title "The Dawn of Art Rock" (and with its own cover design, like Small Faces' "Ogdens Nut GoneFlake"). In other words, they were introduced in Japan in the same vein as Vanilla Fudge, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple (their third album was formerly titled "The Wonderful World of Art Rock"), and so on. However, the American version was released in 1967. In the rock world at that time, two years was a big difference. Some listeners felt, "How is this art-rock? There must have been some listeners who thought, "What is art rock? The sound was created as if they had poured out everything they wanted to do and felt, and the "winds of the times" of the summer of love and the psychedelic season blew upon them. There is no sense of stability or good manners here, but the energy that bubbles out is pleasant.The five Free Spirits were indeed living their youth. Commentary: Kazunori Harada
