Model Shop
SPIRIT —THE GROUNDBREAKING L.A. COMBO EQUALLY swayed by moody jazz and Hendrix-style rock’n’ roll—was born to record movie soundtracks. Unfortunately, they cut only one, for the seldom-seen 1969 Jacques Demy film Model Shop, but what a triumph it is: a magical blend of John Locke’s eerie keyboards, the soaring guitar of Randy California and Jay Ferguson’s impassioned vocals and percussion, backed by the rock-steady bass and drums of Mark Andes and Ed Cassidy. It’s mindboggling that something as dazzling as the Model Shop soundtrack—recorded by the classic Spirit lineup— has been languishing unreleased in the vaults for over 35 years! The stuff of longplaying-legends and vinyl-myths, this full-length album was recorded in late 1968, but the completed master was shelved before release. Rescued from obscurity at last by Sundazed, this much rumored film-score gem is now center-stage where it can take a much deserved bow.