The New Spirit Of Capitol

I found this a while back, and what caught my eye aside from the cover, which reminded me of an animation cell from Yellow Submarine ... was the list of artists represented on the back cover. Quite a few I knew and there were quite a few I had never heard of. Thankfully, on the inside of the gatefold were thirteen mini bios and pictures which I found really entertaining, and it was cool to see so many names I was not familiar with mixed in with artists who went on to become well known.

Now this was a dollar bin find, but the jacket was in great shape, and the record was almost as heavy as the 180 gram stuff that gets the kids excited today. However, it was a bit worn, and after a good clean it plays pretty well, but there are spots here and there where it sounds like a warm fire crackling in the background ... but honestly, it's not that bad.

This is more of a time capsule than it is a cohesive mix tape. With the start of a new decade, Capitol wanted to showcase how in tune they were with the pulse of the people and showcase acts they figured were charting a course to the future. The sixties were over, although it would be a few years before the hippie dippy stuff and war protest songs would fizzle out.

There was a brief period where the blues jam bands would be the flavour of the day before solidifying into the riff rock that would be the hallmark of the great '70s bands. However, mixed in with the rock bands were acts like Joe South, whose "Games People Play" is an awesome, if not really weird, song from a production perspective. The early Linda Ronstadt hit "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" was just the beginning of her impressive run through the '70s. 

Of course, you can't really take my word without a pinch of salt. I mean, in 1970 I was just a kid who had no idea what was going on. I mean, yeah, I watched the news and knew who Walter Cronkite was, and I remember Roger Mudd. I also have a lot of memories of the Cold War seeping into the cartoon hours when there'd be little segments about whose armed forces were better ... the US had this, and the Russians had that ... they make for weird memories.

Oh, speaking of weird, "Astronomy Domine" just came on by Pink Floyd. Yeah, even the bio for the band didn't know how to describe this ... "Pink Floyd will turn you on: also inside out, upside down, backwards, forwards, and into a pretzel ... they go to a recording studio and go bananas with the funny knobs and electronic apparatus. It's a trip worth taking." I guess the phrase "trip worth taking" is the key here ... in the cold light of day, this is just weird shit.

However, it is some of the lesser known acts (to me at any rate) that really stood out. Guitar Jr. ripped it up with a traditional blues number, "Broke an' Hungry," that featured some great fret work. Then there was "Boy Soldier" by Edgar Broughton Band that was almost worth the dollar by itself, and it would have been too if it wasn't for the closing track on the album, "Red Cross Store" by Mississippi Fred McDowell, which starts with Fred saying, "He don't play no rock and roll," before slowly building the groove. It was captivating. You can tell artists like George Thorogood knew who Fred was, as his style is all over their work.

This was a new decade, and the times they were a changing. What makes this so cool to listen to is how adventurous and diverse music was back in 1970 and how it wasn't a big deal to run the gamut between genres and not worry about losing your audience.

Of course, having said that, of the 13 artists represented here, not everything stuck or found an audience, but my goodness, they at least took their shot.