The Free Spirits was a group formed in 1965 in New York City that lasted until 1968, and is the first American band credited as a jazz-rock group. Their sound incorporated elements of jazz, pop, and garage rock, according to their Wikipedia page at the very least, while the group’s Discogs page also mentions psychedelic rock. One of the band members went on to record with artists like Steve Swallow, Pat Metheny, and Jaco Pastorius after the band split up. The group only released a single album, Out of Sight and Sound (1967), during their run together, while a live album from a concert in 1967 was released relatively recently in 2011. I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Don’t Look Now (But Your Head Is Turned Around)” starts out with some super flavorful brass instrumentation that has a bit of NOLA flavor. Then the drums come in and introduce a super groovy, intense garage rock beat and introduce a sort of psychedelic chaos to the track that I’m really digging. Oh wow, this is a super interesting blend of genre, as the mixture of the garage rock and chaotic jazz flavors almost produce a strange psychedelic ska flavor. Wow, awesome track and I’m excited to hear more.
Holy smokes, “I’m Gonna Be Free” starts out with some sitar, bringing a raga flavor to the album that feels like is a complete turnaround from the first track in a super groovy way. Oh wow, the drums come in and seem to have an intense, somewhat chaotic jazz-inflected swing to them. Oh wow, the flute comes in and seems to walk the line between raga and jazz with a sort of psychedelic style. Wow, great tune.
Oh wow, “Lbod” has a bit of a slow, blues-inflected start with the distant, clean, bluesy electric guitar, which is accompanied by a gradually meandering bass line, and some bluesy-psych-inflected vocals. Holy smokes, the drums come in with a sort of soft psych swing, and the saxophone comes in with some groovy sweetness. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track. The flavor is somewhat reminiscent of The Animals’ take on “House of the Rising Sun”, thought with a bit of a jazz-inflected soft psych blues approach. Wow, awesome track.
Oh wow, “Sunday Telephone” has a sort of garage pop rock approach that seems infused with some sweet sax flavors in an upbeat, chaotic jazzy style of sorts. Oh wow, I’m really digging the energy in this track. Oh wow, the tune gets into a really sweet groove by the end of the song, which plays really nicely with the momentum built up throughout the track. Great tune.
“Blue Water Mother” starts out with a sort of pop-rock flavor in the instrumentation at the beginning. I really dig how the vocals take on more of a psychedelic approach as the different yet very similar vocals from the band members singing at the same time scatter throughout the soundscape. Oh wow, as the track continues the vocalists meet up on the vocals and resolve any sort of dissonance they might have created in the track. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Girl of the Mountain” starts out with some gentle grooves from the drums and guitar that is accompanied by some inviting flute combine to set a groovy soft psych tone. Oh wow, the melody sounds really familiar, almost reminding me a bit of a sort of laid-back, island-style groove that makes me think a bit of Gordon Lightfoot and Jimmy Buffet for some reason that I can’t quite place at the moment. Super sweet track.
“Cosmic Daddy Dancer” starts out with a hot groove and some classic psychedelia-inflected blues rock flavors from both the sweet guitar licks and the sturdy, blues rock rhythm section. Oh wow, the bluesy flavors from the saxophone make the jams that much hotter. I really dig this track. Super sweet blues rock track.
Oh wow, “Bad News Cat” seems to almost take a bit of a minor-key bluesy turn that I’m really digging, as the jamming with the saxophone, drums, bass, and guitar all seem to gradually develop as the tune continues. Holy smokes, the jams in this tune are super hot as the tune nears the end. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Storm” has a really interesting jazz-inflected soft psych sound, almost as if someone decided to write some incredibly groovy elevator music. Holy smokes, the jams led by the flute in this track are awesome. I really dig the reverberation in the vocals in this track too. Awesome tune.
Oh wow, “Early Mornin’ Fear” starts out with an energetic tremelo’d guitar sound, which sets a really interesting psychedelic garage rock tone for the track. Oh wow, the saxophone comes in and combines with the strong, rockin’ beat, the grooving bass guitar, and the super sweet playing from the electric guitar in a way that almost makes the track feel like a jazz-inflected psychedelic surf rock. Wow, awesome track.
Oh wow, “Angels Can’t Be True” starts out with a jazzy acoustic guitar that plays alongside the vocal line, giving the tune an almost psychedelic folk feel at the start. Oh wow, the saxophone is playing a really familiar lick at one point, reminding me of listening to jazz records featured the likes of Grant Green, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. Holy smokes, this track keeps getting sweeter as the acoustic guitar joins the vocals again, and the melody takes on what sounds to be a descending pattern of sorts. Wow, awesome tune.
Holy smokes, “Tattoo Man” has an electric guitar at the beginning that seems to have a bit of a country flavor reminiscent of The Byrds. Oh wow, the tune gets grooving nicely into a groovy garage rock tune that also features a sweet saxophone as the track continues. Oh wow, this is groovy. I feel like I can hear the interplay between the instruments, creating a proto-jam-band feel of sorts. Great track.
Holy smokes, “I Feel a Song (Bonus)” starts out with a really intense and groovy flavor, which leans heavily into the garage rock sound that the band displayed in the earlier tracks. Holy smokes, the piano dials the flavor up to 11 in this track, and the other instruments and the vocals seem to match that flavor in a really groovy way. Oh wow, the song fades out as though the band might’ve continued to jam on for hours. Great track and an awesome way to end the album.
Holy smokes, this album is awesome. I’m a really big fan of jam bands, and the interesting mixture of jazz, garage rock, and psychedelia certainly cultivated a bit of a proto-jam-band sound at some points. At other points, however, the band explored different types of psychedelic spaces like raga rock, soft psych, and even different flavors of psychedelic blues. If you’re a fan of jazz rock and psychedelic music, especially from the mid to late 1960s, you might want to consider checking out this album. I’m already looking into getting a copy of the record on vinyl. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A