Spirits & Worm - Spirits & Worm (1970) [USA Original]

Spirits & Worm - Spirits & Worm

Original 1970 pressing

A&M Records SP-4229  (Discogs)

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full high-res scans~

Imagine if the hard-edged guitar of Kak united with the mesmerizing vocal harmonies of the Mamas & Papas, and you'll have a basic idea of how Spirits & Worm sounds. Comparisons to Birmingham Sunday are not out-of-line, but are probably useless unless you're a private press fanatic. This band should be more famous than any of those groups, but for some reason their major-label album immediately disappeared upon initial release, dooming the music to permanent obscurity. Dealer hype has rumored that the cover artwork (depicting two goats laying on a grave) was deemed too occult-like and Satanic... but really, it seems that this album was just test-marketed in the New England area, and when no sales or radio airplay resulted, the release was simply cancelled. 

Since there has never been a proper reissue of this album, I am proud to present here a top-quality digital master for your enjoyment and archival preservation.

This LP presents a somewhat diverse collection of styles. Some tracks start out as heavy rockers, pointing the way towards Zeppelin and Sabbath ("She's The One"), but there are also some flimsier pop-oriented influences, including prominent horns ("Every Little Bit Of Love"). The songs of interest to readers of this blog are likely those that have higher-dimensional soundscapes with good guitar licks and perfect harmonization; for me the title track is probably the best, though the 45 tracks "You And I Together" / "Fanny Firecracker" are also favorites, along with the album closer "She's So Good." I wouldn't call this album a masterpiece, but... is it still a good f'n album? Yes, yes it is.

It seems that the standard reference texts give this a 1969 release year, but I think that is incorrect: this album received a 4-star review in Billboard on 28 March 1970 and appeared two weeks later in the New Album Releases for April, strongly suggesting that copies were not sent out until that spring, 1970. After that, it vanished. The album has been highly sought-after since its discovery in the 1980s, though a handful of sealed copies were found circa 1989 and sold through Goldmine magazine. The band was apparently from Long Island, New York, and I believe that the cache of LPs were also found in that vicinity.

I had known of this record for some time, but had essentially resolved that I'd never own it by the time one seemingly fell into my hands. I begrudgingly opened this sealed original copy in order to desecrate its sacred virginity for the purposes of this blog post (you're welcome for the imagery). The sound quality is exactly what you'd expect for a sealed A&M LP – phenomenal. Since there have only been mediocre, noisy, Nth-generation vinyl dubs reissued over the years, this digital mastering far outpaces the competition and will likely stand as the definitive version for many years to come. 

Lineup:

Carlos Hernandez - lead guitar

Alfred Scotti - rhythm guitar & vocals

Tommy Parris - bass guitar & vocals

Artie Hicks, Jr. - drums

Adrianne Maurici - vocals

Track listing:

1) "You And I Together" -- 2:47

2) "Every Little Bit Of Love" -- 2:39

3) "She" -- 3:19

4) "Fanny Firecracker" -- 2:41

5) "Sunny Please Hold Me" -- 3:44

6) "Spirits & Worm" -- 2:59

7) "All I Need Is A Little You" -- 4:03

8) "She's The One" -- 3:04

9) "You're Dynamite" -- 3:12

10) "She's So Good" -- 3:58

Dynamic Range: DR12
Vinyl condition: Mint (sealed)

Equipment Lineage:
– Audio-Technica VMN40ML stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2020 (recording)
– iZotope RX 8 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.3.3 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.5.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Full album available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfrq9HM3C_o

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MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/loRDzY7S#Vd6i1_7ED0uxbM_a2cVIbg

Note that the Artwork directory is fairly large (4.5 GB) and may require downloading separately. 

Spirits & Worm band photograph