1968 - Spirit - Mechanical World

"Spirit" is the debut album by rock band Spirit, released on January 22, 1968. The experimental album was commercially successful, spending more than six months on the Billboard album charts, peaking at #31, and garnered significant underground FM airtime. The album was first published by Ode Records in 1968. It has since been reprinted by Sony, repackaged in compact-disc form and remastered from original analogue tapes.

Early demo recordings by the band were produced by their Topanga Canyon roommate Barry Hansen, later known as the radio host Dr. Demento. In August 1967, the record producer Lou Adler (known for his work with The Mamas & the Papas and The Grass Roots) signed the band to his label, Ode Records. The group's first album, Spirit, was released in 1968. "Mechanical World" was released as a single (it lists the playing time merely as "very long"). The album was a hit, reaching number 31 on the Billboard 200 and staying on the chart for seven months. The album had jazz influences and used elaborate string arrangements (not found on their subsequent recordings) and is the most overtly psychedelic of their albums.

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.