''The Family That Plays Together'' is the second album by the American rock band Spirit. It was released by

Ode Records Ode Records (also known as Ode Sounds and Visuals) was an American record label, started by Lou Adler in 1967 after he sold Dunhill Records to ABC Records. It was distributed by CBS's Epic Records except between 1970 and 1976, when the label w ...

in December 1968. It was voted number 575 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

'' 3rd Edition (2000)''.'' The cover was photographed at the Sunset Highland Motel, 6830 Sunset Boulevard in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, across the street from

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...

Title

The title alludes to the slogan " The family that prays together stays together", created by ad-writer Al Scalpone for the

Family Rosary Crusade Family Rosary Crusade is a worldwide campaign that eventually became a Catholic movement, which was founded by Patrick Peyton, an Irish-American priest. The endeavor came to be a personal mission to undertake the promotion of the praying of the ...

and popular in American and British parlance beginning in the 1940s. During this time the band lived together in a house in

Topanga, California Topanga (Tongva language, Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga C ...

, near

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The title was also inspired by the stepson-stepfather relationship between lead guitarist Randy California and percussionist

Ed Cassidy Edward Claude Cassidy (May 4, 1923 – December 6, 2012) was an American jazz and rock drummer who was one of the founders of the rock group Spirit in 1967. Biography Cassidy was born in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago on May 4, ...

Music

The group expands on

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and moves toward an early form of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

. "It Shall Be" and "Silky Sam" incorporate

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

influences. "Jewish" has Hebrew lyrics taken from the traditional song "

Hine Ma Tov Hine (or Hinay or Hinei) Ma Tov () is a Jewish hymn traditionally sung at Shabbat feasts. Origins Its lyrics are from the first verse of Psalm 133, which is translated by the JPS Tanakh as "How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell tog ...

", based on King David's

Psalm 133 Psalm 133 is the 133rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity". In Latin, it is known as "Ecce quam bonum". The psalm is one o ...

. The album's string and horn arrangements were by

Marty Paich Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...

, who also created arrangements for the group's self-titled debut album.

Release history

After the first issue, the

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

master tapes for this album were locked in storage and unavailable. Because of this, subsequent CD releases by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, as well as the recent vinyl reissue by

Sundazed Music Sundazed Music is an American independent record label founded and based in Coxsackie, New York. It was initially known as a '60s-centric surf, garage, and psych label. Over time with the additions of imprints such as Modern Harmonic, American ...

, are taken from new stereo mixes made from the original multi-track tapes by Bob Irwin, Randy California and Ed Cassidy in 1996. Liner notes on the 1996 CD reissue state that it was "mixed and mastered by Vic Anesini, Sony Music Studios, New York". (The tracks that appeared on the ''

Time Circle, 1968–1972 Time Circle is a compilation album by Spirit, issued in 1991. This set draws heavily from the four albums released by the original line-up on Ode Records and Epic Records. It also includes some outtakes and versions of songs from then unreleas ...

'' compilation were remixed as well, though those mixes are different.) The 1996 CD reissue also contains five bonus tracks. Two of these appeared on the ''Time Circle, 1968–1972'' compilation, while the other three are previously unissued. In 2017, Audio Fidelity reissued the album as a numbered limited edition hybrid SACD. This was the first release to use the original stereo mixes since the 1970s. This edition also includes bonus tracks in the same mixes as on the 1996 reissue.

Track listing

Personnel

Spirit

* Jay Ferguson -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, keyboards,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Randy California Randy Craig Wolfe (February 20, 1951 – January 2, 1997), known as Randy California, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967. Life and career California was b ...

- lead guitar, lead vocals,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

- keyboards *

Mark Andes Mark Andes (born February 19, 1948) is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Canned Heat, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal. Early life Andes was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Los Angeles, one o ...

- bass, backing vocals *

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, percussion

Production

Lou Adler Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of high-profile musical artists, including The G ...

- producer *Bob Irwin - producer *

- horn arrangements, string arrangements *Vic Anesini - mastering, mixing (reissue) *Armin Stiener - engineer *Adam Block - project director *Tom Wilkes - art direction *Guy Webster - photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Family That Plays Together Spirit (band) albums 1968 albums Epic Records albums Legacy Recordings albums Albums produced by Lou Adler Sony Records albums Sundazed Music albums Albums arranged by Marty Paich