Consumer Guide Album

Spirit: The Best of Spirit [Epic, 1973]
The notes identify them as "pioneers" of "topical lyrics that were realized by the production of the song," which makes me think again about the way the first two cuts, "1984" and "Mechanical World," shift texture and tempo. By the stars, I do believe these fellows helped invent art-rock. This is not an unmixed distinction, but it could be worse: the topicality is a notch above ordinary rock sci-fi (they have a sense of humor), the derivations more jazz than classical. The big plus here though, is that great shining 2:39 of hard rock guitar, Randy California's "I Got a Line on You." B+