Clear (Spirit album)

Clear is the third studio album by American rock band Spirit. It was released in August 1969 by Ode Records.^[3]

Clear
Studio album by Spirit
Released	August 1969
Recorded	February 9, 1968 – August 27, 1969
Genre	Rock[1]
Length	42:25
Label	Ode
Producer	Lou Adler
Spirit chronology
The Family That Plays Together (1968) Clear (1969) Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (1970)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Village Voice	C+[1]

The album was written largely in the wake of Spirit's work on the soundtrack to the 1968 film Model Shop. Several of the band members have said that they felt there wasn't enough time for developing the album after releasing two albums in 1968, recording a soundtrack and constantly touring. The album contains "So Little Time To Fly", "Dark Eyed Woman" and "New Dope In Town", as well as three instrumentals.

Critical reception

Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1969, Robert Christgau called Spirit "a talented group with guts of cellophane" and lead vocalist/guitarist Randy California "the rock equivalent of the cool, progressive jazzman of the '50s". He commended the album for focusing the better songs on side one of the LP, saying its "mostly excellent rock" shows Spirit "can be very good", but found songs like "Ice" on side two indicative of how "incredibly empty" the band can be as well.^[1]

1996 re-release

The original Ode Records recording of Clear would be later restored by Sony in 1996. The second edition includes both sides of the "1984" single, the song "Fuller Brush Man" (which hasn't appeared elsewhere), and a piece entitled "Coral", which is also available on the Model Shop soundtrack but is present here in an elaborately produced version. "Coral" is a dedication to groupie Coral Shields, the 11-year-old sister of Sable Starr whom Randy California was dating at the time.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dark Eyed Woman"	Randy California Jay Ferguson	3:07
2.	"Apple Orchard"	Mark Andes California Ed Cassidy Ferguson John Locke	4:07
3.	"So Little Time to Fly"	California Locke	2:49
4.	"Ground Hog"	Ferguson	3:04
5.	"Cold Wind"	Ferguson	3:24
6.	"Policeman's Ball"	Ferguson	2:21

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Ice" (instrumental)	Locke	5:52
8.	"Give a Life, Take a Life"	California Lou Adler	3:23
9.	"I'm Truckin'"	Ferguson	2:25
10.	"Clear" (instrumental)	California Ferguson	4:09
11.	"Caught" (instrumental)	Locke	3:10
12.	"New Dope in Town"	Andes California Cassidy Ferguson Locke	4:24
Total length:			42:15

1996 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"1984" (A-side of Ode single ZS7 128)	California	3:37
14.	"Sweet Stella Baby" (B-side of Ode single ZS7 128)	Ferguson	2:55
15.	"Fuller Brush Man"	Ferguson	3:19
16.	"Coral" (instrumental/includes a commercial for the album during the last minute of the track)	Locke Cassidy	3:05
Total length:			55:11

Personnel

Spirit

• Jay Ferguson – lead and backing vocals, percussion
• Randy California – guitars, backing and lead vocals
• John Locke – keyboards
• Mark Andes – bass, backing vocals
• Ed Cassidy – drums, percussion ^[4]

Production

• Lou Adler – Producer
• Vic Anesini – Mastering, Mixing
• Stachowaik – Engineer
• Steiner – Engineer
• Weinbang – Engineer
• Adam Block – Project Director
• Jeff Smith – Design
• Tom Wilkes – Design
• Guy Webster – Photography

Charts

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[5]	29
US Billboard 200[6]	55