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Spirit - The Golden Bear 1978-07-21 (1978)

Track listing:
  1. Fresh Garbage 4:50
  2. Phoenix (Land Of The Rising Sun) 5:00
  3. Stone Free 7:25
  4. Nature's Way 4:04
  5. 1984 4:05
  6. Darlin' If 3:27
  7. Downer 5:15
  8. Mr. Skin 3:35
  9. Rainy Night 3:32
  10. Lost In A Feelin' 4:39
  11. Looking Down (Including Fuzzy's Solo) 11:08
  12. It's All The Same (Including Cass's Solo) 11:51
  13. I Got A Line On You 2:51
  14. I've Got To Use My Imagination 5:06
  15. Wild Thing 4:43

Notes

Huntington Beach, CA

Soundboard recording on unknown cassette recorder
Master cassette > Reel @ 3.75 IPS > cassette

Randy California never got his due as a superb instrumentalist and composer. His melodies were strikingly beautiful, and original. Not to mention the fact that he was one of the *trippiest* of the psychedelic era guitarists. While many music-industry types (many of them self-serving blowhards) claimed to have an "in" with Jimi, Randy really *did* have a relationship with the great one, and it shows in this performance. It seems like Randy lays down one unbelievable, screaming solo after another at this show. Cass is rock solid as always. Fuzzy holds it all together nicely. It must have been a challenge for him sometimes to keep up with veterans. Some of the tempos are extra-intense.

The highlights of this show are the wild versions of "Stone Free" (Randy *wails*), Downer (more shredding solos), "Mr. Skin" and the set-ending medley of "Looking Down-> It's All The Same-> I Got A Line On You." One odd thing: the encore of Gladys Knight and the Pips "I've Got To Use My Imagination." Randy can make anything into psychedelia.