Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus

I had to listen to this one twice because I couldn't figure out how I felt about it. On one hand, it feels a bit scattered. There's no real through-line to the album. But the songs aren't bad. Just... oddly constructed. On a second listen-through, I was able to focus a bit more on the fantastic production. The guitar tones are killer, the mix is super balanced while still being experimental, and the overall song construction is good if unconventional. I don't know, I went back and forth on this one but I ended up giving it a 4-star score mostly because it made me stop and think. There are a lot of albums on this list that can't manage to snag my attention for more than a song or two so that deserves an extra star.

The fact that I already had 12 songs from this album liked in Spotify (all the original songs minus Space Child, plus the bonus track Rougher Road) will tell you how I feel about this album. To me this is the quintessential psychedelic masterpiece. I've owned it on vinyl for many years and listened to it hundreds of times. It's probably in my all-time top 10 albums. Spirit was a little too out there for most people. They were a little bit rock, a little bit jazz, a bit psychedelic, and several doses of just plain weird. I get why they never caught on like some of their contemporaries but when they were good they were oh so good. This album is Spirit at their best, by far. The album is a masterpiece, start to finish. It's rare to hear an album that holds together so well and doesn't really have a single weak spot. 5 stars, of course. p.s. Most people know this already, but an interesting tidbit if you weren't already aware. Listen to Spirit's song Taurus (from their self-titled 1968 debut album) and then listen to the opening of Stairway to Heaven. Randy California never sued over this during his lifetime, but his estate later did after he died. They lost, but I think it's obvious that Jimmy Page "borrowed" the iconic opening from Spirit, especially considering that the two bands had toured together and Jimmy apparently paid close attention as Randy was playing this song. Ah well, that's rock 'n' roll.

I can see why zeppelin wanted to rip them off

What.The.Fuck. I mean, they certainly tried, didn’t they?

Never heard of these and did not sound like I expected it to, judging by the cover and name. The image reminds me of Star Trek for some reason Did sound very 70s though. I do tend to like this era of rock/psychedelic rock, whatever is is. Really enjoyed it, total surprise. Really quite eclectic. Kinda progressive psych rock in parts but then not so much in others. More classic The opening to life has just begun is like the opening to America by razorlight..... Highlights: Nature's way Animal zoo Mr skin Street worm Morning will come Soldier I'll definitely be back to this. Listened a second time and it's even better... Why haven't I heard of this!? I think this is a 5

Sadistic, sinister and sexy. Dr. Sardonicus slays with this swashbuckling serenade. A summer spent in satin suspenders, sipping expensive soups, singing songs from Starlight Express and sucking my sisters' sensual saucepan-shaped swastika tits.

I think this is pretty great, its varied enough that it kept my interest the entire time, street worm is a certified banger and I've added to my general playlist. Few duff tracks but enjoyed more than I disliked

These guys are very obviously talented but they lack something a lot of their more raw psychedelic contemporaries have.

Mad album. First three tracks are good, next four are less so, When I Touch You is a strong return to form and it runs quite well to the finish. Not what I was expecting but I enjoyed this muchly.

This album seemed to lack direction in some areas. Some tracks sound good, some are subpar, some feel misplaced, and some have an interesting sound instrumentally but are lacking lyrically. The lyrics on some of the tracks seem off and don't seem to have a good flow, which threw me off when listening. Overall nothing groundbreaking. Notable songs: Nothin' To Hide, Animal Zoo, Love Has Found A Way, Mr. Skin.

This is really bad. Hippie nonsense. They be getting $0.00000000000000002 royalties on Spotify this year

'Animal Zoo' lijkt een beetje op Butthole Surfers - Dracula From Houston. 'Space Child' klinkt alsof het het grondwerk legde voor Jamiroquai - Seven Days in Sunny June. Dat zorgt ervoor dat het toch al vrij gauw enigszins herkenbaar klinkt, ook al ken ik het niet. De zanger klinkt heel af en toe als Kurt Cobain en de band als Led Zeppelin. Heerlijk gitaargeluid, goed gelaagde productie, een verzameling van verschillende (soms verrassende) instrumenten op een manier waardoor het niet geforceerd klinkt. Zelfs de koperen blazers irriteren me niet. Experimenteel zonder te abstract te worden: Dat is voor mij de sweetspot. Zo'n nummer als 'Morning Will Come' is haast pop-achtig, wat er mede voor zorgt dat het behapbaar blijft. Tel alle bovenstaande punten bij elkaar op en je krijgt een album waar ik flink door verrast word. Lekker!

Ended up really liking this album!

Spirit is severely underrated. You can usually find their records pretty cheap, even in bargain bins, and I'm honestly sort of baffled by this. I consider this album a lost gem, and am glad to see it on the list. Spirit have a very unique brand of psychedelia that brings many influences together. They definitely get a little weird from time to time, as is customary in psychedelia, but it's not overdone, and they keep it all grounded with tasty hooks underlying everything. One thing I'm absolutely loving while listening to this album on headphones is that muted bass tone! So deep and rich. Definitely a P Bass. My platonic ideal. Brings so much power to the songs. This is their last great album before they fell apart. Absolutely top tier psychedelia. If you like this, definitely check out their first three records.

As a rule, if there's a late 60s/early 70s classic/psych rock band that I've never heard of, it's either because my dad never heard of them or never liked them. So I was immediately suspicious. It turns out I'm going to have to be the one to introduce him to Spirit, as I thoroughly enjoyed this album. I didn't just like the tunes or the songwriting either; it hangs together as a concise project as well, sort of concept-y without leaning too heavily into it. I kept this one on rotation for the whole weekend and am quite likely to buy it very soon.

This is an example of a relatively unheard of recording, that rocks. I loved it the first time I heard it and have loved it ever since.

Lmao…is this where that website got its name? (Mr. Skin) Sorry for the detour…I’ve been 12 years old for the last 31 years. What a strange, stilted, intricate and exceptionally well produced record this is. Assuming that the songs are the musical representations of the “Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus”(fuck that album title, btw. It’s awful), its stilted flow from track to track makes sense: Our dreams are rarely thematically linked and often shift to unexpected tangents without warning. In that regard, the concept works. In truth, the flow of this album reminds of a Guided by Voices record in a way, with sharp, sometimes jarring transitions that don’t necessarily make sense at first, but after repeated listens feel just right. I’m willing to bet Robert Pollard is probably a fan of this record. Not that you care. You, the listeners of this site, have made it abundantly clear, by way of your Alien Lanes reviews, how shit you think Guided By Voices are. You’re wrong and you probably think this record is shit, too. One day, you’ll see the error of your ways, hopefully. [Dude, you gotta stop insulting the users of the site. They’re entitled to their opinions. It’s why god made horse races, we all get to pick a winner.] So…how about that Randy California? What an awesome guitarist. Dude was 19 when they recorded this record. 19 years old and he is on fire on this record. Fucking amazing, but I guess that’s to be expected from a guy that played in Jimi Hendrix’s band at 15. What a legend.

Another album that surprised me a little. I enjoyed this album and many of the songs on it. I could listen to it again if I were in the mood. I’d call this a decent album.

Nr. 171/1001 Prelude 3/5 Nature's Way 4/5 Animal Zoo 4/5 Love Has Found A Way 3/5 Why Can't I Be Free 4/5 Mr. Skin 3/5 Space Child 2/5 When I Touch You 3/5 Street Worm 3/5 Life Has Just Begun 3/5 Morning Will Come 4/5 Soldier 4/5 Average: 3,33 Better than I expected. This is a good 70s rock album.

Had some stuff, kinda lost track of it half way through. Will I listen to again: 10%

Psychedelics without personality. Faceless rock.

Prog rock is not my taste

Not that good

Well it’s not bad but it’s quite forgettable. The recording is good.

This might be an amazing album, but to tell you the truth, I'm so over exposed to Psychedelic Rock in this album challenge that I think I have become desensitised! Perhaps a bit of rebranding is in order '1001 Psychedelic Rock albums you must here before you die'

Yet another album the curator's here dug up somewhere, but which should have clearly left alone.

Meh

Never heard of this before and started playing it with slight concern that it might be "of an age". How wrong could I have been. Love this. Grabbed my attention and kept on shaking me to get more. On my third listen and I still don't know where the next track is going to take me apart from looking up their other releases. Thank you for unearthing another unknown gem

This is fun. It feels like prog that is both willing to be wild and experimental, but also doesn't take itself too seriously. Maybe I'm just in a good mood but I'm leaning 5 for the second consecutive day. Fave Tracks: Nature's Way, Animal Zoo, Morning Will Come, Rougher Road, Red Light Roll On 4.6/5

There are a lot of fun songs. I love the smooth transitions between a few of them. Never heard them before but I’m really glad I’ve found them now! Some of the vocals are obnoxious, though.

Beautiful! Another hidden (to me) gem, now discovered thanks to this project. A little proggy, good fun, some seriously gorgeous moments - shocked I hadn't heard them before!

Really like this album - have a cd copy of it but had not listened to it for years - the psychedelic rock from that time is not my genre - but on this album it is beaten by a strong pop feeling.

Excellent. Would listen often. 5 of 5

I put this on with absolutely zero idea of what to expect. The opening bars had me won over completely - exactly what I needed to hear on a wet Monday morning at the end of September. This lasted for about 45 seconds before the album took the first of what turns out to be MANY turns, changes in style and diversions. This isn't a bad thing at all, because while sometimes it sounds a bit rock-operaish, it keeps itself fairly consistent within the boundaries it has set for itself. A nice example from a band I had no idea about.

This band must have been a big influence on other bands and artists. I hear parts of other songs and samples cut from these songs. 5/5

F'ing loved that. Proper took me on a journey with layered music, what rock should be 5

That’s fucking awesome! I absolutely love this and am sorry it took me so long to find it!!!

This is a grand album somewhere between psychdelic rock and early progressive rock. I really enjoyed this one, especially the interplay between drums and piano.

First time I listened to this it didn't even cross my mind to give it a 5. Now on my third full listen I'm kinda loving it? Idk who the guitarist is, but I love what he does on this record Favorites: "Prelude - Nothin' to Hide", "When I Touch You", "Street Worm"

Never heard of them, but really enjoyed this; nearly ever song.

I’m at a 5. I just deeply enjoyed that; I thought the instrumentals were off the charts and the ingenuity in the production for 1970 was super cool. A lot of blended synth work here, in a way that made everything feel super sonically pleasing – “Love Has Found A Way” impressed me in particular. Lyrically, while there was some repetition, that repetition never fully extended to the vocals, and I think they were pretty damn good on this album too. Seriously, I don’t have a complaint about any track; I enjoyed this from top to bottom, and for 1970, it feels a bit ahead of schedule. Super fun album, really good vibes, great variety, and it nails down the “12 dreams” thing it’s going for. Pretty solid 5.

Psychadelic! They found so cool ways to make big transcendental sound. Love Has Found a Way is an incredible standout!

- Another just about perfect record, this one from a criminally overlooked band. -

This album holds a special place in my heart ever since my mom gifted a CD to me out of the blue many years ago. Silly hippy shit!

After the first half dozen songs I was leaning towards a four, but I was blown away by the run from Space Child to Soldier. Exceptional energy, production, and musicianship. Never heard of them before but I'm a convert

This band is famous for having all the ingredients of a great late 60s rock group but never taking off for some reason….this album is the same. It’s really good but just never breaks into great. Still a really enjoyable listening experience.

This really felt like what a perfect album should be. I thought it was pretty incredible. Like really incredible! I shouldn't give it a 5, but I really want to. So I will!

Brilliant

Man...this is excellent. One of my favorite totally new discoveries so far. The songwriting here is just top, top class. I definitely hear the parallels between this and Neil Young all the way through. If there's anything I love in an album, it's mood shifts and variations in feel, even within the tracks themselves. This album has that in spades. Favorite track: Morning Will Come

I was prepped for something offbeat from the title and cover of this album. It felt very 60’s, although the music was not as weird as I imagined. I liked this after the first listen. Since I had some time I gave it a second listen and my like warmed up to love. A good variety of tunes with some interesting lyrics that I really enjoyed. Terrific!

In the words of the bard, "This is some seriously good shit!" Everyone knows about Page ripping off the intro of Taurus which was somehow thrown out of court. What most of us don't realise is that they released some brilliant music despite never being big. Maybe they received some airplay on the US because I never heard of them in Australia. They are a band I'm going to dive into. Maybe the rest of their albums weren't as good but I'm expecting to hear something good.

Wow, I loved this one! It was sorta weird folk rock that felt like it was made especially for me!

Really enjoyed this one!! The psychedelic sound was amazing.

Inmersivo, rock psicodélico clásico de los 70. Progresivo y con impronta rock and roll. Con partes acústicas muy bellas. Una banda que seguro investigaré más.

I have not listened to this album before or heard of the artist so it really shocked me how good it was. I found myself bopping along to pretty much all of the tracks. But my favorites were: Animal zoo, Mr. Skin, When I touch you, and Street worm. It had really catchy instrumentals and addictive vocals; will definitely listen again!

super pretentious, but in the kinda way I like — 10/10

I definitely can vibe with this. It doesn't strike me as anything special. I don't think I would seek out any songs individually. But as a whole it blends well and I do think any of the songs could come on a playlist without feeling like must skips. Overall, pretty good.

I'm not usually a fan of psychedelic rock as it can be a little too experimental. I didn't get that feeling with this album. I actually enjoyed the entire thing, their melodies are clean and the production is quite good.

Sounds good! I never heard before!

petit 4 pour compenser le plagiat de led zeppelin

Great album! Strong grooves, licks, musicianship. The second half takes an odd turn, which ultimately holds it back from a 5. But overall a great rock album.

Comfy listening and a little wacky. Favorite song: Space Child.

Enjoyed this album. I felt it was slightly odd but had quite a few redeeming qualities to it. Some of the guitar licks fitted really well and it sounded nice overall. I feel it was a slightly quirky good which I do enjoy.

Really intrigued by this album, a little bit of everything.

Really enjoyed it!

I really enjoyed this one. It was amazing to know this new band.

Loved this

Drôle de son et de chanson, mérite une deuxième écoute

4 - Really enjoyed this, thought it was just a great listen

Aika modernin kuuloista, mutta samaan aikaan semmosia 70 luvub psykerock soundia. Miellyttävän kuuloista.

Interesting, very dated but nice to listen to

Una banda tan de la seva época que ara només és recordada per la gent que la viure al seu moment i pels connoisseurs del génere. La resta de la seva discografia és irregular, però aquí van excel.lir com poques altres bandes durant aquells anys

Not bad at all. Started pretty strong but couldn't keep that level of quality throughout. Still a good album but nothing amazing.

This is a really interesting album full of surprises. There are some psychedelic moments and Beatlesesque pop but then there are hard rock songs with horns making the band sound more like Chicago. And then all of a sudden “When I Touch You” swings in with a heavy metal sound! It’s a bit all over the place but also fun for that same reason. “Nature’s Way” is a really cool song. Beautiful and sort of sad. The production creates a unique mood. And I love the vocal harmonies. There are a bunch of moments on this album that surprised me with gorgeous vocals. Like “Love Has Found a Way” — one of the guys in the mix almost sounds like Michael McDonald. “Animal Zoo” is a stand out. Really catchy. It's not a perfect album. There were times I wished it was more polished. But I gotta give it credit for being so entertaining and eclectic.

Album 285 of 1001 Spirit - Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus Rating : 4 / 5 I thought this was ok when I first heard it a couple of months ago while listening through the playlist. I liked it a bit more this time. I suspect that I would like it even more if I listen again. Good album.

Don't really have anything specific to say about this album—another thoughtful and simultaneously goofy record with a complex 70s sound.

It’s not without its problems but it’s got a lot of great 70’s prog riffs and harmonies.

Pretty good... I will say this list has introduced me to a lot of American Rock of this era that I hadn't listened to before. At times this almost transcends both its era and genre.

Favourites: • Mr. Skin • When I Touch You • Soldier

Weird at parts and sometimes I wanted to say it's a masterpiece then it would slap me in the face with some meh shit. Overall a solid album with some fucking badass songs on this that I loved. Would listen to again for sure. 8/10

Much too fat and a little too long. A bit unfocused on what the sound of the album was but maybe that was what they were going for. Every song was pretty unique and did not sound similar to last. I did really enjoy the weird jammy jazzy sounds like “Space Child”. Sometimes I heard Zepplin, sometimes I heard Yes, I liked pretty much all I heard. 8/10

mad seventies rock, good

I wanted to write something edgy and say how awful this was but honestly it was kind of fun. Definitely weird and not what we normally have to listen to which was a nice change. The singing was alright too. I think this is a band I won’t forget but probably won’t listen to again. 7/10

Really enjoyed this, it's weird and wonderful.

Rock progresivo.

4.0

Pretty good

I didn’t mind this. It drew me in straight away and kept me interested to the end. What more can you ask for?

V interesting - unique sound

Never knew Nature's Way is the song from this album. I've only heard covers of it. Pleasantly surprised. Im a fan of prog rock so this is right up my alley.

I wasn’t pleased when I saw a psych album from 1970, as we’ve had plenty of those already but this is a good one. Weird enough to be interesting but still tight with focus and direction.

I enjoyed a lot of this album, felt like the longer it went on the more I liked it. I preferred the more rockier songs to the psychedelic stuff but will definitely listen to this again. Highlights: Mr Skin Street Worn Animal Zoo Morning Will Come

Enjoyed this - great guitar sound!

Jay Ferguson is awesome

Enjoyed this more than I anticipated.

Never heard of spirit and it seems like they have a pretty large discography. Trippy, proggy, sometimes funky rock. These guys must have taken a lot of drugs. It was interesting, at times really enjoyable, the rockier songs where the singer was pushing his voice were the best of the bunch. A few tracks didn't land for me but that's to be expected from a band like this

Never heard of them, but enjoyed it

Excellent find this. Never heard of them before and I cant fathom why they werent as big as other similar bands of this genre. Albeit they seem to bend into quite a few genres to their credit! Sometimes rock, sometimes pysch, sometimes jazzy, always progressive and interesting. You don’t really know what the next track will be like. Highlights are: Prelude, Natures Way, When I Touch You, Street Worm. The riff in When I Touch you sounds like it’s straight from a Sonic Youth record. Class. A strong 4.5 from me

C'était dur entre 3 et 4

Well this was incredibly fun! Never heard of Spirit before but was pretty blown away by this, it’s super varied and catchy and has quickly become a favourite dad rock album