THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER

Spirit's The Family That Plays Together is a lackluster follow-up to their first. That being said, these guys knew how to write a sure- fire top-40 hit single (the opening track, I Got A Line On You), But following that opening shot, we get an onslaught of slow- to medium-tempo songs, with It Shall Be, Poor Richard, and Aren't You Glad rising above the comparative mediocrity of the rest.

Now, there is a lot of interesting instrumentation here, and the expermentation of the first album continues. But I find the songwriting weak for the most part: a careful listening suggests that much of this is mere sketches of songs, with orchestration laid on top. The band is still searching for its sound, but this is nonetheless a reasonably good listen for anyone interested in late-60's West Coast psychedelia.