Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus

Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
Studio album by Spirit
Released	November 27, 1970
Recorded	April–October 1970
Genre	Psychedelic rock[1]
Length	38:58
Label	Epic
Producer	David Briggs
Spirit chronology
Clear (1969) Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (1970) Feedback (1972)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	B link

Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is the fourth album by the American psychedelic rock group Spirit. It was produced by David Briggs, who is best known for his work with Neil Young. The original LP was released in 1970 by Epic. It peaked at #63 on the Billboard 200 in February 1971—the band's lowest charting album to that point—and spent 14 weeks on the chart. However, with strong catalog sales it also became the band's only album to be certified Gold in the U.S., achieving that status in 1976.^[3]

"Nature's Way" became one of Spirit's signature songs, but was not a big hit at the time, peaking at #111 on the Billboard pop charts in 1971. In 1973, the B-side of "Nature's Way", "Mr. Skin", also charted, peaking at #92.

The album was re-issued on CD in 1996 by Sony in remastered form, with bonus tracks.

Reception

Nick Tosches in Rolling Stone felt that despite some shortcomings the record was a "blockbuster".^[4] Appreciation of the album has grown among both old and new fans.^[5]

Track listing

All songs written by Randy California except noted:

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Prelude – Nothin' to Hide"		3:41
2.	"Nature's Way"		2:30
3.	"Animal Zoo"	Ferguson	3:20
4.	"Love Has Found a Way"	California, Locke	2:42
5.	"Why Can't I Be Free?"		1:03
6.	"Mr. Skin"	Ferguson	3:50

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Space Child"	Locke	3:26
8.	"When I Touch You"	Ferguson	5:35
9.	"Street Worm"	Ferguson	3:40
10.	"Life Has Just Begun"		3:22
11.	"Morning Will Come"		2:58
12.	"Soldier"		2:43
Total length:			38:58

Bonus tracks on the 1996 reissue

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Rougher Road" †¹"
14.	"Animal Zoo (Mono Single Version) †"	Ferguson
15.	"Morning Will Come (Alternate Mono Mix) †¹"
16.	"Red Light Roll On (Additional Single Mix) †"

• † - Tracks specific to the 1996 reissue
• ¹ - Previously unreleased material

Personnel

Spirit

• Mark Andes - Bass, Vocals
• Randy California - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
• Ed Cassidy - Percussion, Drums
• Jay Ferguson - Percussion, Keyboards, Vocals
• John Locke - Keyboards, Art Direction
• Matt Andes - Dobro (on "Nothin' to Hide")

Production

• David Briggs - Producer
• Vic Anesini - Mastering
• Adam Block - Project Director
• David Blumberg - Horn Arrangements (on tracks "Mr. Skin" and "Morning Will Come")
• Ira Cohen - Photography
• Jeff Smith - Package Design
• Bob Irwin - Compilation Producer

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1971	Billboard 200	63

See also

• Mr. Sardonicus, a 1961 horror film

References

1. "Sir Robbo's Double Dipped Dozen: a psychedelic summer selection" (PDF). Cyclic Defrost. November 1998. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
2. Unterberger, Richie. "Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
3. RIAA Database
4. Tosches, Nick (4 March 1971). "Spirit: Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
5. Spirit - The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus : This Ain't the Summer of Love

External links

• Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company