This set gathers together studio and live recordings made between 1979 and 1983 by the Randy California Band and additional live recordings by Spirit.
In mid-1979 the trio incarnation of SPIRIT broke up and Randy formed a new solo band and embarked on a European tour supporting Ian Gillan. After recording a series of demos further studio sessions produced the recordings which would form his solo album EURO-AMERICAN, released in 1982 (and included in this set). The original boxed set of THE EURO AMERICAN YEARS was compiled by Spirit archivist Mick Skidmore and was issued in 2006. The original concept for this box (which sold out very quickly in its first pressing, only to be consistently bootlegged in various countries via downloads and separate CDR discs for which the artists received no compensation) was to pull together the vast amount of music that Randy released during 1979-1983 period (although some tracks were recorded earlier and were shelved due to lack of a record deal).
Due to demand from fans, Mick Skidmore has recovered from the archives an additional two CDs worth of previously unreleased material, namely a live concert by Spirit recorded in Greensboro, North Carolina in April 1981 before a wildly exuberant audience, along with The Randy California Band’s entire set at Reading Festival in 1982 and a part of the band’s set at Glastonbury Festival from the same year.
Disc 1 and 2 – The Euro American album, Demos and Shattered Dream EP and Unreleased Tracks.
Disc 3 is Spirit Live in 1980/1981 at various venues in both Europe and the US on what were essentially Promo tours for the Potato Land album that had been released by Beggars Banquet.
Disc 4 is more demos and also soundboard recordings of a festival show at Ayr in Scotland from October 1979 supporting Ian Gillan of Deep Purple fame. This show is an attempt at a harder sound that works very well.
Disc 5 is a show from Spirit taken from Greensboro North Carolina in 1981 and this is the 3 piece version really giving a fantastic performance with three lengthier tracks at the end really giving them a chance to shine.
The Final disc (disc 6) is The Randy California Band live at the Reading Festival in 1982 and from the Glastonbury Festival in 1982, both being soundboard recordings
DISC ONE
THE RANDY CALIFORNIA BAND
1. YOU STOLE MY HEART
2. CALIFORNIA MAN
3. SONG FOR LAURA
4. THINKING OF YOU
5. REELING IN THE NIGHT
6. LANI BY THE SEA
7. SHATTERED DREAMS
8. ROCK OF AGES
9. MAGIC WAND
“EURO AMERICAN” –
THE ORIGINAL ALBUM
10. TOY GUNS
11. THIS IS THE END
12. MON AMI
13. RUDE REACTION
14. CALLING YOU
15. WILD THING
16. EASY LOVE
17. FEARLESS LEADER
18. FIVE IN THE MORNING
19. SKULL AND CROSSBONES
20. BREAKOUT
BONUS TRACKS
21. MAN AT WAR
22. WRITE YOU A LETTER
DISC TWO
1. Hand Guns
2. Come On Woman
3. Trouble In Mind
4. Cabin De Telephone
5. Shane
6. All Along The Watchtower
7. Don’t Bother Me
8. Downer
9. Brittany
10. Second Child
11. Man At War
12. Killer Weed
13. Radio Man
14. Superchild
15. Run To Your Lover
16. Love’s Not A Game
17. Love Is War
18. Childhood’s End
19. Overloaded Ships Sink (Previously Unreleased)
DISC THREE
SPIRIT LIVE 1980 AND 1981
1. 1984 (LIVE)
2. TURN TO THE RIGHT (LIVE)
3. FIVE IN THE MORNING (LIVE)
4. HUNGRY DRIVER (LIVE)
5. I WANT SOMEBODY (LIVE)
6. HEY JOE (LIVE)
7. SHATTERED DREAMS (LIVE)
8. FISH FRY ROAD (LIVE)
9. MAGIC WAND (LIVE)
10. COME ON WOMAN (LIVE)
11. BREAKOUT (LIVE)
12. DOWNER (LIVE)
13. SONG FOR LAURA (LIVE)
14. WILD THING (LIVE)
DISC FOUR
1. GROSSER HERRSCHER
2. HIS SPIRIT IS TRAVELLING ON
(PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
3. PT 109
4. WHISPERS FROM HEAVEN
5. TRYING TO GET CLOSER TO YOU
6. SINCE SHE’S GONE
7. PAST LOVE
8. STEPPING SON
9. OTTER IN THE SEA
10. CALIFORNIA MAN
11. CHILDHOOD’S END
RANDY CALIFORNIA BAND
LIVE IN AYR, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 1979
12. DOWNER
(LIVE IN SCOTLAND 1979)
13. YOU STOLE MY HEART
(LIVE IN SCOTLAND 1979)
14. MOVE ON UP
(LIVE IN SCOTLAND 1979)
15. CALIFORNIA MAN
(LIVE IN SCOTLAND 1979)
16. REBEL’S FLIGHT
(LIVE IN SCOTLAND 1979)
17. BREAKOUT
(LIVE IN SCOTLAND 1979)
18. SONG FOR LAURA
(LIVE IN SCOTLAND 1979)
DISC FIVE
SPIRIT – LIVE AT LOUIE’S, GREENSBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA
1981: PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. 1984 (SPIRIT LIVE)
2. TURN TO THE RIGHT
(SPIRIT LIVE)
3. ANIMAL ZOO (SPIRIT LIVE)
4. MAGIC WAND (SPIRIT LIVE)
5. NATURE’S WAY
(SPIRIT LIVE)
6. FIVE IN THE MORNING
(SPIRIT LIVE)
7. SO LITTLE TIME TO FLY
(SPIRIT LIVE)
8. MR. SKIN (SPIRIT LIVE)
9. COME ON WOMAN
(SPIRIT LIVE)
10. ALL THE SAME (SPIRIT LIVE)
11. I GOT A LINE ON YOU
(SPIRIT LIVE)
12. FISH FRY ROAD
(SPIRIT LIVE)
13. WILD THING (SPIRIT LIVE)
14. LIKE A ROLLING STONE
(SPIRIT LIVE)
15. COME AND GET IT (MAGIC SPIRIT) (SPIRIT LIVE)
DISC SIX
THE RANDY CALIFORNIA BAND
LIVE AT THE READING FESTIVAL 1982
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
1. SECOND CHILD
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
2. DOWNER (LIVE AT READING 1982)
3. MAN AT WAR (LIVE AT READING 1982)
4. LIKE A ROLLING STONE
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
5. ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
6. COME ON WOMAN
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
7. NATURE’S WAY
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
8. KILLER WEED (LIVE AT READING 1982)
9. RUN TO YOUR LOVER
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
10. I GOT A LINE ON YOU
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
11. SONG FOR LAURA
(LIVE AT READING 1982)
12. WILD THING (LIVE AT READING 1982)
THE RANDY CALIFORNIA BAND
LIVE AT THE GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL 1982 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
13. HAND GUNS
(LIVE AT GLASTONBURY 1982)
14. LISA (LIVE AT GLASTONBURY 1982)
15. DON’T BOTHER ME
(LIVE AT GLASTONBURY 1982)
16. REBEL ON ATTACK
(LIVE AT GLASTONBURY 1982)
17. KILLER WEED
(LIVE AT GLASTONBURY 1982)
