The Great Spectacular is a self-produced demo album[3] by the Dixie Dregs, recorded in 1975 on campus at University of Miami[1] and released in 1976 only on limited vinyl.[4][5] By the time the band had risen in popularity in the late 1970s, the record had been out of print, becoming a highly sought-after collector's item,[6][7] and was re-released for the CD format in 1997.[5]
Eight of the songs from this album were re-recorded for the Dixie Dregs' future releases. The first three tracks ("Refried Funky Chicken", "Holiday" and "Wages of Weirdness") were re-recorded on their debut album Free Fall, while "Ice Cakes" and "What If" were re-recorded for What If, "Country House Shuffle" and "Leprechaun Promenade" for Night of the Living Dregs, and "The Great Spectacular" for Dregs of the Earth. "T.O. Witcher" was featured during Morse's time with Kansas on the album In the Spirit of Things. "Kathreen" hasn't appeared elsewhere.
On the making of The Great Spectacular, guitarist and bandleader Steve Morse recalled:
"The preparation for that album is the part I liked best. We were together as an ensemble and playing—usually for free—somewhere on campus at the University of Miami or around the city of Miami. The recording itself was stark and unpolished. We had to record it in one night after a long day of school and classes. It was done late at night. We were 19-20 years-old. It wasn't really a studio. They just put the recording equipment in a live concert hall. We were set up in there with headphones. My amp was in an elevator shaft. The violin, Fender Rhodes and bass went direct. The drums were on stage. It was bizarre. We had to trudge upstairs to the very back where the projectionist would be in the movie theater and do the mix there. So, there was nothing great about the sound. But the preparation was the magic. The songs were in a good place because we had come together as a band."[1]
^"Classical mixed with bluegrass? Call them the Dregs". The Christian Science Monitor. 17 December 1981. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
^"A Steve Morse Discography". thehighwaystar.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
^ ab"The Steve Morse Discobiography". thehighwaystar.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
^. stevemorse.info. Archived from the original on 12 August 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
^. stevemorse.info. Archived from the original on 12 August 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
External linksedit
The Dixie Dregs @ Allmusic
April 12, 2024
great, spectacular, self, produced, demo, album, dixie, dregs, recorded, 1975, campus, university, miami, released, 1976, only, limited, vinyl, time, band, risen, popularity, late, 1970s, record, been, print, becoming, highly, sought, after, collector, item, r. The Great Spectacular is a self produced demo album 3 by the Dixie Dregs recorded in 1975 on campus at University of Miami 1 and released in 1976 only on limited vinyl 4 5 By the time the band had risen in popularity in the late 1970s the record had been out of print becoming a highly sought after collector s item 6 7 and was re released for the CD format in 1997 5 The Great SpectacularDemo album by Dixie DregsReleased1976Recorded1975StudioUniversity of Miami 1 Length34 27LabelDregs RecordsDixie Dregs chronologyThe Great Spectacular 1976 Free Fall 1977 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic 2 Contents 1 Overview 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 References 5 External linksOverview editEight of the songs from this album were re recorded for the Dixie Dregs future releases The first three tracks Refried Funky Chicken Holiday and Wages of Weirdness were re recorded on their debut album Free Fall while Ice Cakes and What If were re recorded for What If Country House Shuffle and Leprechaun Promenade for Night of the Living Dregs and The Great Spectacular for Dregs of the Earth T O Witcher was featured during Morse s time with Kansas on the album In the Spirit of Things Kathreen hasn t appeared elsewhere On the making of The Great Spectacular guitarist and bandleader Steve Morse recalled The preparation for that album is the part I liked best We were together as an ensemble and playing usually for free somewhere on campus at the University of Miami or around the city of Miami The recording itself was stark and unpolished We had to record it in one night after a long day of school and classes It was done late at night We were 19 20 years old It wasn t really a studio They just put the recording equipment in a live concert hall We were set up in there with headphones My amp was in an elevator shaft The violin Fender Rhodes and bass went direct The drums were on stage It was bizarre We had to trudge upstairs to the very back where the projectionist would be in the movie theater and do the mix there So there was nothing great about the sound But the preparation was the magic The songs were in a good place because we had come together as a band 1 Track listing editAll tracks composed by Steve Morse Side ANo TitleLength1 Refried Funky Chicken 3 502 Holiday 3 553 Wages of Weirdness 3 544 T O Witcher 2 125 The Great Spectacular 3 16 Side BNo TitleLength6 Ice Cakes 3 467 Leprechaun Promenade 3 198 Country House Shuffle 3 599 What If 3 2810 Kathreen 2 50Personnel editDixie Dregs Rod Morgenstein drums Steve Morse guitars Allen Sloan violin Andy West bass guitar Frank Josephs electric pianoReferences edit a b c Innerviews Steve Morse Spirit Core Innerviews Retrieved June 5 2021 The Great Spectacular Dixie Dregs AllMusic Rovi Corporation Retrieved 2013 03 06 Classical mixed with bluegrass Call them the Dregs The Christian Science Monitor 17 December 1981 Retrieved June 5 2021 A Steve Morse Discography thehighwaystar com Retrieved June 5 2021 a b The Steve Morse Discobiography thehighwaystar com Retrieved June 5 2021 stevemorse com Guitar Player December 1978 stevemorse info Archived from the original on 12 August 2012 Retrieved June 5 2021 stevemorse com Guitar Player August 1982 stevemorse info Archived from the original on 12 August 2012 Retrieved June 5 2021 External links editThe Dixie Dregs Allmusic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Great Spectacular amp oldid 1160364231, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
