Continuing his deep dive into the tape vaults of Randy California, compiler Mick Skidmore has revisited ‘Sea Dream’, originally issued as a double-disc set in 2002 and centered around recordings, mainly instrumental, from the late 1980s intended for release under the title ‘Sea Dream Suite’.

The collection has been expanded to four discs with the inclusion of newly discovered studio recordings and live performances from the same period.

Discs one and two contain the previously mentioned suite, along with tracks recorded by California with keyboard player Scott Monahan and drummer Ed Cassidy, as well as others accompanied by bassist Mark Andes and drummer Bruce Gary. The studio recordings of California during this period are mellower, more gentle than those of his glory days with Spirit from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s, but are melodic and California’s playing is no less inspired. Rather, they’re indicative of his versatility and desire to explore music of genres of all sorts. True to the Spirit name, the recordings contain elements of jazz and blues as well as many varieties of rock. The sound quality on these recordings is superior to the 2002 release due to Skidmore’s location of master tapes of many of the recordings.

Disc three contains recordings from Detroit in August 1984, Philadelphia in December 1984, and California in March 1986. California is accompanied on all the tracks by Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy and bassist Dave Waterbury, with keyboardist Scott Monahan appearing on nearly half the performances. The fourteen tracks are highlighted by takes on well-known Spirit tunes such as “Veruska,” “Mr. Skin,” “1984,” “Nature’s Way,” “Dark Eyed Woman,” “Animal Zoo,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Fresh Garbage,” and “I Got a Line on You.” The disc is rounded out by lesser-known, but equally inspired performances on tracks such as “Body for Sale” and “All the Same.”

Disc four includes live recordings from the previously mentioned gigs in Detroit and Philadelphia, along with performances in Detroit from September 1985, and Bloomington, Indiana and Kitchener, Ontario in April and May of 1986. California is accompanied by Waterhouse and Monahan on bass and keyboards on all but the September 1985 Detroit gig, which featured original Spirit vocalist Jay Ferguson, bassist Freeman James, and Mike Lewis on keyboards, with Cassidy appearing on all sixteen tracks. The disc opens with the classic Spirit tune “Prelude/Nothing to Hide” from the ‘12 Dreams’ album, along with well-known Spirit tracks “Mr. Skin,” “Fresh Garbage,” “1984,” “Nature’s Way,” “I Got a Line on You,” and “Uncle Jack,” as well as takes on live staples “All Along the Watchtower” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” along with California/Monahan collaborations “Island of Roses” and “Is Anybody Out There,” and California originals “Romance in Time” and “Working in Kitchener.” While perhaps not as inspired as performances by the classic Spirit lineup, the takes are nonetheless well done and quite worthy of inclusion in the Spirit body of recorded works, making this expanded and updated 2025 edition a welcome addition to the collection of all fans of Randy California and Spirit.

‘Sea Dream’ comes in a clamshell box, with each of its four discs contained in cardboard mini-LP sleeves. The set includes a lavishly illustrated twenty-four-page booklet with complete track annotations and an extensive essay by Mick Skidmore. The sound is excellent, with much credit to James Collins, who prepared the CD masters. This set will appeal to Spirit fans, Randy California fans, and fans of rock music in general, and comes highly recommended.

Kevin Rathert

Spirit – ‘Sea Dream’ (Esoteric Recordings, 2025)