I’m so stoked that my buddy Luke got me for my birthday a sweet pair of Grado SR80X’s headphones. And for those of you that have no clue what they are, do me a favour and check em out NOW! The sound that comes out of them is just incredible! Within a few previous posts, I’ve already talked to you about this dilemma…..what’s the first record that I’ll listen to with these killer headphones? And the problem is how there’s too much good music out there. I want to experience sounds that I’ve never heard before within records, kinda like opening up into another dimension of a record. I don’t want to listen to something that I’ve heard billions of times like “Srgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles, or even “Goats Head Soup,” by The Rolling Stones. Sure they may be great new experiences, but I feel the need to grasp towards  something new, and that’s what I’ve finally done. This album was released back in 1970 titled, “Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” by Spirit. I’ve heard about them again from my buddy Luke, he asked me if I knew who they were, or even the record itself. And I remember telling him, no. That’s when, without hesitation, he told me to put on his pair of Grado headphones, and check this out. At that point, my mind was completely blown! I’ve never thought that a band with a single pair of great headphones can almost completely change my musical perspective. I was hearing sounds, and melodies that were always engaging. Backbeats, and bass lines that you couldn’t resist tapping your foot towards, I mean it was sort of experiencing another musical revelation.

The record opens up with “Prelude – Nothin’ to Hide,” where it starts off very folky. You’ve got simple vocals and an acoustic guitar, but then immediately takes a turn into this great engaging rock and roll beat. At that point, I was convinced that this was one of the best things that I’ve ever listened to! “Animal Zoo,” has a kick ass guitar melody with a great backbeat, but the kicker was this instrumental piece called “Space Child.” It has this sort of odd piano melody, along with a drum beat that’s being blended with all the other harmonies going off in the background, as it’s trying to give you the illusion that  you’re stuck in outer space. And what’s interesting is if you disregard the space harmonies, and keep just the piano and drums, you’ve got this freakin’ incredible jazz instrumental session. Think about it!