The Thirteenth Dream was the second (and final) "reunion" album from Spirit, and their eleventh album overall. It features re-recordings of seven of their best-loved tracks, along with three new songs. The most noteworthy things that can be said about the album are in regard to the excellent fidelity of the album, as it was originally recorded by an audiophile label and is an early digital recording (dating from December 1982), and that it was the first Spirit album to be released on CD, as it appeared in that format from Mercury Records in West Germany in 1984 (consequently, it is also one of the best sounding early CD releases from a rock band, probably due to the recording technology that was implemented).

The Thirteenth Dream
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1984
Recorded1982
Length39:59
LabelMercury
ProducerDavid DeVore
Spirit chronology
...Potato Land
(1981)
The Thirteenth Dream
(1984)
Rapture in the Chambers
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

As previously mentioned, this album was originally released on CD in 1984. However, the original CD is incredibly rare. It was later reissued in 2004 by Beat Goes On in a two-fer with Future Games.

A version of "Elijah" (originally released on Spirit) was recorded during these sessions and issued as the B-side of a maxi single. It has not appeared on any of the CD releases, nor on the LP.

The album was issued as Spirit of '84 by Mercury in the United States, with a different cover photo.

Artwork for the U.S. version of the album

Track listing edit

All songs written by Jay Ferguson except noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Black Satin Nights" 3:12
2."Mr Skin"Ferguson, California, Andes, Cassidy, Locke3:39
3."Mechanical World"Andes, Ferguson5:50
4."Pick It Up" 3:00
5."All Over The World"California, Crawford, Henke3:57
6."1984"California3:59
7."Uncle Jack" 2:59
8."Nature's Way"California2:44
9."Fresh Garbage" 3:05
10."I Got a Line on You"California7:34

Personnel edit

Spirit edit

Additional musicians edit

Production edit

  • David DeVore - producer
  • Gary W. Gratzer - executive producer
  • Thomas L. Chavey - executive producer
  • Michael Verdick - mixing
  • Mike Nocito - mixing
  • Allen Sides - engineer
  • Stan Katayama - assistant engineer
  • Mark Richardson - assistant engineer
  • Mark Ettel - assistant engineer
  • Art Ache - art direction, illustrations
  • Patti Heid - art direction, illustrations

References edit