Master And Commander

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a 4 CD clamshell boxed set that gathers together all the recordings made for the classic “Potatoland” album by SPIRIT. The album was born in 1973 following the release of guitarist Randy California’s “Kaptain Kopter and the Fabulous Twirlybirds” album (made shortly after his departure from Spirit). To promote his solo album California assembled a band to tour featuring original Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy and bass guitarist Larry “Fuzzy” Knight. Initially playing concerts in the Los Angeles area, the trio recorded two live performances at the studios of KPFK-FM in September 1972. Soon after the trio reverted to the name Spirit to undertake live work in Europe. Following these concerts Randy California and Ed Cassidy began work on the album “The Adventures of Kapt. Kopter and Commander Cody in Potatoland”.

Scarcely three decades old, the enduring appeal of novelist Stephen King's horror oeuvre has already begun to foster remakes of the films and TV productions already based on his most popular works. This cable TV redux of King's 1975 tale of a small hamlet beset by vampires features an ominous, brooding orchestral and choral score that's a winning collaboration between newcomer Christopher Gordon and former Dead Can Dance mainstay cum film scorer Lisa Gerrard. The gothic seasoning she imparted to her previous collaborations with Hans Zimmer (most notably Gladiator) comes to the forefront on this score's haunting title aria (composed by Gerrard and partner Patrick Cassidy) and tracks like "Bloody Pirates" and "Free in Spirit." But it's the music of newcomer Gordon (Master and Commander) whose sheer scale and ambition belie the small screen format it was written for at nearly every turn.