Spirits Burning

Spirits Burning
Spirits Burning
Also known as	Spirits Burning & Bridget Wishart; Spirits Burning & Clearlight; Spirits Burning & Daevid Allen; Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock; Spirits Burning & Thom The World Poet; Spirits Burning vs. Spaceship Eyes
Origin	San Francisco, California, USA
Genres	Space rock; progressive rock; psychedelic rock;
Years active	1986-91, 1996–present
Labels	Purple Pyramid Records / Cleopatra Records, Noh Poetry, Gonzo Multimedia, Voiceprint, Black Widow, Mellow Records, Musea (Gazul)
Members	Don Falcone; Bridget Wishart; Full List of Spirits Burning crew members, by album.
Past members	Daevid Allen (d. 2015)
Website	spiritsburning.com

Spirits Burning is a musical collective that features musicians associated with space rock and progressive rock, including input from members of Blue Öyster Cult, Clearlight, Gong, and Hawkwind. Spirits Burning is overseen by American composer/producer Don Falcone.

History[edit]

In 1996, Falcone resurrected Spirits Burning. Spirits Burning was one of his first San Francisco bands, for which Falcone played bass and keyboards. Their first recording for a CD was a cover of the King Crimson song Red, on the tribute album “Schizoid Dimension,” released in 1997.^[1] Spirits Burning signed with French label Musea Records in 1998 and the group released their first album New Worlds By Design on Musea affiliate Gazul Records.

Falcone set Spirits Burning on their continuing mission just as the internet began to open up an index of collaborative possibilities that studio recordings and logistics previously precluded: the chance for content-creators to recruit musicians on an ad hoc basis across the ether; musicians they’d have scant hope of playing with face-to-face.

In the space rock community, Falcone has done particularly well out of this approach. A survey of his first 10 years under the Spirits Burning banner throws up some surprising contributors (including Daevid Allen, Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson, and High Tide’s Simon House).^[2]

In 2017, Spirits Burning performed live twice in England. The line-up was Steve Bemand, Richard Chadwick, Kev Ellis, Don Falcone, Colin Kafka, Martin Plumley, and Bridget Wishart.

Notable collaborations[edit]

Falcone, Albert Bouchard (formerly of Blue Öyster Cult), and writer Michael Moorcock have collaborated in Spirits Burning (under the name Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock) to adapt two of Moorcock's novels: An Alien Heat and The Hollow Lands. Moorcock also plays harmonica on three songs on the 2021 Spirits Burning album Evolution Ritual and appeared on five tracks on the Spirits Burning CD Alien Injection, released in 2008. He is credited with singing lead vocals and playing guitar and mandolin. The performances used on the Alien Injection CD were from The Entropy Tango & Gloriana Demo Sessions.^[3]

Falcone and Bridget Wishart (formerly of Hawkwind) have collaborated in Spirits Burning (including releases under the name Spirits Burning & Bridget Wishart).

Falcone and Cyrille Verdeaux of Clearlight have collaborated in Spirits Burning (including releases under the name Spirits Burning & Clearlight).

Falcone and Daevid Allen (of Gong) have collaborated in Spirits Burning (including a single released under the name Spirits Burning & Daevid Allen).

Robert Calvert's Centigrade 232 tape recitation was first used with music on the second Spirits Burning album Reflections In A Radio Shower, released in 2001. Don Falcone took the original recording of Calvert reading his poem Centigrade 232 and integrated it into the track Drive-By Poetry.^[4] Lines from another Centigrade 232 poem ("Ode To A Crystal Set") appear on the CD's opening track Second Degree Soul Sparks.

Discography[edit]

1999: New Worlds by Design
2002: Reflections in a Radio Shower
2006: Found in Nature
2008: Alien Injection
2008: Earth Born (by Spirits Burning & Bridget Wishart)
2009: Our Best Trips: 1998 to 2008
2009: Golden Age Orchestra (by Spirits Burning & Thom The World Poet)
2009: Bloodlines (by Spirits Burning & Bridget Wishart)
2010: Crazy Fluid
2011: Behold The Action Man
2013: Healthy Music In Large Doses (by Spirits Burning & Clearlight)
2014: Make Believe It Real (by Spirits Burning & Bridget Wishart)
2015: Starhawk
2016: The Roadmap In Your Head (by Spirits Burning & Clearlight)
2017: "The Roadmap In Your Heart" b/w "Another Roadmap In Your Head" and "An Ambient Heat" (7-inch single, by Spirits Burning & Daevid Allen)
2018: An Alien Heat (by Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock)
2020: The Hollow Lands (by Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock)
2021: Evolution Ritual
2022: Recollections Of Instrumentals
2023: The End Of All Songs - Part 1 (by Spirits Burning & Michael Moorcock)

Crew members and some of their sightings[edit]

The liner notes for each Spirits Burning album include the crew members (a list of musicians or lyricists who contributed to the album) and some of their sightings (a list of some of the bands or artists that each crew member has played with or is associated with).

This list includes crew members who have contributed to a Spirits Burning song or album. Notable associations are included.