Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus


Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is the fourth album by the American psychedelic rock group Spirit. It was produced by David Briggs, who is best known for his work with Neil Young. The original LP was released in November 1970 by Epic. The band's lowest charting album to that point, it peaked at #63 on the Billboard 200 in February 1971, spending only fourteen weeks on the chart. However, it sold well as a catalog item and became the band's only album to ultimately attain a RIAA gold certification in the U.S., achieving that status in 1976.
On the Canadian RPM Magazine Top 100 charts, the album reached #49 and was in the top 100 for 10 weeks.
"Nature's Way" became one of Spirit's signature songs, but was not a big hit at the time, peaking at #111 on the Billboard pop charts in 1971. To capitalize on the album's enduring appeal, "Mr. Skin" was released as an A-side in 1973 and also charted, peaking at #92. It was voted number 332 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition.
Despite these commercial limitations, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus enjoyed significant airing on college FM radio. In an era when “concept albums” were a serious endeavor undertaken only by the most musically and intellectually creative bands, Spirit unexpectedly exceeded their perceived limitations. Never a commercial band, the songwriting of guitarist Randy California and lead singer Jay Ferguson reached its peak with this effort. The album was re-issued on CD in 1996 by Sony in remastered form, with bonus tracks.

Reception

Writing in Rolling Stone, Nick Tosches opined that the album was a "blockbuster" despite some shortcomings.

Track listing

All songs written by Randy California except noted:
;Bonus tracks on the 1996 reissue

Spirit

Album
YearChartPosition
1971Billboard 20063
1971RPM TOP 10049