The Great Spectacular is a self-produced demo album by the Dixie Dregs, recorded in 1975 on campus at University of Miami and released in 1976 only on limited vinyl. By the time the band had risen in popularity in the late 1970s, the record had been out of print, becoming a highly sought-after collector's item, and was re-released for the CD format in 1997.
Overview In addition to the album, a three song so was pressed for promotional purposes, and eight of the songs from this album were re-recorded for the Dixie Dregs' future releases. The first three tracks ("Refried Funky Chicken", "Holiday" and "Wages of Weirdness") were re-recorded on their debut album Free Fall, while "Ice Cakes" and "What If" were re-recorded for What If, "Country House Shuffle" and "Leprechaun Promenade" for Night of the Living Dregs, and "The Great Spectacular" for Dregs of the Earth. "T.O. Witcher" was featured during Morse's time with Kansas on the album In the Spirit of Things. "Kathreen" hasn't appeared elsewhere.
On the making of The Great Spectacular, guitarist and bandleader Steve Morse recalled:
Track listing All tracks composed by Steve Morse.
Personnel Dixie Dregs: Rod Morgenstein – drums Steve Morse – guitars Allen Sloan – violin Andy West – bass guitar Frank Josephs – electric piano
References
External links [ The Dixie Dregs @ Allmusic]