Spooky Tooth & Pierre Henry - Ceremony (1970 US) | Prog Rock / Experimental | Full Vinyl Rip

Ceremony: An Electronic Mass was originally released on Island in the UK in December 1969 and issued in the US on A&M Records (SP 4225) in March 1970. This is the US Monarch pressing, licensed from Island Records Ltd., London. The album runs six tracks across two sides, structured as a complete rock mass - Have Mercy, Jubilation, and Confession on Side A, Prayer, Offering, and Hosanna on Side B. This was Spooky Tooth’s third album, though it wasn’t supposed to be. After the critical success of Spooky Two (1969), keyboardist and co-vocalist Gary Wright connected with French musique concrète composer Pierre Henry and agreed to collaborate on a project Henry conceived as a religious mass for rock ensemble. Wright wrote six pieces with heavy, gothic overtones and the band went into the studio with engineer Andy Johns. The plan was that Spooky Tooth would record the instrumental and vocal tracks, then ship the tapes to France where Henry would overdub his electronic contributions separately - the two never worked in the same room. When Island decided to release the finished record as the band’s next album, the group objected. Wright called it “an utter failure” and left the band shortly after, triggering a breakup that lasted several years. What you actually hear on this record is two things happening at once and not always agreeing with each other. Underneath Henry’s electronics, Spooky Tooth are playing heavy, organ-driven rock - the same dark and muscular approach they had on Spooky Two, informed by blues but pushing toward something heavier. Mike Harrison’s vocals are gospel-raw, Luther Grosvenor’s guitar work is savage in spots, and Wright’s Hammond is all over it. Then there’s Henry’s layer: tape loops, concrete noise, electronic buzzing, dog barks on “Jubilation,” hammering on “Confession,” the whole vocabulary of mid-period musique concrète dropped onto a rock album recorded in England. Critics were baffled, fans were divided, and it sold poorly outside France. The album peaked at #92 on the US Billboard 200. It has aged into something genuinely strange and interesting - the Kanye track “Problematic” sampled “Jubilation” in 2024, which introduced a whole new audience to it. 🎧 This is a full vinyl rip from my personal US copy - the 1970 A&M Monarch pressing, SP 4225. 🔥 Standout tracks include “Have Mercy,” “Prayer,” “Offering,” and “Hosanna.” 🎸 Sounds like: Deep Purple Iron Butterfly Uriah Heep White Noise Black Sabbath 🎧 Vinyl Finds Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9oSXuMGglp1N8SlbZUEtCJ7 🎧 Full Vinyl Rips Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9pEOi1yCUyAZikNmWVdz8Hn 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinyl_piper/ I sell my doubles and extras here: https://vinylpipershop.com/ 💿 Tracklist 00:00 Have Mercy 07:59 Jubilation 16:35 Confession 23:45 Prayer 34:45 Offering 38:18 Hosanna #SpookyTooth #PierreHenry #ProgRock #ExperimentalRock #VinylRip #VinylCommunity #VinylPiper