Today, the Polyphonic Spree have released a new covers album with takes on the Rolling Stones, Daniel Johnston, INXS and more — in addition to Rush's "The Spirit of Radio."
The lovingly faithful cover of the Canadian trio's 1980 single lands today as the closing track of Afflatus, out now through Good Records Recordings. You can hear Tim DeLaughter demonstrate how incredible Geddy Lee's vocal range really is in the player below.
"'The Spirit of Radio' actually goes back to high school," DeLaughter shared in a statement. "I covered it with my high school band, Regency, so for nostalgic reasons, we thought it would be fun to try it with the Spree."
Afflatus was recorded live in one evening at the band's home studio prior to the pandemic last year, and also features covers of Barry Manilow, ABBA, Wings, Bee Gees, the Monkees and the Association.
"It was inevitable that the Spree would end up doing this," DeLaughter added of the collection. "We were asked to play a covers show at the Kessler Theater in Dallas and were ready to go, but with the shutdowns starting to happen around the country, we made the last-minute call not to perform."
He continued: "We had all been together for weeks rehearsing, so we decided to get the band together at our home studio and record the entire show live in one take, just to capture it. We knew it was probably going to be the last time we saw each other for a long time, and the next day, everything started to close."
The lovingly faithful cover of the Canadian trio's 1980 single lands today as the closing track of Afflatus, out now through Good Records Recordings. You can hear Tim DeLaughter demonstrate how incredible Geddy Lee's vocal range really is in the player below.
"'The Spirit of Radio' actually goes back to high school," DeLaughter shared in a statement. "I covered it with my high school band, Regency, so for nostalgic reasons, we thought it would be fun to try it with the Spree."
Afflatus was recorded live in one evening at the band's home studio prior to the pandemic last year, and also features covers of Barry Manilow, ABBA, Wings, Bee Gees, the Monkees and the Association.
"It was inevitable that the Spree would end up doing this," DeLaughter added of the collection. "We were asked to play a covers show at the Kessler Theater in Dallas and were ready to go, but with the shutdowns starting to happen around the country, we made the last-minute call not to perform."
He continued: "We had all been together for weeks rehearsing, so we decided to get the band together at our home studio and record the entire show live in one take, just to capture it. We knew it was probably going to be the last time we saw each other for a long time, and the next day, everything started to close."