My favourite song of theirs might be "Comin' back to me".
― James Ball (James Ball), Friday, 27 June 2003 09:40 (twenty years ago) link
i still say "surrealistic pillow" and "after bathing at baxter's" are masterpieces, nuts to you all.
― your null fame (yournullfame), Friday, 27 June 2003 13:30 (twenty years ago) link
― Chris V. (Chris V), Friday, 27 June 2003 13:36 (twenty years ago) link
― dave q, Friday, 27 June 2003 13:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Chris V. (Chris V), Friday, 27 June 2003 13:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Chris V. (Chris V), Friday, 27 June 2003 13:42 (twenty years ago) link
― Sean (Sean), Friday, 27 June 2003 14:22 (twenty years ago) link
Grace also beat Courtney to (Man)hole.
― Chris Clark (Chris Clark), Friday, 27 June 2003 14:45 (twenty years ago) link
― andy, Friday, 27 June 2003 17:21 (twenty years ago) link
― Paul R (paul R), Friday, 27 June 2003 18:05 (twenty years ago) link
― j fail (cenotaph), Friday, 27 June 2003 18:32 (twenty years ago) link
― eman (eman), Monday, 7 February 2005 08:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― eman (eman), Monday, 7 February 2005 08:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 7 February 2005 09:57 (nineteen years ago) link
Actually, if Grace's autobiography is to be believed, Jack's bits were enormous.
― Mooro (Mooro), Monday, 7 February 2005 17:17 (nineteen years ago) link
― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 7 February 2005 17:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Monday, 7 February 2005 17:42 (nineteen years ago) link
'rejoyce' is incredible, as is 'two heads' (it invents the first throwing muses lp, which is high praise AFAIC)
it's all about slick
also that shrill, treble-bright, highly-strung feel running through the record seems a lot closer to the acid experience than more blissy gambolling through the meadows type stuff
― blissblogga, Monday, 7 February 2005 17:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― eman (eman), Monday, 7 February 2005 18:08 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:00 (nineteen years ago) link
― deru, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 07:31 (nineteen years ago) link
BUT, if you can look beyond what they became and trim away the tripe, there's gems in there. personally, i only have the '66-'70 stuff. so, they go from stoner-hippie to LSD laced acrobatics to neo-revolutionary types in the scope of 4 years and make some great tunes. alot of "takes off" can be forgetable based on the sentiments, but it's actually pretty solid. "pillow", as much as it's overplayed, still has some highlights on it. "baxters" is my favorite, as it's the most tripped out stuff. "crown" has some holdover from that."volunteers" also has moments, but is also the last JA album where everyone's contributing, and for me, that's where it ends.
― eedd, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 17:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― eman (eman), Saturday, 5 March 2005 04:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 23:45 (nineteen years ago) link
― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 10 March 2005 22:17 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 11 March 2005 10:29 (nineteen years ago) link
― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Friday, 11 March 2005 10:47 (nineteen years ago) link
― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Friday, 11 March 2005 12:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― eman (eman), Friday, 11 March 2005 13:46 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 11 March 2005 13:48 (nineteen years ago) link
― eman (eman), Friday, 11 March 2005 18:49 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tantrum (Tantrum The Cat), Friday, 11 March 2005 19:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stormy Davis (diamond), Friday, 11 March 2005 19:30 (nineteen years ago) link
No. If explained, annoying statements such as "Better than the Beatles" are no longer nearly as annoying.
So, not in explanation of the above, Grace Slick doesn't seem like any other hippie singers, unless you count Ann Wilson and Courtney Love as hippie singers. But then, the hippies were more punk than the punks were anyway.
Jack Casady played bass for James Brown.
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 11 March 2005 19:55 (nineteen years ago) link
(What argument?)
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 11 March 2005 19:57 (nineteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 11 March 2005 19:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 11 March 2005 20:00 (nineteen years ago) link
― Burr (Burr), Friday, 11 March 2005 20:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 11 March 2005 20:21 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 11 March 2005 21:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Friday, 11 March 2005 21:34 (nineteen years ago) link
― deru, Friday, 11 March 2005 23:04 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 11 March 2005 23:19 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Sunday, 10 April 2005 10:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 10 April 2005 14:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― Curious George (1/6 Scale Model) (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 18:30 (nineteen years ago) link
re: the comparison upthread with amon düül 2, the similarity in looks of grace slick and renate knaup is uncannyhttp://www.herbgreenefoto.com/gallery/jefferson_airplane/grace-2.jpghttp://www.mic.gr/dbimages/1071_1.jpg
― Amon (eman), Sunday, 15 May 2005 01:08 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stormy Davis (diamond), Sunday, 15 May 2005 01:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― morris pavilion (samjeff), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 16:29 (nineteen years ago) link
Is that one of the earliest anti-hippie trolling songsI think I think that verse may be in the voice of the car-loving guy?
― Reese's Pisces Iscariot (morrisp), Saturday, 5 November 2022 23:47 (one year ago) link
this revive inspired me to grab the Complete Monterey bluray from that Criterion B&N sale, so thanks
Early Flight is kind of essential! I am also partial to the mono Takes Off
― sleeve, Sunday, 6 November 2022 00:12 (one year ago) link
For a long time, the only LP where you could get "Runnin' Round This World" and "Mexico," two of their greatest.
― clemenza, Sunday, 6 November 2022 00:15 (one year ago) link
It’s funny how they put those three later songs on a comp called Early Flight
― Reese's Pisces Iscariot (morrisp), Sunday, 6 November 2022 00:31 (one year ago) link
FWIW, The Essential Jefferson Airplane is actually a really solid overview of their career, even though there's an inevitable dip in quality towards the end. I'd probably add a few more selections from Surrealistic Pillow, Baxter's and Crown of Creation, and I think Surrealistic Pillow and probably Baxter's sound better in their original mono mixes (the stereo mixes feel a bit diffuse and they load too much echo on the former). But beyond that, the two-hour set nearly has all the "essentials."
― birdistheword, Sunday, 6 November 2022 01:05 (one year ago) link
If you're looking for a really good live period I'd pick sometime in 1968. Seems that they found their flow live then. I think they had started intentionally improvising at some point in 67 and found out how to do it really well by 68. By 69 you get to a point where people are complaining that they play too fast which I think must go against interplay and what's worse by the end of the year they replace one of my all time favourite drummers with someone I just find thudding. I think Joey Covington's replacement John Barbata is better but by then it's no longer the same band.
Spencer Dryden was Charlie Chaplin's nephew oddly enough. I'm not sure if the rest of teh band knew that at the time.I think he wound up with a drink problem which may be one reason he got replaced. Shame cos I do love his tone. He's one of a few drummers that really stick out for me.
― Stevolende, Monday, 7 November 2022 07:28 (one year ago) link
Looks like I was a couple of months out on Dryden's departure it's actually early 70 not late 69.He's an awesome drummer anyway. I have still never connected with Joey Covington who was supposed to be a harder hitter I think. He'd been in the early stages of the band version of Hot Tuna if I'm remembering right which must mean Cassady and Kaukonen liked him presumably,I do enjoy hearing Dryden rather than him just being a decent time keeper. oh well.
― Stevolende, Monday, 7 November 2022 18:04 (one year ago) link
Does anyone have a copy (digital or otherwise!) of Kantner's self-published science fiction novel...? This is proving really hard to track down.
― jaywbabcock, Thursday, 11 January 2024 17:51 (five months ago) link
As far as I can tell it was released as an extra feature on a self-released CDR reissue of his PERRO album, which no one seems to own...
https://www.discogs.com/release/13045080-Paul-Kantner-PERRO
and it seems to have been available at one point as a print-on-demand thing...
https://web.archive.org/web/20081218050357/http://www.planetearthrockandroll.com/
There's a preview, with scans of the entire first "chapter" available here. Looks utterly demented.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080607064028fw_/http://www.jeffersonstarshipsf.com/perro/chpt01.htm
― jaywbabcock, Thursday, 11 January 2024 18:43 (five months ago) link
Might be of interest to folks in this thread:
Here is an album reconstruction from the quintessential American psychedelic band, Jefferson Airplane. This is a reconstruction of Jefferson Airplane’s relatively un-made album, intended to be released in 1970. ... The resulting album–which I call Another Missile is Flying–is an excellent upgrade from the oft-dismal Bark, continues the trajectory of Volunteers, and incorporates the best parts of Blows Against The Empire.Side A:1. Have You Seen The Saucers?2. Up or Down3. Sunrise 4. StarshipSide B:5. Bludgeon of a Bluecoat6. Emergency7. Mexico8. Pretty As You Feel9. Mau Mau (Amerikon)
Side A:1. Have You Seen The Saucers?2. Up or Down3. Sunrise 4. Starship
Side B:5. Bludgeon of a Bluecoat6. Emergency7. Mexico8. Pretty As You Feel9. Mau Mau (Amerikon)
― blatherskite, Thursday, 11 January 2024 20:35 (five months ago) link
^^ loving that, thanks! that guy is doing the lord's work
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 12 January 2024 20:57 (five months ago) link
where's the link to download that?
― Josefa, Friday, 12 January 2024 21:09 (five months ago) link
buried in an inscrutable Google Doc link in the comments
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 12 January 2024 23:32 (five months ago) link
got it, thanks
― Josefa, Saturday, 13 January 2024 02:41 (five months ago) link
Giving a spin to Crown of Creation this past week, I only noticed that Al Schmidt produced that one. That seems a bit of a culture shock type pairing considering the long list of artists he worked with. Hippies meeting the straights I suppose…
― The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Saturday, 13 January 2024 03:16 (five months ago) link
Schmitt did several with them (including Volunteers). Here’s what the Jeff Tamarkin book says about how he got started with the group:https://i.imgur.com/APAN4FF_d.webp?maxwidth=1520&fidelity=grand
― Wooly Bully (2005 Remaster) (morrisp), Saturday, 13 January 2024 03:38 (five months ago) link
Pretty hip. Did not know he was a big part of getting them signed.
― The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Saturday, 13 January 2024 03:44 (five months ago) link
Al Schmitt was just the coolest.
― Pictish in the Woods (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 13 January 2024 04:19 (five months ago) link
That's a good book. I wasn't aware of Bless Its Pointed Little Head until I read Tamarkin's praises of it. It's one of three JA albums that I've always owned, along with Surrealistic Pillow (mono edition) and Volunteers.
― birdistheword, Saturday, 13 January 2024 19:23 (five months ago) link
Incredible version of "It's No Secret" on there.
― clemenza, Saturday, 13 January 2024 22:56 (five months ago) link
I like them a lot better in the studio than live.
― Rock Hardy, Friday, September 14, 2007 8:52 PM (sixteen years ago)
I would just like to say I was otm in this thread.
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Sunday, 14 January 2024 00:22 (five months ago) link
There are a couple of later vintage Jefferson Airplane Fillmore releases. The one from 68 sounds pretty thin but the 69 one is pretty good.
I think it and Bless Its Pointed… kind of give you an idea what it might liked to be at one of those ballroom shows. Jack Cassady is a beast and those live records get to show more what him and Jorma could do.
― The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:15 (five months ago) link
I have tried and failed to like Pointed Little Head, but I remember some good live tracks on that 90's box set?
their version of "High Flying Bird" at Monterey is so rad, why the heck was this left off the album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F51JKnSzjRs
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:20 (five months ago) link
by "the album" I mean that the song itself was never on an LP, why was it not on Surrealistic Pillow or Bathing idk
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:21 (five months ago) link
They even cut it in the studio with Signe for Takes Off!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL1vGiRYlbA
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:24 (five months ago) link
yeah I think it was (insanely) relegated to a B-side
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:48 (five months ago) link
no I guess an outtake?!? even more insane
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:53 (five months ago) link
btw this is where I mention that Early Flight also rules and is essential
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Sunday, 14 January 2024 02:54 (five months ago) link
yeah for sure, absolutely love their “high flying bird”, Marty and grace go hardAlso: “HAVE YOU SEEN THE SAUCERS”Also: JA RULES
― brimstead, Sunday, 14 January 2024 03:16 (five months ago) link
The chord progression and feel is so evocative, it seems to me there should have been some long 12 minute modal jam of “White Rabbit”.
The Airplane had the tunes but were a bit more reserved on the jams. Quicksilver had the jams but did not have the tunes.
― The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Sunday, 14 January 2024 05:47 (five months ago) link
The Great Society version of "White Rabbit" has extended groove jam opening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxxnDGWI3e8
If you're a Grace fan, that Great Society live twofer live CD is a must.
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 14 January 2024 06:13 (five months ago) link
Yeah that’s a great disc.
― Wooly Bully (2005 Remaster) (morrisp), Sunday, 14 January 2024 06:32 (five months ago) link
Say, can I have some of your purple berries?Yes, I've been eating them for six or seven weeks nowHaven't got sick onceProbably keep us both alive
I was thinking about this line from "Wooden Ships" last night; how it represents the strength the counterculture derived from the continuum of rock music history up to that point (from Chuck Berry to Deep Purple.
― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, 14 January 2024 17:07 (five months ago) link
(fwiw, took some doing, but I tracked down the 516-page Kantner book. b/w scans of 516 8x11 pages of text with drawings (by Kantner), hieroglyphics, etc. in a single PDF. If you need it, get in touch.)
For a quick overview of this acid-deranged/visionary project, which was a sequel to Blows Against the Empire: Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (album)
― jaywbabcock, Friday, 26 January 2024 19:15 (four months ago) link