History of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE part three |
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- čas přidán 26. 04. 2023
- Part Three of this Jefferson Airplane continues with their seminal album Volunteers and takes you through the demise of the band in 1972.
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I thank you. - Hudba
Always one of my favorite bands. They received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 at the Grammys but there was no tribute segment for them on the CBS broadcast. They honored Bowie and other artists that night with special tributes, but not the Airplane. I vowed then never to watch another Grammy broadcast.
I haven't watched the Grammys for decades. Top 40 slop.
"Blows Against the Empire" has been my favorite and most frequent psychedelic music experience over the past 53 years, and is now fused with my brain cells. I don't care what the critics say, I love that album!
i remember critics dumping on "Blows Against the Empire" in 1971 and now everybody crows about it. i loved it then, i love it now.
To me it was the culmination of all that had preceded it, a masterpiece of sound and spirit.
lets go thoghter is the greatest thing ever and all of side 2
God, Volunteers is so good. "Either go away or go all the way in..." Scintillating performance by Grace. Maybe her tour de force. And "Wooden Ships," God, just incredibly performed and arranged. Maybe my favorite Marty performance.
God, they're just all in full form on this album.
I used to have a tee shirt with the album cover in high school. God, I loved that shirt. Jesus, I really worshiped that band. After the Beatles they were probably my second love. Just something about them went all the way down for me. The apocalypticism, for sure was a big part of it, mixed with the psychedelia. They just took really took me places. And really made me feel. And Jack's contrapuntal playing. Just such rich, rich music.
Drugs are a hell of a drug 😆
Heard the Airplane for first time in 1971 with “The Worst Of.” Great album 😊
Oh the Worst! Yes! But for me it was 1991. Actually I had Surrealistic Pillow vinyl before that. I got really into their free speech radical element and of course peace and love. Amazing band. My preference vox go Grace, Paul, Jorma, Marty.
I was very happy that Grace came back to Jefferson Airplane one last time before retiring because she very well could have had her swan song with the success she had without Kantner in Starship. I consider it a most generous act and it erased so much of the negative baggage she had accumulated throughout her career.
Plus her Freedom is the only great song on the reunion album.
@@seed_drill7135 - I loved "Planes" also. It had a great music video.
I've recorded in what used to be Wally Heider's studio in San Francisco. It is currently known as Hyde Street Studios and it is smack dab in the middle of the Tenderloin. I was somewhat fearful for my life going there back in 2015 and that neighborhood has gotten even worse since then. Really bad urban decay. San Francisco is becoming the next Detroit in real time.
I didn’t realize it was in the tenderloin. I was there in 2020 but avoided that area for obvious reasons.
Thanks so much for your kind words about my Airplane bio! It was truly a labor of love. Enjoyed your history of the band--great job!
Thank you so much Jeff. Several commenters have agreed on the great value of your work and many others are on their way to purchasing it! I appreciate you commenting.
@@popgoesthe60s52 That's great! The book turns 20 this June and I'm always amazed that people are still discovering it and enjoying it.
@@jefftamarkin I have a question for you. I'm getting some grief on the pronunciation of Matthew Katz's last name. You wrote that he pronounced it "Cates" which is what I used in the video. Did everyone pronounce it that way or was this on of Katz's eccentricities? Isn't is amazing this guy is still causing trouble?
Jeff-as a 20th Anniversary special, would you be willing to dig out those unused pages for the fans ( like us at JEFFERSON AIRPLANE : COME UP THE YEARS)?
@@popgoesthe60s52 Well, he pronounced it Cates but I'm sure some people pronounced it Cats just to annoy the bastard. Yeah, he really needs to disappear now. He caused enough people grief.
Jeff Tamarkin's book is incredible. Just reread it. It's highly detailed, with humour and great respect and understanding of the group and its members. Highly recommended read.
Read it a multitude of times. I literally waited decades for an Airplane bio.
Love your book. I've read it so many times I have sections memorized.
"up against the wall motherf****r" did so capture the sprit of the times....VOLUNTEERS
PRETTY AS YOU FEEL is a groovy song, love that one, the other song on BARK I've come to like is Kaukonen's FEEL SO GOOD, he really started flourishing on those early Hot Tuna records.
"Feel So Good" is the standout cut on the album for me.
Bark is my favorite JA album
Those two songs were my favorites from that album, also👍
Wow, this was SO interesting, and a real treat to watch. I've loved their music for decades, but once again, so much of their story I didn't know!
Great series! JA is my favorite rock group of all time. I would buy everything recorded as soon as it was released.
Thank you, Buddy!
I really didn't know about all those albums released after Volunteers. I'll have to check them. Certainly much better than all the crap being put out these days.
I wondered at the time how they got away with the MF on Volunteers and I never would have guessed it had anything to do with Hair. The sci-fi parts of Blows Against the Empire had some of the most absurd lyrics of any rock album ever but the music was terrific. They were always right in the thick of it in the late 60s. I never did get into Bark, I had greater expectations of them. Hot Tuna was the best side project and I think the song Genesis from Quah , completely in a folk style - no blues at all - is something truly special by Jorma. I'm glad you take the time to do these bands in detail even if it takes a few segments.
Thank you, John. Yeah, the lyrics from Blows, blow. But I too love the music!
Love Quah.
Absolutely. Indeed the entire Quah! album is terrific (I think.)
FYI on the VOLUNTEERS album, there was controversy because there was an organization called Volunteers of America, and they didn’t like that the album was called Volunteers of America.
They are still around.
Grace Slick once said that she slept with every member of the band except Marty Balin.
Gross...
Like way totally gross and so yucky.
Hot 🥵
I have such great memories of the Jefferson Airplane at the Fillmore just after I got back from Vietnam. It was the Summer of Love. I was assigned to the Presidio after my combat tour and the first thing I did was see this band at the Fillmore. Great memories. Curative. Seriously so.
Wow, what a time to see them. Thank you for sharing!
1970: Stones peaking after the Beatles quit, Grateful Dead coming into their own as the Airplane broke apart. Forerunners followed by heirs apparent in their respective scenes.
Great observation, Vortex.
Growing up in this era and just recently starting a tribute band to this era called "Hippie Vibes" I believe Grace was the shining star of Jefferson Airplane and Balin was the shining star of Jefferson Starship, I think Jefferson Airplane would have crashed had it not been for Grace. You do an excellent job with these videos and thanks for posting them. New Subscriber.
Another very good analysis, thank you! The Jefferson Airplane was primarily a counterculture band and as with other bands such as, Quicksilver, Moby Grape, Country Joe & The Fish, etc., when the counterculture was over, their popularity and influence started to wane. It might be fair to assume that, aside from the Airplane and The Dead, most of today's young rock listeners have never heard of those bands. That's a shame because there's a lot of good music from those groups. But the zeitgeist today is different that in the 60's, and those songs just don't mean the same thing to contemporary listeners. I lost interest in the Airplane after Volunteers and had no interest in the Jefferson Starship. But I did see the group live in a Long Island theater sometime in the early 1970's and it was a very good show.
Blows Against The Empire is one of my desert island albums, in 1971 it was the first rock album ever nominated for a Hugo Award. The album's insert had an advertisement which called for 7,000 people with various skills to join in an interstellar journey after a soon to be built starship was hijacked, a fantasy that some took seriously, LOL.
I agree, the Airplane helped define the 60's, they were bannermen for the counterculture, they were as their introduction at the Monterrey Pop Festival indicated, "a perfect example of what the world was coming to". All of that makes Grace's negative comments so disappointing but she did have a cynical personality and her issues with alcohol didn't help.
No single event ended the 60's but it wound down as the war ended, long hair, smoking pot and other things, which were once counter, became mainstream. White powder drugs helped ruin what started out as a search for higher consciousness and the expiration date for taking advantage of the privilege of youth had arrived. It was a special time though, with some great rock music, art, literature and fashion being born from the influences of the counterculture lifestyle. It's always good to be young but to have been young during the 1960's was very special!
Thanks again for another great video!
Hello Gene and thank you for the substantive comments. I agree, much of the 60s counter culture music is lost on younger generations but I am pleased to see at how well so much music from that time holds up. I'm sorry I forgot to mention the Hugo award... that does elevate that album considerable. I listen to that more than any other Airplane album. I used to envy those who experienced the 60s in real time but I'm quite content to view it and experience from the generation that followed. Much thanks for your continued support, Gene!
@@popgoesthe60s52 I just joined as a Patreon.
@@geneobrien8907 Thank you, Sir!
I thought Blows against the empire’s the song A Child is Coming was overlooked in this video. That was great balance of Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, harmonies of David Crosby and the outstanding bass line of Jack Cassidy to make one of my favorite songs of that album. Outstanding work!
I’m 53 and of everything I’ve seen on CZcams, this is the most comprehensive, constructive, thorough and detailed review of anything I’ve seen. Thank you for this, it is sincerely appreciated. I’m attempting to learn as much as I can about this period and this is extremely well done and helpful - intellectually superb, and as complete as anyone could have produced - Thank you!
That is high praise, Dave. Thank you. More to come!
And I agree
@@popgoesthe60s52 ~ I hitch-hiked across the country to San Francisco at the end of 1977 and made friends with Jack Casady's older brother "Chick" at a small nightclub Wavy Gravy started -[the first place I went to] -
a year or two earlier on Haight street. He let me crash at his place until I found a girl who had been living there since 1967 who I moved in with. Skip Spence lived up the street close by and we became close friends as he introduced me to all his friends and my job was in a sense to keep him out of troubles [lol] !!! We could always pick up royalty checks at the Airplane House if we were too broke and I had a wild time for years with him. We could visit Jorma at his home - or get the VIP treatment from Bill Graham if he was at one of his venues and there was never a dull moment. I could go on and on - but the best was when I stayed with him at his place in Santa Cruz and Moby Grape's manager then - John Chesleigh - had a studio in his garage where he was helping form a new band with Steve Mariott from Humble Pie and jams happened all the time and Skip had a really beautiful 'girlfriend/groupie then even though everyone knows he had in effect lost a lot of his mind and would laugh and talk to himself often!!!lol. I could go on and tell about the times we went to "Dinosaurs" gigs and he sat in etc. - just tell me what you want to know... www.discogs.com/master/314967-Moby-Grape-Live-Grape ~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_(band) ~ Skip's death : www.theguardian.com/news/1999/apr/20/guardianobituaries1 ~ Last good recording with Jack : www.discogs.com/release/14466813-Various-More-Oar-A-Tribute-To-The-Skip-Spence-Album
@@FellAnderror Wow, what an experience, Phil! Very cool!
if you want to complete these wonderful videos, get a copy of Jorma's book Been So Long which explains these years (and beyond) through his point of view.
I was at the '89 JA reunion show @ the Concord Pavilion. Epic !
Great series, Matt! The Airplane had an excellent run from Takes Off to Volunteers. Funny how it dropped off after that. I bought Bark when it was new. One of my first LPs to enter the.... trade pile.
I really appreciate the way you relate to the audience. There's a certain level of intimacy, a kind of bond that's very clear. It's sort of like you're talking to your friends, and that's a surprising thing to be able to experience on the internet.
I appreciate the kind comment, Robin. I do try to make these videos conversational and personal. I'm glad I'm drawing viewers that notice! Much thanks.
Excellent series! Volunteers is one of my all time favorite 60's albums. Also includes one of my favorite gatefolds with the peanut butter and jam sandwich.
I've always loved Blows Against the Empire too. And I love Paul K's voice and how it blends so well with Grace's. One of my all time favorites. Thanks for bringing it up.
Yes that album has so much life to it! Thank you Guy.
Great series, Matt. It truly reflects your love of the subject matter. Thanks very much.
I appreciate the great feedback, Silas!
Beau Brummels , Animals, Turtles & Rascals. Will be listening . & thank you 👍
Bath Festival Of Blues And Progressive Music 1970:
Volunteers, Somebody To Love.
Blows Against the Empire was my favorite zone-out stoner album of that era. There's a very trippy rocket blastoff piece mid-album on the Hijack side, which was as good a sonic sci-fi effect as I've ever heard. Very War of the Worlds without the war.
Yes, that album still sounds good!
"Very War of the Worlds without the war."
To expand on your comment: they do sample audio from the movie ("lemme through!") - always loved that Starship album. For me, Volunteers is the best - I was 13 and it inspired a version of 'adulthood' in me, of course way different than what was expected at the time. The song "Laughing" from the Crosby album you mentioned is the greatest example of those particular musicians (especially Garcia & Cassidy) playing together, a beautiful song.
Nice series, Matt!
Thank you for this, I feel that 'Surrealistic Pillow' and 'Volunteers' are the ones the most worth having. Interesting.
Thank you for this series, very well done! Just my .02 .... I remember seeing JA do Volunteers on Dick Cavett that famous night , no tape delay back then, MF'r and all. I also had no idea that night that a few months later, on Dec. 6, I'd be standing on turn 3 of the Altamont Raceway watching the band being surrounded by the HA on one of the most amazing days of my long, sordid life, lol. And as for the reunion tour, you can see from CZcams that they hired Kenny Aronoff and, as always, he overplayed and basically ruined all those great songs. Thanks again for a splendid effort!
Papa John Creech had a band that performed in Oklahoma in 1977 where I saw him. Great, tight band.
I was at Winterland the night that Papa John joined and Marty Balin quit the Airplane...Marty said into the mic, "I have to get another band". I think it was a new year's concert but that was a LONG time ago;) The crowd did love Creach's licks.
This is a "band", in one form or another, that was always in the backdrop of my musical life having been born in the early 70's. This was a great series Matt, I learned a ton from it!
Thank you, J - that Starship music still takes me back!
Thank you for doing this series on Jefferson Airplane. I particularly liked part three because you covered so much I didn't know about the history of the band between Volunteers and the first Jefferson Starship album. I was 10 in 1970 when a friend came over with the Worst of album. He played We Can Be Together and we thought we were getting away with murder just listening to it. I ultimately got my own copy of this album. To this day I listen to this collection and strongly believe it holds up against so much that has been released since. I admire Jefferson Airplane's unique sound and strongly believe they are an underrated band. Thank you for shining a spotlight on them.
Same here, I was 10 also and an older neighbor (teenager) had the album. "We can be together" had us snickering for weeks!
My pleasure, Dana. Thank you for the feedback!
Thank you! Jack and Jorma played phenomenally well the other night. Best I've seen them in 20 years
That is great to hear! Thanks for the update!
Wow, where did they play
Right on, hot tuna 🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I lived in the Haight / Ashbury. I was at Altamont. I was at the Kent State gig. I followed the Airplane. I have to say. You got a few things just plain wrong. I could tell you If I ever met you. But that's OK. This 3 part history was great, and brought back a lot of memories. Thanx!
If you are going to tell me I got something wrong, then have the decency to say what it is, Jeffrey. That's how this comments section works.
The Reunited JA Were Great In 89'! I Was At A Show In Michigan & An Appearance In DC At A Homeless Benefit... Grace Was Trying To Save The Pandas... 💙💛 Great Series Matt!
Thank you, Spike!
You did a fantastic job of telling the story of this great band, thanks for sharing
Balin's voice and songwriting were always a key for me with this group. He was head and shoulders above so many of the era. And he seemed the more disciplined of the JA band.
he was pushed out by grace n paul--the cocaine, anger, rudeness. 'STARS' egos.
he is only one who would not sign a contract and quit twice ! you kidding me
@@roystonmason9125 marty founded band, wrote, sing and led.
@@kevinjoseph517 GRACE owns the rights to JEFERSON STARSHIP JEFFERSON AIRPLANE and STARSHIP she is the one and only one member in all THREE! from 1967 until 1989 the longest surviving memebr and the original QUEEN OF ROCK AND ROLL !kevin MARTY QUIT 2 TIMES boo hoo
how disciplined is a flower or a bird? does a bird sign a contract ? HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW bout MARTY ? have you met him ? how bout GRACE ? or PAUL? cmon man I have met PAUL and MARTY and GRACE yelled at me at SOLID GOLD !!!
Crown of Creation is my favorite album but Baxter’s has two Slick majestic tracks, Rejoyce and Two Heads maybe my all time JA numbers. Thanks for the 3 parts, all of them highly enjoyable
Thank you, Maurizio!
Loved Good Shepherd on Volunteers ! Great Fillmore East show on Volunteers tour in Nov 69
Great stuff. Such a refreshing break from the daily deluge of politics and economy. 🙂
Got a Revolution is indeed one of the very best band biographies, right up there with Lewisohn's Tune In and Rogan's books on the Byrds and Neil Young.
I'd add Hoskins' Across the Great Divide and Marsh's Before I Get Old.
Great conclusion. According to either the book by Jeff Tamarkin or Jorma himself (apologies; can't remember which) Spencer Dryden's relationship and subsequent marriage to Sally Mann Romano was actually set up by Grace as a way of ending their own relationship, rather than it being something that miffed her.
Spencer moved on to the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and fit in real well with their great early 70s albums.
Eskimo Blue Day is such an interesting song. So unique
Another epic presentation full of things I never knew, and inspiring me, a geezer, to play my guitars and listen to albums and songs :) Sincere thank you!
My pleasure. The Airplane still inspires!
Always found is amusing how much of the "San Francisco" sound was recorded in L.A. the first 5 Jefferson Airplane LPs are where it's at for me.
Jefferson Airplane is one of my favourite bands, up through Volunteers. I thought the 1989 reunion album was okay and occasionally listen to it still, the glaring issue was they recorded it track by track (at The Record Plant, Los Angeles) and you can hear it unfortunately with the interplay or lack of though the musicianship was still there. Jack Casady is also a big influence in my own bass playing, a six string fretless bass guitar (NS Design).
Thanks for these videos, very informative. JA were a bit before my time but I discovered them in the mid 80s and have loved them ever since.
I love Bark. Law Man, Crazy Miranda, When the Earth Moves Again and War Movie are fantastic. Kaukonen's songs are solid. I also learned not to argue with a German if I'm tired.
I love Chrome Nun to death. Fantastic album! It intrigues me hearing artists like this at the frayed ends of their creativity, fighting to get that one last rep in.
One of the things that makes these mini-documentaries/reviews some of the most enjoyable content of its kind, and arguably among the best of anything on CZcams, is that you TALK to us, rather than reading at us as so many CZcamsrs do. You know your material, and it shows.
I have to take exception, however, to your dismissal of "Bark", especially the observation about Casady's bass playing being absent. You fail to mention at all the memorable track "War Movie" -- maybe because of its sci-fi theme? But it's a very strong track, and Casady's bass really does stand out in it. Likewise, and possibly for the same reasons, "When the Earth Moves Again", both strong Kantner songs, on which Grace Slick's voice shines even though in a backup role. Also, no mention of the a capella "Thunk", one of my favorite tracks, not least of all because of the way it segues into "War Movie".
Hello Gamina, thank you for the comment and kind words. I admit, I have never been high on Bark and I personally found it a tough transition from Volunteers. But I know many love this lp. Sorry I gave it short shrift.
"We could be together" had one of the first instances of the MF word being used in a song, as you point out. But she sang it matter of fact...I believe the MC5 was first, but they sang it with DEFIANCE. This led to the Airplane's album not being stocked in some stores, hurting sales.The line that chokes me up is the line "we are outlaws in the eyes of America."
I didn't realize that stocking the album would be affected by the obscenities!
After listening to their cd's several times, I came across 'Eskimo blue day' on CZcams, live at Woodstock (unfortunately without moving image). Impressive and I came to the conclusion that Jefferson Airplane was the best band ever. And fortunately there is a Woodstock recording on cd with this song as well. Wonderful what the band has achieved with a leading role for a fabulously good Grace Slick. This will never come again, but the cd is there! As well as the special lyrics of this prophetic masterpiece.
The band had never performed ‘Eskimo Blue Day’ until Woodstock. Fearless band.
On "A Child is Coming" from Blows Against the Empire, David Crosby and Grace Slick sing some exquisitely beautiful harmonies together!
Loved the album, that song and Have You Seen the Stars Tonight (with David Crosby) especially.
It is said that there is some backwards masking on this song...
Excellent series! The clear, concise perfection of Surealistic Pillow” was never to be duplicated……..It’s kinda strange hardly anyone talks about them playing on a rooftop a year before The Beatles did!
Wasn’t a year, but a two month gap between them and the Beatles performing on a rooftop.
You'd be surprised at all the things that someone did before the Beatles did. They always get credit, but usually some unheralded band or artist deserves the credit. Not to take anything away from the Beatles, but nothing on this planet has ever been hyped more than them. It crowds out other deserving artists. And even if it was 2 months before the Beatles and not a year, Jefferson Airplane did it first.
@@simplechronology2605 Maybe in the future people will think that U2 started it all.
You gotta remember, The Beatles rooftop concert was simply the easiest way of finishing the Get Back filming process. It's the general public that views it as something unique.
Indeed, and it's only because of this series I now know
They were supposed to have played near me during the reunion tour, as Kanter married a lady from Hickory, NC, but Grace got arrested (again) and the show didn't happen.
Thanks again Matt. To quote The Grateful Dead "What a Long Strange Trip it's Been" (or not long enough). Some people think there might not be enough interesting stories or music to sustain a channel devoted to the sixties. I hope you prove them wrong on that Matt! I'm a child of the sixties , but it's not just a nostalgia trip for me. It's a musicological Mystery Tour! I noticed on the Volunteers album Wikipedia page that the Ace of Cups sang backing vocals on the record. They got back together recently and they didn't even release any records in the sixties.Even they might have stories to tell. Great music was made by the big names and obscure ones.
Hello David. I have been doing this a little over 3 years and I have a 10-year plan. But I have 20 years worth of videos to produce so I am not worried about content. 🙂 There are plenty of groups like Ace of Cups to bring to the attention of 60s music fans, so stay tuned!
Well, I figured Jefferson Airplane was one group I knew about all there was to know about. But I also figured I'd enjoy this series, just not learn anything. I learned things. Thank you Matt!
My pleasure, Jon! Thanks for the nice comment.
I've seen Airplane several times. I have "Bodacious" (M Balin), Fandango (J Covington), and "Black Kangaroo" (P Kaukonen) which I bought right when they came out and are somewhat hard to find. Not many know about these. But here's a trivia question for anyone: Can you tell me what one album featured Craig Chaquico on ferocious guitar before joining Jefferson Starship? After J Starship, he later went on to release several solo albums on the Higher Octave label. (P.s...Excellent job putting together this highly informative video). Thank you!
One of my favorite bands growing up in the 60s, in the state of Iowa. Always dreamed of living in SF and finally moved there in 1999. Thirty years too late. A marvelous video, as usual. The Jefferson Airplane was booked at the University of Iowa student union in 1969. They canceled and we got stuck with Led Zepplin. Oh well, now I know why.
The City of San Francisco has a lot of history, if i could i would also move there.
Thank you for watching, Huskrrr. To bad they cancelled the student Union show!
One striking thing about Volunteers (also true of After Bathing At Baxter's) is that Marty Balin-who started the band and wrote or co-wrote all eight original songs on its first album-has just one writing credit, and a co-writing credit at that.
Marty always said he couldn't write on the road, which is probably true. He never was a prolific writer even in the Jefferson Starship days. A pity because the songs he penned in the early Airplane days are among the very best the band ever did.
Sure enjoyed this. That was an incredible era in San Francisco both good and the bad. It’s amazing how much it woukd cost back then to see two or three bands for a few bucks. You could scour street gutters for glass soda bottles and sell them to grocery stores and get the money.
This is when I wish you hadn't confined yourself to the 60's. I'd love to see you research and present Jefferson Starship. But, I can appreciate being focused.
Yes, I hear ya. I'll ber lucky to get my 60s bands done within a 10-year frame period!
Well done Matt. I enjoyed all 3. (I waited so I could watch back to back to back) :o)
1988 Airplane reunion, I traded My ticket for Jerry Garcia band with Bob Weir backing them up. Acoustic. That was in Worcester,MA 9-11-89
Clarence Clemons played entire show
Good Shepard, a Great song. I think that it has the best guitar parts of any of their music. love the music. A Great Album!
Part #1=Excellent Part #2=Excellent Part #3= Excellent
My wife and I were both born in Feb 1952. We're both left handed. I've been mostly a drummer (some guitar) since 1964. We met when we were 15 years old and next door neighbors. We saw Jefferson Airplane at Pirates World in Dania Florida in 1969 or 1970. Always loved them. Always Great. Thank You for these 3 wonderful posts.
Best Regards from Tim & Sheila
Hello Tim and Sheila! What a great time to have seen them live! I appreciate the comments and support.
I saw them at Pirates' World as well; most pf my surf community from, S. Broward High', actually worked at the Pirate World¡ 😅
@@SuperAmin1950 That's Very Cool. I went to Norland in 10th & North Miami Sr. High School in 11th & 12th. Great Concerts at PW.
Pop goes the 60s!! Thanks Matt for your incredible work!! Killer job
Hey Cleve - thank you for the support - more to come!
Hey man, thanks for finally turning on the lava lamp at 17:56, which must have been turned on at least a couple of minutes earlier to get going. I've appreciated Jefferson Airplane since the mid-sixties, and particularly over time the writing of Paul Kantner, Marty Balin's voice, such as i"Today", and Jorma's song "Turn My Life Down", and Jorma's guitar work all along. Jorma Kaukonen's album "Quah" is noteworthy in the later part of The Airplane and it's component parts. thanks for your documentary of a great band, Jefferson Airplane.
While the tapestry of the '60s may have started with conservative stripes, by '67 they were giving way to tie dye and Jefferson Airplane was at the forefront. Grace was controversial and opinionated and I love her for it. Still, there is no JA without Balin and his incredible voice. Everybody wanted Marty and Grace singing together, so Jefferson Starship's success was no surprise. I still spin Red Octopus and Spitfire quite a bit. Nice series Matt.
Thank you FF, this was a satisfying series to do.
Dragonfly from 74 !
@@jackwezesa1081 Actually got that one after I "borrowed" mum's Red Octopus album. As an 8 yr old, I did stuff like that. Also pretty sure I have "Earth" laying about, but side two is a bit scratched.
@@freefallin6871 Very cool! I saw the Red Octopus and the Earth tours . At the Earth show they did two , four song encores . Great energy.
I loved that cover the best 😅
"Somebody to Love" is my favourite song of all time, next to "Light My Fire" by The Doors. And I would easily rank "Surrealistic Pillow" among the top 10 albums of all time.
Thank you for doing a great Part 3 of Jefferson Airplane. They are one of my favorite bands. The first album I got by Jefferson Airplane was Crown of Creation when I was 12...that was in 1968.
Thank you for this series! One of my favorite sounds from a band! "Crown of Creation" is my favorite
This was outstanding. I really think some of the early albums of Hot Tuna are every bit is good is Jefferson Airplane.
Hey Gregory. There is a lot of good solo/duo stuff from these guys and I had a hard time fitting them all in!
thanks for this excellent series about JA. With volunteers, Blows against the empire, and "Baron van Toolboth and the chrome nun" they had 3 very good albums in a row, even if not that commercially sucessful in my opinione
Their music was just so drug-addled. And so was my experiences listening to it.
I always thought Volunteers was the last album before they became Jefferson Starship. I guess after Volunteers I just didn’t care to find out more.
This has been a great series! It’s sad to see how the great Airplane slowly came down to a mild crash landing. But as I have noticed, bands often peak between albums 3-5 or 6, and then they start to disintegrate and either finally break up or lose some founding members and take on a somewhat new direction.
Yes, and as the 60s wound down, so did almost all of the 60s bands.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Very few bands who formed prior to 68 reached past 71. It was the new breeds - heavy blues, heavy rock, prog - that successfully entered the seventies. Only they would struggle by the end of the decade and try hard to be relevant in the eighties.
But the sixties were a crucially important time in rock history. I’ve enjoyed a few of your videos so far and will be checking out more!
@@musicisajourney I appreciate you watching. Plenty more to come!
Thank you for the videos. The Phil Spector ideas sound very interesting.
Enjoyed all three parts of this series. Early on in my life. The first album that I owned was "Flight Log". It was much later in life as I grew older that I appreciated Jefferson Airplane's music more and more. Take care.
My cousins had Flight Log and remember borrowing that when I was a teen.
Interesting information. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Starship era. Red Octopus and the that part of the band are quite a force. Very cool. I always loved the Jane song as a guitar head it was a fun jam!
A great series, Matt, thank you very much for your excellent work! Also, been meaning to mention that I love the lava lamp! I still have one that my girlfriend gave to me as a present in 1973, but, the wire is frayed and I need to replace it! 🙂
Lava lamps certainly have their charm! Thanks for watching, Mike!
Another awesome series detailing one of the best bands of the 60s. As usual, there’s a few things I’d like to point out. First, it wasn’t actual Hells Angels who roughed up Marty at Altamont. They were prospects, not patched members. Sonny Barger and the higher patched members didn’t show up til a little later, so things were a little out of order because their was a weird mix of several different chapters from throughout California.
In the film, you can see them arrive and drove their bikes right through the crowd. That’s when the bikes were parked in front of the stage. You can see Sonny, Skip, Tiny, Terry, and others arrive on the scene. They were from the Oakland chapter, and they were the ones running the security scene. Also, it was the Angels who saved Mick Jagger from getting shot by Meredith Hunter. Yeah, the Angels kicked the shit out of a lot of people but that was because people were climbing on and over their bikes trying to get on the stage which was built way too low. That had nothing to do with them. They had a fucked up situation to deal with in the first place and they dealt with it the way an outlaw biker club deals with any fucked up situation. Violently. Their fists and the tips of their boots were the alternative to Wavy Gravy’s seltzer bottles and cream pies at Woodstock.
People had this bullshit notion that the Hells Angels were part of the hippie scene because they were friends with Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. It was quite evident that they weren’t part of the scene going back to ‘65 when they attacked the anti war demonstrators in Berkeley at the Vietnam Day march. Yeah, they hung cool at the Be-In and they were cool with the Diggers but they were never part of the hippie scene really. And most of the Angels who were kinda mellow were from the Frisco chapter, not the Oakland chapter. Big difference.
The thing that becomes evident in this third part is that by ‘70 - ‘71, that bullshit hippie “flower child” fantasy had withered into a deep crisis of so many people strung out on heroin, cocaine, “speed” (which was a nicer word than crystal meth at the time), and a large variety of pills. It was an ugly scene really and the music was starting to reflect that profound change. There were a lot of casualties of the scene, and many of them were the musicians themselves. MK ULTRA was winding down and as it did, the entire scene was depleting. As soon as Vietnam was over, the hippie scene was completely over and done.
20+ years of great music and fun morphed into something completely different by 1975. Disco was the next big thing and unless you were at a Grateful Dead show, you didn’t really see any “hippies” anymore. It became passé. We now had bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin that still had a bit of that hippie edge but the days of true psychedelia were long gone. Jefferson Starship did pretty well as they reinvented themselves into something that fit the times better. It was a very strange era and if it wasn’t for the great music it would be looked at as one of the most sad eras in modern history. Instead, we tend to glamorize it with misinterpretation as something it wasn’t. In reality, it was a huge CIA hoax that used media propaganda to push LSD and other drugs on the youth and distract people from an illegal war for corporate profit. It was sad and a very dark chapter of American history. It’s a bummer to think about it in those terms but that’s the reality of it, whether we like it or not.
Thank you for the background on the prospects... I didn't know that. Yes, I'm rather jaded on the whole hippie experience and with the passage of time, it's easier to see the manipulation. I tend to not give too much credit to MK or the CIA: how hard is it to get the youth to buy into getting high and getting laid? They never had an easier job or more willing participants! I appreciate the comments, Natural.
I first read of the Angel "prospects" in Phil Lesh's memoir.
I wonder if some of the Angel-prospects weren't Vietnam vets who had PTSD.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Dont know Matt if you read the book Altamont by Joel Selvin, I HIGHLY recommend it!!! -one of those books that once you start reading it you cant put it down.
@@erniericardo8140 Thank you, Ernie I haven't read that one. I will put that on my list.
Absolutely fantastic documentary all parts are superb. Thanks.
Thank you, Johnny!
Sunfighter and Baron Von Tollbooth are two albums that definitely benefit from CD technology. On vinyl, they always sounded murky and plodding, but with higher definition, they sound much more alive. Both are arguably better than the last two Airplane albums (which I have grown to enjoy as well, even if they aren't nearly as good as their 60's albums). Oh, and I like the peanut butter and jelly cover; its an amusing little piece of pop art. You can put the sandwich together, but if you do, you can't see it.
All good Matt. Thanks for this. I have the same box set. I feel buying Pillow, Volunteers, Bless it’s Pointed head, and the Worst of is all I need!
I have disagree. Vinyl version is superior. Great records. Sad Sunfighter was not covered. Holding Together. Doesn't get better than that.
Blows against the empire even better.
@@brianbiechele1958 Sunfighter was a great LP, I listened to that on vinyl almost as much as Surrealistic Pillow so I can't really comment on sound quality of CD vs. vinyl, but man Sunfighter was great: The Titanic, "look at the wood and the way he carved it", sunfighter et al. By the way the cover illustration is great but jeez did Nirvana just copy her child's image only submerged in a pool of water?
@@haihechina Hey fellow traveler. Funny, never thought of Nirvana cover. U R probably right. Man, Sunfighter. Being Deadhead of course love that record. Was Grace a great piano player? And the Diana vignettes. Of course you know who the song is about. Great to know you love this special music. Peace. Love.
Let's notice that the cover of the Volunteers LP is taken from the video clip they made in late 1967 to promote the "Martha/Watch her ride" EP. We can see some extracts off this video clip in the first minutes of this episode.
To this day I can't understand how that EP did not sell well. I suppose that to most people, in 1967 at least, Jefferson Airplane meant Grace Slick on lead vocals.
Kantner's voice was not the force of the band, still he had a nice voice on studio records. On stage, it was often terrible, he'd bark more than he'd sing.
With Volunteers, started the era of Slick on piano. It changed the band's sound considerably. She'd already played the piano before, but it was more discrete : Pooneil, Young girl sunday blues, Saturday afternoon ... From Volunteers on, it became lead piano, and honestly I'm not a great fan of that.
Kantner started to change his way of playing guitar too. In time, he became one of those rock guitarists who play nothing else but power chords, as it soon became the rule in heavy metal.
That's how the Airplane grew from a pop/folk-rock band to a heavy rock band with some of its songs consisting of Slick singing solo and playing piano.
At this point, to me at least, the center of interest became Kaukonen's lead guitar, with its mixture of distortion, wah-wah, and vibrato. That's why the Long John Silver LP is still interesting to me, when I can't stand Bark, except for "War movie".
The solo albums (Blows, Sunfighter, and Baron von Tollbooth) are fine, but of course they don't have much in common with the Airplane at its finest.
To somebody wanting to discover what the Airplane really was, and why it was a major band of its time, I'd recommend to listen to Pillow, Baxter's and Crown.
Concerning Bless its pointed little head, there are 2 different faces of the band on stage : at the Fillmore west, they played loud and improvised a lot, because the public was mostly people high and dancing.
At the Fillmore east on the contrary, it was people who came to listen carefully to the music, so the band stuck as much as possible to the sound of the studio recordings.
On the Bless LP you cannot really make the difference (the Fillmore east tracks are songs that had never been recorded on LP), but on CZcams you'll find concerts at the Fillmore east, and you'll see.
Dryden was quite able to drum like a rocker, but he couldn't do it every time on tour, and Casady and Kaukonen took turns on solo parts so that the songs played live lasted more and more, while Dryden complained about the length of the songs.
Because of that, he threatened regularly to quit, but if he did Slick would have followed him.
As soon as they broke up as a couple, the band was no longer in danger of losing Slick, so they kind of pushed him to the exit door.
And since the band had started to evolve towards a heavy rock band, it was finally better for everyone. He was a good drummer, technically speaking, and his drumming on White rabbit is certainly one of the reasons for the success of the song. Rejoyce is a demonstration of his abilities.
He and Slick broke up because he cheated on her too often and too freely, was too loose. The guy was rather handsome and funny, not really shy, and it was too easy for him to pick up the groupies, which he didn't bother to do before Slick's eyes.
She tried to save her couple, she sure was fond of him, not only physically but because they had many interests in common (music, cinema, arts, alcohol), but finally gave up and laid her eyes down on Kantner (who later declared that he'd fallen in love with her since he'd first seen her, but had to wait for his turn).
Sign me up as a diplomat, my only office is the park.
A million pounds gone from your heavy ass, all the years gone from your age.
And they always pass by all the babies that cry, they take only babies that smile smile,
They take only babies that smile.
What are we going to do when Uncle Samuel comes around, asking for the young one's name?
Having been mostly familiar with their single releases, I was treated to this album the with my first experience of puffin on a piece pipe.🤩 The mix of this music along with the herb put me into orbit and made these two firsts quite an experience. Slicks voice was more haunting than ever and I found Cassady's bass playing as much so also! And unlike the critics, I dug the concept and the lyrics were very fitting. Being a keyboardist, the piano work was mesmerizing!! Thank you for this review!!!
My pleasure, Blueridge - thanks for the comment!
Volunteers is my favourite Airplane album and it was a great swansong for Marty. I loved hearing some appreciation for Turn My Life Down. Ace of Cups sang back up on that and on a few other bits of Volunteers. They later had some archival material and a very very long delayed debut album released. The two from '67 round out my top three, especially their mono mixes. Kantner and Balin once went on the Vicki Lawrence Show and she asked them about the PB&J gatefold for Volunteers, like did it mean anything? Paul said it really just represents Americana and there isn't much deeper meaning than if you're hungry go to the fridge and make a sandwich and it's also a gag on the term "sandwich fold."
Thank you for the explanation of the PB&J - I didn't know that. AND I forgot to mention Ace of Cups. There is always something I forget.
Pillow in mono played with a mono pickup kills the thin sounding stereo version.
Slick's quote at 20:13 is ironic. In the 1990's, I met her at a vegan food convention in Los Angeles. (I'm not vegan, but at the time was considering becoming so and went to the event.)
She's "complicated", right?
Bark and the Pretty as you Feel single were my intro to the band as an impressionable 10 year old, but I have to admit I preferred Three Dog Night and Creedence then. By 1976 I had picked up albums Pillow through Volunteers at yard sales for a quarter or two (I still have never seen the first one on vinyl at a cheap price), and unlike any other pop band I'd hear something new with every play. If I had to pick a favorite band it's probably their 1965-69 incarnation. And if youtube finds a Kantner/Garcia/Stills/etc. jam from 69-71, you bet I'm gonna listen to it.
They do have surprises with nearly every track. Thanks for the comments!
Well done man! Thanks so much for spending time doing your homework and creating so many quality docs
By the way, if "emmereffer" (my new favorite euphemism) comes as as surprise, listen very closely to the first few lines of "We Can Be Together." They sing, "In order to survive, we steal, cheat, lie, forge, f--k, hide, and deal." On the lyrics sheet, the offensive word is written "fred." This potentially gives "Hey Frederick" a whole new meaning!
That ANOTHER thing I hadn't noticed! thanks Greg!
Thank you Matt for a great J.A. series. I always felt that Jorma was under-appreciated as a writer. To me , he has some of the best songs, next to Balin. For some reason I never got into Kantner's writing. I always thought he was trying to hard to be poetic and thought provocating. On the 1989 release of the reformed band, Jorma still had the best song over Planes, and Summer of Love. I will step down off my soap box! Take care.
Fantastic Series! I've only recently started listening to the Airplane last fall ( I had surrealistic pillow on repeat for months ) and I really enjoyed learning about their history! Cannot wait for the next one :)
Thank you, Nolan!
Great series! thanks
Thank for posting this so quickly.
Jefferson Airplane headlined the Bullfrog Park Music Festival in Oregon City, Oregon in July of 1969. Predating Woodstock by a month.
Great series on a great band ... enjoyed all three parts, and also would recommend the Jeff Tamarkin book. And as a newspaper guy, the liner notes of "Volunteers" are fantastic -- loaded with inside jokes and poking fun at things in newspapers of the late 60s (be sure to check out the batting leaders of the "Amerikan" League!)
excellent series! Always great!