Jefferson Airplane "Fly Jefferson Airplane" DVD

Bought this one last night at Tower. On sale at 13.99 until end of the month sometime. Played bits and pieces of it this afternoon and my first impression is great picture quality but the surround is kind of weird. Most of the music is in the center and the rear channels .
The best thing about this release though is all of former band members have contributed and there are excellent interviews and commentary from all of them. It was worth the 13.99 for that alone. The music clips are all taken from vintage footage. The Smothers Brothers, Monterey Pop, Altamont, and a performance on top of a buidling in Manhattan. I really like it for the great interview footage and the vintage performances . If the 5.1 would have been done right it would have been perfect. If you like the "Airplane" early days you would most likely enjoy this disk.

Anyone else picked this one up yet ?

 

Kurt....Thanks for the 'heads-up'. I'll be taking off to the nearest Tower momentarily.

Jim W

 

Good to hear - must pick it up.
How is the stereo track? It's unlikely I'd be listening to this in some producers processed 5.1 anyway.

 

...thanks for the tip...another one for the collection!...just finished my Jim Croce DVD...It was a nice tribute.

 

Kurt,

I have it and really enjoyed. The bonus interviews are excellent as well. They help fill in some significant gaps in the story of the main DVD. It's particularly nice to see contributions from everyone (other than Skip, of course, and Signe).

 

Looks like a good deal, and it'll be pleasant to see interviews with the former Airplane where they're not kvetching about each other all the time. I swear, they sound like the most bitter, bitchiest group of people ever in some interview shows... Thanks for the heads up.

 

I watched it a few nights ago. I'm a big JA fan. The sonic value is not there but the vibe of the music is great. So, they did a rooftop before The Beatles!!! If I watch it again, it will be the music portions which can be accessed via the menu. I love the SF sound.

 

That is what I really noticed about this DVD too. There is no member bashing , only their stories of great memories of the band and performances. Also some great storeis behind the songs. For instance, I found out that the song "Martha" was about the Mayor of Sausalito's daughter who would basically run away from home sometimes at hang out with the Airplane band member's. I also never knew that song "Lather" Grace wrote, was about Spencer Dryden their drummer turning 30 years old.

I watched this whole DVD today and it is great documentary of JA. I recommend it

 

I remember seeing JA perform in the late 60's at a place called the Electric Playground in Chicago. The place was interesting because there were no chairs and they used projection screens to make the auditorium into a cylinder, kind of like the Canada auditorium at Epoc Center.. A projection booth hung from the ceiling in the center of the cylinder and images were projected on the screens. It was really "far out man!!".

Anyway, I remember how impressed I was by the JA. This may sound dumb, but they sounded just like the record!! They played the songs from After Bathing at Baxters perfectly. Those songs have very difficult arrangements. The harmonies by Marty and Grace were perfect. Of course, considering the amount of Mother Nature that I smoked, maybe anything would have sounded good.