Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship/Hot Tuna/Solo & More: Album-By-Album

I don't have much to say on Its No Secret, I've heard the song but on that particular mix all I can hear is vocals and guitar. I'm not exactly listening on revealing equipment (basic computer speakers) so take that comment as you will.

I'll second the 'I don't get how anyone prefers that to the Airplane version' comment when speaking of Someone to Love. It does have the rudiments of a great song, maybe if I'd never heard the JA version. Jack's bass, Jorma's guitar solo at the end, and Garcia's arrangement bring a lot to the song, elevating it considerably. I like that lead guitar sound, but it's a rudimentary solo for sure.

It's worth mentioning that the Jefferson Airplane's first single was on RCA, the band had been signed with a huge advance and so almost certainly got tons of promotion, whereas The! Great! Society! (sic) released their single on the tiny Long Beach subsidiary of the minor Autumn Records label (which was to go bankrupt by the end of 66.)

Wiki says that Autumn Records house producer Sylvester Stewart (soon to be aka Sly Stone) walked off their project after they needed 50 takes to get the B side down.

Also I did not realize until today that the Jefferson Airplane actually made their live debut a few months after the Warlocks (later to be known as the Grateful Dead.) Jefferson Airplane rose to fame much faster, I always assumed they were around first.

 

Buckle your seatbelts, we're set for liftoff. Let's fly!


JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - JEFFERSON AIRPLANE TAKES OFF
(August, 1966)

[from Wikipedia]
Jefferson Airplane Takes Off is the debut studio album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in August 1966 as RCA Victor LSP-3584 (stereo) and LPM-3584 (mono). The personnel differs from the later "classic" lineup: Signe Toly Anderson was the female vocalist and Skip Spence played drums. Both soon left the group—Spence in May 1966[4], Anderson in October[5]—and were replaced by Spencer Dryden and Grace Slick, respectively.

RCA executives found some of the lyrics too sexually suggestive. They had the band change the lyrics in "Let Me In" from "I gotta get in, you know where" to "You shut your door, now it ain't fair", and "Don't tell me you want money" to "Don't tell me it's so funny". In "Run Around" they had the end of the line "Blinded by colors come flashing from flowers that sway as you lay under me" altered to "...that sway as you stay here by me". With "Runnin' 'Round This World" the executives insisted that "trips" in the line "The nights I've spent with you have been fantastic trips" referred to taking LSD, though the band insisted it was merely common slang. Even replacing the word "trips" with a guitar arpeggio did not placate RCA's concerns with the line's sexual connotations and refused its inclusion on the album, and the recording remained unreleased for the next eight years.[6]

The album's release drew little press attention at a time when mainstream newspapers did not normally cover rock releases and the rock press was yet in its infancy. Crawdaddy! highlighted the album on the cover of its January 1967 issue, which included a three-page review by the magazine's assistant editor Tim Jurgens, who called the album "faulted" yet "the most important album of American rock" of 1966.

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Blues from an Airplane" Marty Balin, Skip Spence 2:10
2. "Let Me In" (lead vocals: Kantner) Balin, Paul Kantner 2:55
3. "Bringing Me Down" Balin, Kantner 2:22
4. "It's No Secret" Balin 2:37
5. "Tobacco Road" Clay Warnick[n 1] 3:26
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Come Up the Years" Balin, Kantner 2:30
2. "Run Around" (lead vocals: Kantner) Balin, Kantner 2:35
3. "Let's Get Together" (lead vocals: Kantner, Anderson, Balin) Chester Powers 3:32
4. "Don't Slip Away" Balin, Spence 2:31
5. "Chauffeur Blues" (lead vocals: Anderson) Lester Melrose 2:25
6. "And I Like It" Balin, Jorma Kaukonen 3:16
________________________________
2003 CD reissue bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Length
12. "Runnin' Round This World" (from Early Flight) Balin, Kantner 2:25
13. "High Flying Bird" (from Early Flight) Billy Edd Wheeler 2:17
14. "It's Alright" (from Early Flight) Balin, Spence 2:17
15. "Go to Her" (from Jefferson Airplane Loves You) Kantner, Irving Estes 4:09
16. "Let Me In" (uncensored version from Jefferson Airplane Loves You) Balin, Kantner 3:31
17. "Run Around" (uncensored version) Balin, Kantner 2:35
18. "Chauffeur Blues" (alternate version) Melrose 2:49
19. "And I Like It" (alternate version) Balin, Kaukonen 8:16
20. "Blues from an Airplane" (instrumental; hidden track) Balin, Spence 2:10

SINGLES:
"It's No Secret" b/w "Runnin' Round This World"

Released: February 1966

1. • "Come Up the Years" / "Blues from an Airplane"
     Released: May 1966
   • "Bringing Me Down" / "Let Me In"
     Released: August 1966

Released August 15, 1966, #91
Length 29:19
Label RCA Victor
Producer Matthew Katz and Tommy Oliver

• 
  
  • Marty Balin – vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Signe Toly Anderson – vocals, percussion
  • Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar
  • Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals
  • Jack Casady – bass guitar
  • Skip Spence – drums
  • Spencer Dryden – drums (on "Go to Her," alternate version of "And I Like It," and alternate version of "Chauffeur Blues")

Production

• 
  
  • Tommy Oliver – producer
  • Matthew Katz – manager, producer
  • Dave Hassinger – engineer
  • Recorded in RCA Victor's Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California

 

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - JEFFERSON AIRPLANE TAKES OFF
Jefferson Airplane’s debut album is one of the finer albums in early folk-rock. It also helped set what represented the San Francisco sound with Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady taking on dirtier tones than most guitarists and bassists.

The opening Balin/Spence song “Blues From an Airplane” has us flying through heartbreak storms with turbulence found in rough Casady bass and desperate ringing guitar from Kaukonen. Dark and stormy folk-rock with a feeling of emotional weakness, it’s a great liftoff. The Balin/Kantner “Let Me In” is a highlight veering towards the psychedelic when Kaukonen is at a peak of his great playing on the solo. The tough Kantner vocal and aggressive folk-rock sound reveals that this band can get darker when they want to. All 3 show a tough lyrical side. They have a touch of blues that is deeper delved into on the decent Balin-sung “Tobacco Road” and the blues closers, the Signe Anderson-sung “Chauffeur Blues” and the dragging “And I Like It”. None of the 3 have much of an impact on the album-not like the potent “Running ‘Round the World” which contains a jazzy rhythm that slightly shifts along with the tempo, and a skip-along-the-street jangle. That thick Casady bass he perfected later gets some play here on the ¾ rhythm change. The band work well trying something slightly different within the smart arrangement. The great harmonies lend to the sunny day the song is.

Of the 3 covers “Tobacco Road”, “Let’s Get Together” and “Chauffeur Blues”, “Let’s Get Together” is the strongest, properly bonding the Airplane’s early sound with the later to be classic Summer of Love Airplane sound. It’s not quite as good as The Youngbloods’ version though Kaukonen in particular has a terrific jangle lining the interiors of the song all the way through and on the solo. Just a great lyric and Jefferson Airplane pass around the lead vocal. One of Signe’s few vocal spotlights and she sings well.

A couple of songs that could pass as filler are; the disjointed sounding “Run Around” sung by Kantner joined by Balin, it’s still a grower and the bluesy guitar solo shows that combo of folk-rock and blues. “And I Like It” is a pretty crummy closer. It lacks certain touches that make the blues great when they’re great. Balin’s a little too dramatic and the “Don’t Slip Away” which has Kantner duetting with Balin on a bland song with a darker chorus hook but it still has a decent melody and nice vibe changeup.

“It’s No Secret” is the best here. Balin’s yearning vocal with his elastic emotional voice is at its most heart pouring but the electric piano and great melody and chords really set this apart from the rest of the album. It’s the first positive vibe here except on the cool darken toned when Balin sings “when my heart is jumpin’ up and down” then comes around again to sing “cause my heart is chained and bound cause I love you” – the imagery darkens with the music. The unique “Come Up the Years” has xylophone, a reverbed Kantner guitar, a ¾ tempo and prominent tambourine. The xylophone even gets to be the lead in the break with a stellar Casady bass intro. The co-lead vocals create the most beautiful harmony on the album helped by a melody as good as “It’s No Secret” though “so much younger than I am” could be misconstrued. A lot of the lyrics were questioned by RCA and He lends a psychedelic edge to “Chaffeur Blues” with another great extended solo. This was a time when the extended solo was much rarer in rock.

Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady both display a chemistry and creativity in their interplay, tones and feel for the songs. Kaukonen has his first spotlight with “Let Me In” where he whips up an early extended psychedelic solo that gets the 12-string jangle more frantic underneath. He’s even better on the original non-censored version. “It’s No Secret” gets a mix of hoe-down and folk-rock as its jangle rides around the middle. On “Tobacco Road”, Jorma is just sitting on the back porch strumming some laid back blues on a Sunday morning.

By conclusion, we have in our hands an album that is one of the stronger folk rock albums of the era. While it’s never incredible, it’s never dreadful either. “It’s No Secret” would be at the top and “And I Like It”, the album’s low point. The first side is the better of the two. Overall, t the sound is strong; with a solid, well-executed formkula. Balin sings well, the band stay tight and creative and the close harmonies work with their musical style. A solid debut from a band that would excel later with better songwriting and musical aerobics.

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE TAKES OFF (1966) (B-)

1. Blues From an Airplane (B+)
2. Let Me In (B+)
3. Bringing Me Down (C.)
4. It’s No Secret (A-)
5. Tobacco Road (C-)
6. Running ‘Round This World (B)
7. Come Up the Years (B+)
8. Run Around (C+)
9. Let’s Get Together (B+)
10. Don’t Slip Away (C+)
11. Chaffeur Blues (C+)
12. And I Like It (D)

 

Those are some good lyrics from Marty and he's good on the album too. The band can't quite be pinned down to just folk-rock but the lyrics feel like both those groupings.

I didn't know those singles were competing against each other either but that's the case. I like all 4 songs on them.

 

Yes, Jorma is alright on "It's No Secret" but he'll get better later. Yes Jerry Garcia was an influence for sure and helped them out here and there. Right The Great Society somehow didn't get to be on a bigger label. Autumn Records wanted to release "That's How It Is" which was apparently finished by January 1966 as a single but then changed their minds. Sly Stone did leave - but there is a big time Eastern influence on that with heavy percussion that might have been tough to execute.

 

The debut's bonus tracks ...

Runnin’ ‘Round This World (uncensored mono version):
Not too different here, we’ve just got ‘trips’ back in the song the way the band intended.

High Flying Bird (B-)
A good, bluesy folk-rock treatment is applied to this well-known song. The harmonies push the melody into flight and Kaukonen’s guitar work in particular is a highlight. Multiple lead vocals here with Signe getting another solo moment. Appears on Early Flight.

It’s Alright (C)
A bluesy rhythm with a folk-rock jangle and mentality, this Marty/Skip song is alright and tops a couple of the songs on the debut-especially how it speeds up for the guitar solo going in the opposite direction of something like the snail “And I Like It”. Paul sings a lot of the lead. It’s alright. Appears on Early Flight.

Go to Her (early version) (B+)
A good song, this is not the best performance, but it differs from the Early Flight version so it’s good to have. It’s intense folk-rock with a great rhythmic breakdown in the center where Spence and Dryden combine for their strongest moment and Kaukonen is in full flight with two great solos.

Let Me In
A surprise as a bonus track since this just lists ‘alt. version’. One wouldn’t suspect the major improvement found in the performance here. It’s reckless abandon in comparison to the release-the song suddenly gets swept up in a frantic and intense psychedelic whirlwind. It leans closest perhaps to the Who as Casady is just awesome with the elasticity of his bass and the turned up winding, choppy, high-pitched, abrasive guitar by Kaukonen is a total head trip.

Run Around (mono, uncensored version)
Pretty much the same except the censor is excluded. The line “flowers that sway as you lay under me” is here. Sounds brighter, maybe it runs a touch faster.

Chaffeur Blues (alternate)
I probably like the regular better. Not too different.

And I Like It
Ugh. I just can’t like it. Even with extra Jorma it means extra song – over 8 minutes of it and I just never dug this.

Blues From An Airplane (instrumental)
Plays well as an instrumental.

 

I have a couple of questions to pose about the debut before we continue to the rest of the 1966 releases which we'll get to - we'll be doing The Great Society stuff and the Airplane's live albums. We'll be going through those live albums somewhat quickly as we have a lot to cover.

What do you think of Signe Anderson's vocals and how do you think the group would have faired with her as the female vocalist?

How does Jefferson Airplane's debut compare to other folk-rock albums of the 1966. Where does rank - high, middle, towards the bottom?

For context, some of the other big names/albums -
The Lovin' Spoonful 'Do You Believe in Magic', 'Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful'
The Mamas and The Papas - 'The Mamas and The Papas
The Byrds - '5th Dimension'
Simon & Garfunkel - 'The Sounds of Silence', 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'
The Turtles - 'You Baby'
Love - 'Love'
Donovan - 'Sunshine Superman'
Buffalo Springfield - 'Buffalo Springfield'
The Grass Roots - 'Where Were You When I Needed You'
Beau Brummels - 'Beau Brummels '66'

 

Vocally, Signe Anderson was easily the equal of Grace Slick. However, she didn't have Slick's songwriting or instrumental chops, and without Slick, who had a much more adventurous and experimental musical sensibility than Marty Balin, I think the Airplane would have been a decent but second-division band, both commercially and artistically.

Takes Off is a solid album containing some excellent moments, but the Airplane's songwriting at that stage wasn't the equal of, say, John Phillips's, and Surrealistic Pillow represented a quantum leap forward.

In any case, your thread has prompted me to play Takes Off for the first time in ages – first the stereo version, then the mono version, then the bonus tracks.

 

I don't have any particular issue with Anderson's vocals, I think they're fine, and on the ensemble parts if I didn't know it wasn't Grace Slick, I might have assumed it was her and not Anderson. But considering that their two biggest (and most enduring) hits were songs sung by Slick, it's hard to reckon they would've been nearly as big without her star power propelling them.

I think of all the SF bands their sound may have been most in sync with what was popular and trendy, as your list indicates. I haven't even heard all of the albums listed, but I think Casady's bass gives them a powerful bottom end that's basically unique in rock at the time; the closest comparison in 66 I think is Entwistle.

This album is probably my least beloved of all of their albums (yes, even Bark.) Nothing against it, I just find I listen to it least of all of their works. It's got it's charms, but its quite a 'work in progress' feel, though maybe that's a function of how much more familiar I am with the later albums.

Also, to clarify, my comment on guitar solos above was meant to refer to the Great Society version of 'Someone to Love,' Jorma does a couple of fine solos here and there's no doubt he was a gifted player when he joined the band, even if by his own admission it took him a couple of years to get comfortable on the electric guitar.

 

Her vocals were very good however she did not have the personality that Grace had and Grace was a big part of their push to the top of the heap at that time. Concerning their first album, it was OK but not the commercial / mass appeal standards of the groups you mentioned.

 

Jeff is my brother. The idea of the book came about after he did the loves you box booklet. He had lots of info and it was suggested he take it a step further to do a proper book. He flew around the country to do personal interviews with anyone related that would talk. I helped with a lot of the research. The original draft was over 1300 pages. There's only a few copies of that in existence including mine. The first time we saw them was with the dead at expo 67 in Montreal in August of that year. We didn't really know much about them at the time. I didn't see them again until summer of 72 only a couple of months before their final shows.

 

The bands I put forth are closer to folk-rock also than JefAir. It's hard to just qualify it that way since the rhythm section is heavier thanks to Casady but after this, we really can't call most of their items folk-rock since they start rocking harder after this and live. Signe didn't get too much lead vocal action anyway but yeah, I think Grace has that 'it' factor.

Let us know the mono and stereo differences if you get a chance to listen to the stuff. I haven't done a comparison.

It must have taken something for all of them to get comfortable with rock since they had no rock experience and RCA had no rock bands on their roster prior. Yes, Casady's tone is thick but it will get even heavier. Compared to other folk-rock, it should be mentioned in the conversation but other albums either had more creativity or more hits.

 

Well you and Jeff did an unbelievable job and if I didn't have my JefAir CD booklets from the 90's in storage, I'd be going through those non-stop along with your and Jeff's book I've been reading like so many other fans. I just realized the coincidence that your brother's name is Jeff. LOL Took me 25 years since I read the 'Loves You' box booklet to figure that out.

Anyway, I could not do this thread until I re-read the book and his additional notes for each album taught me how great reissue liner notes can be. Lots of info in those not in the book. Thanks for that work and research. Hope you stick around!

 

They may well have used some different takes, but I can't say I noticed. I definitely prefer the stereo mix, which feels much more spacious, though it has the typical mid-sixties foible of panning all the instruments left or right whilst the vocals are centred.

 

Her vocal is perfectly fine for this album but what Grace Slick brought to the band was the certain countercultural edge and coolness. And I am not even talking about the bunch of classic tunes she wrote.

 

First memory of the Airplane was hearing White Rabbit. It coincidentally came out right around the time I as a purchaser was buying less singles and focusing on albums. Hearing Somebody to Love around that time, I soon realized it was on Surrealistic Pillow, but frankly did not buy that right away. I then did buy it, and at first was a bit confused by the mix of song styles on it (something I soon came to understand as a great strength of it). But it grew on me. I did not know Baxter's right away, instead what really made me an Airplane fan was Crown of Creation. I loved that one, and it's still tops for me with SP.

It was not too long after that the film Monterey Pop came out, which I saw. I was very impressed by their performance of High Flying Bird, and this cemented my interest in them.

Crown encouraged me to backfill with Baxter's, and I loved that one, too. Pointed Head soon came out, got that, loved it. By the time Volunteers came out, the Airplane for a period was my favorite group (the Beatles having broken up by then). What a great run it was for studio albums from Surrealistic Pillow to Baxter's to Crown to Volunteers. Bark I liked about 2/3rds of, and it did feel like a step down. I finally saw them live around the time Long John Silver came out, and then got Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. My brother got the first Hot Tuna album, which I loved but didn't buy, and then he also got Burgers.

Blows Against the Empire came out, and I did listen to that a lot, but count me as an Airplane fan who was not big on Paul's exhortation approach of this period. I did not buy any subsequent Starship albums, either. Meanwhile I saw Hot Tuna a couple of times, and counted myself a big fan of theirs. Saw them later over the years, too.

I subsequently added to my collection with their Live at Monterey album. Later got Sweeping Up the Spotlight (from the Fillmore East) and their Woodstock collection. And also Takes Off.

Overall I considered them very much a part of the San Francisco sound, as I also loved The Dead up til their Europe album, Quicksilver's outstanding first two albums and also Shady Grove, Janis's Big Brother effort Cheap Thrills and also Kozmic Blues (not so much Pearl), Santana and the Electric Flag. From that number the Airplane were my favorite.

What I love about them is no single thing. They combined a great range of vocalists, with four members taking leads, and the great harmonies, with very talented instrumental contributions. On the latter Jack for good reason gets huge plaudits, but I think Jorma eventually (by the Baxter's to Crown period) developed an excellent guitar style. Paul was really an underrated rhythm guitarist, and his 12 string Rick was put to great use. But most underrated I think was Spencer, whose jazz attack went extremely well with their sound. Their songs and sound was something I came to call acid folk, which is not intended to describe a too specific style as much as to show by the juxtaposition of those words the range of music they played.

 

You and I both remember how it worked out with this band. A lot of other artists I buy I don't remember the exact detail but I think it shows we're fans if we can remember it vividly. Not sure of your age at the time but I was a teen so they were more impressionable on me than if I was older I guess.

 

Takes Off is a tremendous album and to me, better than any of the early '70s LPs. I wish there were more photos of the band at this time with Skip Spence. The album plus bonus tracks (some of which were first heard by me on the Early Flight LP) form a wonderful snapshot of the Airplane circa 1966. Yes, they would get better, but this being the first of the SF acid rock bands' LPs (I'm not counting the Beau Brummels - though they were great too) I'd say it's probably better than the Dead's first album, better than Big Brother's first, but not as good as the first Quicksilver LP.

 

Heh. You should probably listen to more Jefferson Starship.

Listening to “Love Too Good” right now. Better than “Jane” without even trying.

 

A lot of folks don't realize that signe and paul died on the same day at the same age.

 

28 January 2016 (rip).

 

i'll take you at your word.

rather than listen again. i will ammend my earlier supposition.

"jane is their best late single whatever they called themselves that i ever heard"

 

Here's what Joel Selvin has to say about Takes Off in his Summer of Love book:

Overshadowed by the landmark second album, Surrealistic Pillow, and all but entirely unknown outside San Francisco, the group's auspicious 1966 debut, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, nonetheless represents something of a modest masterpiece, a minor gem easily overlooked in the wake of things to come. But the recording faithfully executes Marty Balin's vision of a rock band playing folk music and, if RCA Victor had been any kind of record company, "It's No Secret" from the LP would have taken its place on AM radio stations across the country alongside similar folk-rock confections of the moment by other exponents of the burgeoning movement like the Byrds, Turtles and even lesser lights like the Leaves or the Left Banke.

He goes on for a few more paragraphs but I like this first one.

 

Oh c’mon. Just listen to the album Earth once.