Jack Casady, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Prairie Prince (drums), Mark "Slick" Aguilar (lead guitar), Tim Gorman (keyboards), Darby Gould (vocals). Special appearance by Grace Slick.
The new CD was recorded live at a benefit concert for the late Papa John Creach at the House of Blues, Los Angeles CA, January 21,1995. The songs are not presented in the same order as performed, but are split into two "sides"; new and old tunes, with the new songs including three covers.
The mix is a little muddy, background vocals are often lost; although maybe it's intentional: bad sound might be considered a reflection of a genuine Jefferson Airplane/Starship concert experience.
Kantner's "Shadowlands" opens the CD, and continues the adventures of his female alter-ego, Rose. Here she's a serial killer of Republican politicians. The "Shadowlands" are the disintegrating large urban areas in the USA; the fate of the people in these places awakens in the protagonist a desire for action - "I wanna be dangerous" - which is also tied to the sexual awakening between two lovers. Remember the battles artists like the Airplane fought twenty-five years ago to be free from censorship from the recording corporations? When Kantner uses the word "fucking" three times in one line, is it a celebration of free speech, or merely vulgar? Musically, the song is OK, although the arrangement is a little ragged. Got goose bumps on hearing the song for the first time when Darby Gould's vocals come on. One of the things I liked best about the Airplane (and, for a brief time, the Starship) were the three part harmonies. It's good to see this aspect rejuvenated in the new band. Paul's voice is a little ragged on this one; by the end he's more rapping than singing, although this part is labeled as a "chant" on the lyric sheet. "Shadowlands" is a little rough, but solid. By the way, will we ever hear the saxophone?
Next up on the disc is Marty Balin's "Ganja of Love", the best of the new stuff, a fully realized song, rather than a work in progress. The sexually suggestive lyrics are propelled by a smoky rhythm, accompanied by some nice wah-wah work by "Slick" Aguilar. Tim Gorman's keyboards are merely distracting, as they are for much of the CD, but he does end the song with a nice cop from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".
Kantner's "I'm on Fire" celebrates JFK, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the students of Tienneman Square as champions of freedom. (Funny, LBJ actually got the Civil Rights Act through congress, but nobody writes songs about him). This is the weakest of Paul's songs. Musically, it just doesn't move me. The lyrics are a little stronger, although the line "My guitars will never sleep" is a real clunker. This one might be better in a more intimate, acoustic setting.
"Papa John", Balin's tribute to his late friend, is the weakest of the new songs. Musically cliched and with banal lyrics, it's possible the song was written under time pressure for the tribute concert. It just doesn't feel like a fitting tribute, in its current form, to John Creach.
Last of Kantner's three, and probably the strongest, is "The Light". A rousing, anthemic rocker (with an opening lick swiped from "Mr. Soul") , it evokes the best of Kantner's work from the last twenty years. Also features a great vocal interplay between Paul and Darby. Here's an optimistic view of the future. Considering Kantner's other songs on the CD, it begs the question - Is Paul looking forward to the "Dark Ages"? He is the guy who could write an optimistic song about nuclear holocaust, "Wooden Ships". Great lyrics, except for that nonsensical cliche about teachers versus baseball players. "I'm not afraid of the future, I'm not afraid of ideas...go ahead and stuff the universe into your eyes" - Kantner understands that the key to overcoming ignorance and intolerance is an open, literate, questioning mind. And how about this : an attribution (to Gertrude Stein) for a borrowed line. And it says "Connect me with my intellect" in the lyrics sheet, but it sure sounds like "Connect me with my Internet".
"Women Who Fly" is a good arrangement of a good song, featuring an excellent vocal performance by Darby Gould, with some nice lead work from Aguilar. "Dark Ages" is an annoying song, written as it is from a superficially informed cynicism. No, it's not like Germany in the 1930's, although it's beginning to look a lot like the USA in the 1930's (think about it). "Gold" is a much better song, and Marty gives a fine performance, with nice contributions from Slick and Darby.
You've heard em all before, although perhaps without the annoying, intrusive electronic keyboards (although I do kinda like the intro to "Crown of Creation"). The vocal harmonies on "CoC" are quite nice. Gorman's intro to "Miracles" makes me retch, but it fits this particularly nauseating version. "Miracles" is a milestone song for me, as I suspect it is for many Jefferson Airplane/Starship fans. Not a bad song, really, with that nice David Freiberg organ hook, the three part harmonies, and those sexually subversive lyrics. But this song is the pivot point upon which the band swung from (admittedly bombastic) arena rock to MOR pap. No, "Miracles" is not (intrinsically) an aborted cat foetus of a song, but "Count on Me" is.
Grace Slick hasn't been performing much since the 1989 reunion tour, so her voice is in reasonably good form. In response to the Life imitating Art events in Slick's life, "Lawman" gets hauled out. It's a good performance, in large part because of its relative freshness. A typically brash Grace rant before "Lawman" portrays events with a markedly different slant than was presented in court and in the newspapers. "Wooden Ships" features her usual parts, and while her leads on "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" don't seem extraordinarily dynamic, she seems to generate an enthusiastic audience response. Jack Casady plays a scratchy solo bass leading into "White Rabbit", but his playing is otherwise subdued throughout this recording.
What next for the band? The "new" songs might provide the basis for a decent studio recording. I'd like to see simple arrangements, with prominent acoustic guitar, three part harmonies, no electronic keyboards, and with an emphasis on ensemble playing and a de-emphasis on multi-tracked mush. How about using a sympathetic outside producer? Some of these songs have been in development a long time, a fresh hand at the controls might be helpful. All of this begs the question: Will any record company front production costs for a project without Grace Slick?
It's also a little a little disturbing to see no collaboration in the writing process. I guess the band is not sharing communal digs and stuffing their money into a jelly jar on the mantle, or even living in the same city anymore. Still, they're spending a lot of time together on the road. Kantner has always seemed amenable to everybody making creative contributions. Does Aguilar consider himself more than a sideman? Can Darby Gould or Diana Mangano write?
An adequate recording of an unexceptional concert. It should interest the True Fan who doesn't have a stack of bootlegs. Buy it to support the band, and hope they'll stick around to produce something a little more interesting and exciting; or at least keep touring so we can keep hearing all those obscure classics we love so much.