A recording I've been waiting for, what, more than twenty years now. Brackets the period, along with Bless Its Pointed Little Head (BIPLH) , when the Airplane was peaking in regards to their creative energy, and were still imbued with a strong ethic of collaboration. By 1969, the band was beginning to fall apart, and became merely the sum of its parts, rather than the exponentially synergistic ensemble of happier times. On this May 1968 weekend at the Fillmore East, they're still earnest young artists, not cynical rock stars.
This is an essential recording for any Airplane fan -- and it serves as a great addition to those long memorized albums from the RCA catalog. It's not a tired or rote performance -- BIPLH is probably better, technically, but there seems to be more life in this recording. The sound is somehow less dense than that on BIPLH -- which causes me to wonder if the latter had been augmented by any studio post-production, a common practice on "Live" recordings of that era (1). Seventy-six minutes in total, the mix is just about perfect, and the sound quality is very good. The packaging recycles artwork from the Fillmore poster for that May 1968 weekend. There's also a Jeff Tamarkin essay peppered with quotes from all six band members.
And the songs! Lots of stuff I've never heard live before, with lots from After Bathing at Baxter's and Crown of Creation. After thirty years, this stuff still sounds fresh. Some highlights:
In addition to the music, there's some nice between songs banter -- mostly by wise-ass Grace, with the rest from Paul Kantner.
Speaking of Kantner, he pretty much dominates this disc. By this time Grace had become the publically identified "star" of Jefferson Airplane, and there are two excellent versions of her hits here; a sultry "Somebody to Love" and a pleasantly warbly "White Rabbit", both propelled by Jack Casady's fluttering Steel Butterfly bass lines. But it's Paul's compositions, along with his covers of Other Side and Fat Angel, that present one of the best American musical ensembles of the 20th century operating at their zenith -- a reflection of both their creative power and the liberating ethos of the early to mid-1960's San Francisco scene. Producer Paul Williams has mixed Paul's rhythm guitar to a level clearly audible throughout the disc, justly recognizing that his purely technical musical contributions were crucial to the Airplane's sound.
Most interestingly, Jorma is still in the process of learning to play electric guitar in a rock ensemble; by the time of BIPLH that learning curve had finally flattened out, and he had found a mature style. In any case, his solo shreddings here on "Star Track" are superb.
Of course, Marty had already been remaindered by this time, right? His creative output after Surrealistic Pillow had plummeted, and he had withdrawn from the visionary role that was primarily responsible in the founding and development of Jefferson Airplane. Had he become merely a nostalgia act? Just listen to the ecstatic audience response to "It's No Secret" and you can see he hadn't been left behind.
Footnote
(1) I asked Paul Kantner about this.
His response: "I don't think so, but how would I know?"