Disco de Jefferson Airplane: “Volunteers: Woodstock Edition”

I'm sure most of you already own the Volunteers CD, and are holding off on this purchase because of that. I say, don't let that sway your decision. This live performance is what we JA fans have been waiting all these years for. The complete show! And, what a show it is. I have most of the other live concert performances, and this one is the one to own (this and Bless It's Pointed Little Head)! Sit back, and let the Airplane take you for a ride. You won't be disapointed. Morning maniac music, indeed. Everything was definitely vibrating by the end of the second CD. Plenty of jams, and lots of high octane rock. Grace sounds fantastic, as well as all the rest of the band.

"Morning maniac music" is best played really, really loud. The Airplane is rocking with wild abandon, loose as a goose, and I mean that in a good way.

"The Other Side of This Life" gets the set off to a ripping start. It may be "the regular guys and Nicky Hopkins" but you'll have to have ears like a dog to hear Nicky tickling the ivories. He's there but the Airplane are going full tilt. Listen like thieves for his keyboard wizardry, especially here.

"Somebody to Love" is propelled by Spencer Dryden's drumming, a nice change up from basically the same arrangement as BLIPH. In fact, several of the best known songs like "3/5th Of Mile..." and "Plastic Fantastic Lover" are BLIPH-refitted but at Ramones-like speed. The first three songs are an adreneline rush. Maybe the sight of a half million people can do that to a band?

Things slow down for "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon". It may seem like a naive throwback to the acid-drenched days of the summer of love but at Woodstock it seemed like the culmination of everything everybody believed would be the future. We know now that it was really the end, but nobody knew it at the time.

It's a natural segway into "Eskimo Blue Day," Grace's still spot-on ecological cautionary tale. One of her best songs, and a riveting vocal performance.

"Wooden Ships" is stretched out to points unfathomable clocking in at 21 minutes. Poor C,S,N. Did they ever do this song? After the Airplane's version it should've been retired from their act. The 'Plane are pulling out the stops - musically, vocally, improvising, inspired. Go ride the music indeed.

"Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" stretches out extra long, but that's just a set up for the showstopper of "House of Pooneil Corners". Rarely performed. Barely remembered. But as the encore, it thunders with a sustained bludgeoning sludgy ominous riff worthy of Black Sabbath. It bubbles with a terrorizing vision of the end of the world. Marty and Grace own this song. Their performances will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. This song, alone, justifies the price of the purchase. Crank this sucker up to 11. Unbelievable!

It wasn't just critics who lambasted the Airplane at Woodstock. Grace remembers it poorly as well. (Maybe it was because she was slung over from the night before drinkin' & dancin' with Janis?) Her memory is playing tricks on her. She, in particular, is amazing. Easily the best live singing she's ever done. And the band, before the splintering and in-fighting, was Godzilla at Woodstock.

PS - So you get the studio version of "Volunteers" too. So what? Why are people making a big deal about that? Did it occur to anybody that many people who didn't experience this group the first time out may not know any other songs other than "Somebody to Love" or "White Rabbit" (which, fyi, also tears up the stage live at Woodstock.)

Enjoy!

I'll keep this simple -- The live, Woodstock version of "Volunteers" completely blows the studio version out of the water. And that's typical of the Woodstock performances.

If you're like me, and have been hemming and hawing over buying this release because it means buying a copy of Volunteers for, like, the 9ooth time, well, rest assured, it's worth it! The complete Woodstock set is primal, tribal Airplane at their finest. Songs are long, but there isn't a wasted note (no pun intended), and the energy surges from beginning to end, often at an almost punk-like breakneck speed. The sound quality is good, but not great, not as good as the "official" Woodstock releases. This is the best live Airplane that I have ever heard, and a must-own for any of their fans!

We have long been led to believe that Airplane didn't play a very good set at Woodstock. This CD settles that debate once and forever. Yes, there are a few boo-boos here and there during the performance, lapses in timing and a few stumbles with the new material mostly, but considering how tired the band must have been, and how obviously stoned on acid they were (directly referenced by Grace between songs), it's a solid set here. Airplane churn out one ferocious song after another, high-lighted by the best free-form work I have ever heard from their official catalogue. Included is a superb black and white poster of the band performing.

"Well, you have seen the heavy groups(the Who),now you will hear morning maniac music!" Grace states confidently to start it all off. The set list is a combination of classic Airplane as defined by the band: The Other Side Of This Life, Somebody To Love, 3/5 Of A Mile In Ten Seconds, Saturday Afternoon/Won't You Try, Plastic Fantastic Lover, The Ballad Of You, Me & Pooneil, White Rabbit, and The House At Pooneil Corners are a perfect representation of classic Airplane. The new material, Wooden Ships, Eskimo Blue Day and Volunteers are from the soon to be released Volunteers album (oh, why not Hey Frederick? Bummer!). Uncle Sam Blues and Come Back Baby are inklings of Hot Tuna to come. There's something for everyone here.

Throughout the recording Jack Casady provides a stunning running symposium of his legendary prowess on the bass guitar. Of all the band members, he seems the most focused and inventive, and the savage growling roar of his Guild Hollowbody is a delight for true fans, and a sure-to-be startling revelation for those unfamiliar with Airplane's live sound. He's simply remarkable on Pooneil. Every live bass solo he did on this song that I've ever heard are a progression of a theme, sharpened, fine-tuned, and, as time passed, more structured and complex. The Woodstock solo is confidently thrown out in front of half a million or so people with a ferocious opening riff that leads to a beautifully crafted study in chords as only Casady did back in the day. It's quite long, and is a fitting climax to all the superb bass playing throughout the set. He is THE man the band was built around, and he proves this beyond any doubt throughout the set.

Paul Kantner provides solid rhythm guitar work, and a grittier sound that fits well with the rest of the instruments. Spencer Dryden's confident drumming is inspired and forceful. Jorma Kaukonen has a few lapses in timing, but, despite this, is inventive and inspired for much of the time. His sound as well, reflects a growing emphasis of power that gradually increased as the band evolved. They're quite loud and heavy here, more distorted than usual, and it works just fine. It's just another weapon in their arsenal. Paul Kantner's vocals are solid, and Marty Balin and Grace Slick soar together as never before, particularly Grace. Animated and timely, she wails out one primitive acid-drenched call to arms after another, sending numerous chills down the listener's spine. In my opinion, her BEST live work on record. Sideman Nicky Hopkins' work on the piano is lost much of the time, but when heard is a fine complement to the band's sound. It's not so much the mix, but the fact that he is just drowned out much of the time.

Other Side, Wooden Ships, and Ballad of You, Me & Pooneil feature lengthy jams within, demonstrating the band's inventiveness and dedication of the free-form jamming of Acid Rock at its best. Incorporated into Pooneil is an inclusion of the song "Starship" from Blows Against The Empire, a nice bonus. Saturday Afternoon/Won't You Try? is stunning here, almost a religious statement of the sacramental use of LSD within the hippie movement. Pooneil and White Rabbit follow this theme in no uncertain terms, and the band firmly throw down the gauntlet as to where they stand on the drug culture. After several false starts (I think they just forgot the song for a few seconds!) they close with the dark and spooky, House At Pooneil Corners, almost seeming to provide a glimpse of the Altamont fiasco to come later that year.

Frequently lost in the perception of Jefferson Airplane is the fact that they were first and foremost a live band, a hard-driving and inventive concert act that ROCKED the crowd's asses off. There is no doubt about that after listening to this performance. Truly, this is a must-have for any serious Airplane fan. No collection of Jefferson Airplane will ever be complete without it. Buy it, put on a good pair of headphones and CRANK IT UP. You won't regret it.