Jefferson Airplane | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 22, 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Studio | The Record Plant, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 54:33 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Producer | Ron Nevison Greg Edward Jefferson Airplane | |||
Jefferson Airplane chronology | ||||
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Singles from Jefferson Airplane | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Classic Rock | [2] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
Rolling Stone | [4] |
Jefferson Airplane is the eighth and final studio album by San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on Epic Records in 1989. Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady all returned for the album and supporting tour, though Spencer Dryden did not participate. [5] The album and accompanying tour would mark the last time Jefferson Airplane would perform together until their 1996 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Jack Casady had toured as the KBC Band and released an eponymous album in 1986. Grace Slick had recently left Starship after performing lead vocals on their album No Protection in 1987, and planned to retire from music. Jorma Kaukonen had been performing solo work and performing live with Jack Casady as Hot Tuna. Kantner left KBC Band in 1987 but joined Hot Tuna on stage for the 1987–1988 tour. Kaukonen invited Slick to play a concert at the Fillmore with Hot Tuna in 1988 where she performed harmony vocals on "Third Week in the Chelsea" and lead vocals along with Kantner for "Wooden Ships". In 1989, Slick was convinced to join the band again and the five members finally got together to discuss a reunion tour and album. Joining Jefferson Airplane for the tour along with Kenny Aronoff on drums were Tim Gorman – who had played with KBC Band – on keyboards, Randy Jackson on guitar, and Jorma's brother Peter Kaukonen also on guitar. Gorman and Jackson did not participate on the album. Aronoff joined the band as drummer for the tour and in the studio. The album was produced by Ron Nevison, who had previously produced the Jefferson Starship albums Freedom at Point Zero , Modern Times and Nuclear Furniture , as well as Slick's solo album Software . Kaukonen was displeased with Kantner and Slick's methods in the studio; "Their approach to recording was not the way we used to do it in the old days. It was very much the modular, sequenced LA way of recording. It works for some people but not me. It just wasn't even fun. It was well done but not very passionate." [6]
The first music video made to promote the album was for the Kantner-penned "Planes". The video helped the single rise to #24 on the Billboard charts for mainstream rock, [7] although the album itself only rose to #85 on the Billboard 200. [8] "Planes" and Balin's song "Summer of Love" were both previously performed live by KBC Band, and the first studio versions of these songs were made for this album. The latter song did not have a music video but rose to #15 on the adult contemporary charts. [7] Steve Porcaro and David Paich of Toto wrote the final single, "True Love", and also appeared on the song along with bandmate Mike Porcaro. The music video for "True Love" saw less airtime than the video for "Planes". The Kaukonen compositions "Ice Age" and "Too Many Years" had previously been recorded in acoustic versions for the Kaukonen solo album Too Hot to Handle , and received a multi-instrumental treatment here. Kaukonen wrote one more song for the album, the instrumental "Upfront Blues." At least two songs were written but rejected for the album: Balin's "Let's Go" and Slick's "Harbor in Hong Kong". [9] [10] [11]
After the album was released, Hot Tuna signed to Epic and released Pair a Dice Found —their first studio album in fourteen years.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Planes (Experimental Aircraft)" | Paul Kantner | 4:26 |
2. | "Freedom" | Grace Slick | 4:54 |
3. | "Solidarity" (translated by John Willett [12] ) | Bertolt Brecht, Marty Balin, Mark Cummings | 5:08 |
4. | "Madeleine Street" | Kantner, Balin | 4:15 |
5. | "Ice Age" | Jorma Kaukonen | 4:16 |
6. | "Summer of Love" | Balin | 4:15 |
7. | "The Wheel (For Nora and Nicaragua)" (translated by Margaret Randall) | Kantner, additional lyrics by Otto René Castillo [n 1] | 6:08 |
8. | "Common Market Madrigal" | Slick | 2:46 |
9. | "True Love" | Steve Porcaro, David Paich | 3:43 |
10. | "Upfront Blues" | Kaukonen | 2:02 |
11. | "Now Is the Time" | Slick | 4:53 |
12. | "Too Many Years" | Kaukonen | 4:10 |
13. | "Panda" | Slick | 3:37 |
Chart (1989) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200 [13] | 85 |
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1965 that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. The group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to achieve international commercial success. They headlined the Monterey Pop Festival (1967), Woodstock (1969), Altamont Free Concert (1969), and the first Isle of Wight Festival (1968) in England. Their 1967 breakout album Surrealistic Pillow was one of the most significant recordings of the Summer of Love. Two songs from that album, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit", are among Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albums, and one gold-selling compilation. The album Red Octopus went double-platinum, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1975. The band went through several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the Jefferson Starship name. The band name was retired in 1984, but it was picked up again in 1992 by a revival of the group led by Paul Kantner, which has continued since his death in 2016.
Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the years, the band's center has always been Kaukonen and Casady's ongoing collaboration.
Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist Jack Casady, and as of early 2024 has continued for 55 years. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 54 on its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Jefferson Airplane.
John William Casady is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" charted in 1967 and 1968. Casady, along with the other members of Jefferson Airplane, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
KBC Band was formed in 1985 by former Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and Jack Casady (bass). Other members included Keith Crossan, Tim Gorman, Slick Aguilar and Darrell Verdusco (drums). Their sole LP, KBC Band, featured the singles "America" and "It's Not You, It's Not Me."
Paul Lorin Kantner was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and a secondary vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He continued these roles as a member of Jefferson Starship, Jefferson Airplane's successor band.
Bark is the sixth studio album by American rock band Jefferson Airplane. Released in 1971 as Grunt FTR-1001, the album is one of the Airplane's late-period works, notable for the group's first personnel changes since 1966. The album was the first without band founder Marty Balin and the first with violinist Papa John Creach. Drummer Spencer Dryden had been replaced by Joey Covington in early 1970 after a lengthy transitional period in which both musicians had performed with the band.
Long John Silver is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, and their last album of all new material until 1989. It was recorded and released in 1972 as Grunt FTR-1007.
The Worst of Jefferson Airplane is the first compilation album from the rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in November 1970 as RCA Victor LSP-4459. The "Worst" in the title is ironic, as the album features all of Jefferson Airplane's hit singles up to that point. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 in 1971 and has since gone platinum.
Dragon Fly is the debut album by Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records in 1974. It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified a gold album. Credited to Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, and Jefferson Starship, the band itself was a turning point after a series of four albums centering on the partnership of Kantner and Slick during the disintegration of Jefferson Airplane through the early 1970s.
Flight Log (1966–1976) is a compilation album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane. Released in January 1977 as a double-LP as Grunt CYL2-1255, it is a compilation of Jefferson Airplane and Airplane-related tracks, including tracks by Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna, as well as solo tracks by Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and Jorma Kaukonen. Although primarily a compilation album, the album includes one previously unreleased song: "Please Come Back" written by Ron Nagle and performed by Jefferson Starship. "Please Come Back" is not available on any other release.
Last Flight is an authorized recording released in the United Kingdom, taken from the last live performance of the San Francisco rock group Jefferson Airplane prior to the band's dissolution in 1972. The concert was held at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, and selected tracks were released on the 1973 album Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. Last Flight consists of the entire concert with the exception of the encore, Marty Balin's "You Wear Your Dresses Too Short", previously released on the Jefferson Airplane Loves You box-set. Balin sings lead vocals on "Volunteers" much to the surprise of the audience since he left the band in late 1970.
At Golden Gate Park is an authorized release in the United Kingdom of a recording of the concert given on May 7, 1969, by the San Francisco, psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
At the Family Dog Ballroom is a recording of a 1969 performance by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane at the Family Dog Ballroom in San Francisco. Released on CD in the United Kingdom, the album is a digipak offering of material only recently rediscovered. A poster is included.
Grunt Records was a vanity label founded in 1971 by Jefferson Airplane and distributed by RCA Records. Initially created to sign local Bay Area acts, the label later was used only for Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna releases. The label ended use in 1987 after Grace Slick left Starship.
Mark "Slick" Aguilar is an American guitarist. He has worked with a number of notable musicians but is probably best known as a member of Jefferson Starship. From 1974 to 1980 he was an in house guitar player for TK studios in N. Miami. He recorded with KC & the Sunshine Band, Bobby Caldwell, Latimore, George & Gwen McCrae, Clarence Reid, Timmy Thomas and Betty Wright. He played guitar with KC & the Sunshine Band and Wayne Cochran during the late 1970s before moving to the West Coast. It was there that he recorded with, Buddy Miles' band and in 1982-84 he toured with David Crosby. In 1984 Slick joined Marty Balin's band which led to him being hired to play lead guitar in the KBC Band.
Live at the Monterey Festival is a live album by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane, which was released in the United Kingdom and Europe by Thunderbolt Records in 1991. The album was authorized by the band and features the entire set from the group's June 17, 1967, performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. The album marked the first time that Jefferson Airplane's entire Monterey Pop Festival performance had been given a release by a legitimate record company.