Red Octopus | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 13 1975 [1] | |||
Recorded | February 1975 | |||
Studio | Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, CA | |||
Genre | Rock, Art pop, [2] Soft rock | |||
Length | 42:00 61:58 (Including 2005 CD Bonus Tracks) | |||
Label | Grunt | |||
Producer | Jefferson Starship, Larry Cox | |||
Jefferson Starship chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() Cover art of original LP release |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B− [4] |
Red Octopus is the second album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records in 1975. Certified double platinum by RIAA in 1995, it is the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups. The single "Miracles" was the highest-charting single any permutation of the band had until Starship's "We Built This City" a decade later, ultimately peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart; the album itself reached No. 1 for four non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. As was common in the era, stereo and quadraphonic mixes of the album were released concurrently.
Following a guest appearance on the preceding Dragon Fly, Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin returned as a fully integrated member of the ensemble. Balin wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks on the album, including "Miracles." [5] The group attempted to create a commercial sound, which was a total contrast to their past works and paved the musical path for their next two albums. [6]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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1. | "Fast Buck Freddie" | Grace Slick | Craig Chaquico | 3:28 |
2. | "Miracles" | Marty Balin | Marty Balin | 6:52 |
3. | "Git Fiddler" (instrumental) | Papa John Creach, Kevin Moore, John Parker | 3:08 | |
4. | "Ai Garimasũ (There Is Love)" | Grace Slick | Grace Slick | 4:15 |
5. | "Sweeter than Honey" | Balin, Craig Chaquico | Craig Chaquico, Pete Sears | 3:20 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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1. | "Play on Love" | Grace Slick | Pete Sears | 3:44 |
2. | "Tumblin'" | Marty Balin, Robert Hunter | David Freiberg | 3:27 |
3. | "I Want to See Another World" | Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin | Paul Kantner | 4:34 |
4. | "Sandalphon" (instrumental) | Pete Sears | 4:08 | |
5. | "There Will Be Love" | Paul Kantner, Marty Balin | Paul Kantner, Craig Chaquico | 5:04 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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11. | "Miracles" (single version) | Marty Balin | Marty Balin | 3:29 |
12. | "Band Introduction" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland) | 1:14 | ||
13. | "Fast Buck Freddie" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland) | Grace Slick | Craig Chaquico | 3:34 |
14. | "There Will Be Love" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland) | Paul Kantner, Marty Balin | Paul Kantner, Craig Chaquico | 4:57 |
15. | "You're Driving Me Crazy" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland) | Vic Smith | Vic Smith | 6:44 |
Additional personnel
Production
Chart (1975-1976) | Peak position |
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Australian albums (Kent Music Report) [7] | 69 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [8] | 13 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [9] | 15 |
US Billboard 200 [10] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [11] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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.
I Got a Name is the fifth and final studio album and first posthumous release by American singer-songwriter, Jim Croce, released on December 1, 1973. It features the ballad "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song", which reached number 9 in the US singles chart, and the ballad "Salon and Saloon", the last song Croce recorded in his lifetime. The song, which is noted for its sparse piano-only vocal backing, was written by his guitarist and friend Maury Muehleisen and was included on the album as a gift to the writer.
Volunteers is the fifth studio album by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in 1969 on RCA Records. The album was controversial because of its revolutionary and anti-war lyrics, along with the use of profanity. The original album title was Volunteers of Amerika, but it was shortened after objections from Volunteers of America, a religious charity.
Best of The Doobies is the first greatest hits album by the Doobie Brothers. The album has material from Toulouse Street through Takin' It to the Streets, and is also a diamond record. The album was released by Warner Bros. Records on October 29, 1976, and has been re-released numerous times.
Modern Times is the sixth album by Jefferson Starship and was released in 1981. Grace Slick appeared on this album after a three-year absence. She returned near the end of the recording sessions, providing background vocals on some tracks as well as lead vocals on the single "Stranger" as a duet with lead singer Mickey Thomas. "Stranger" had previously been performed live by Jefferson Starship as early as December 1979, and the first studio version was made for Modern Times. Although not appearing in the band picture on the gatefold cover, Slick is listed on the back cover of the LP with the credit "Introducing Grace Slick" and her picture is on the lyric sleeve with the note "Grace Slick courtesy of Grace Slick." She joined the band officially for the 1981 tour. This was the first Jefferson Starship album to have promotional music videos. It was also the first album to feature a charting single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, which had premiered earlier in the year. The single "Find Your Way Back" reached No. 3 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
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.
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. 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.
Spitfire is the third album by American rock band Jefferson Starship. Released in 1976, a year after the chart-topping Red Octopus, it quickly scaled the charts, peaking for six consecutive weeks at No. 3 in Billboard and attaining a RIAA platinum certification. The album features writing contributions from members of singer Marty Balin's former band Bodacious DF, as well as Jesse Barish, who became one of Balin's frequent collaborators. Stereo and quadraphonic mixes of the album were released. "Song to the Sun" was included in the 1977 Laserock program.
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.
Freedom at Point Zero is the fifth album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released in 1979. It was the first album for new lead singer Mickey Thomas, and the first after both Grace Slick and Marty Balin left the previous year. Aynsley Dunbar plays drums on this album; he had left Journey the previous year. The album cover was shot on location in the San Francisco Bay on board the USCGC Midgett.
Honey is the seventh studio album by American band the Ohio Players. Released on August 16, 1975, by Mercury Records. It is generally regarded as a classic, the band's best album, and the last great full-length release of their dominant era in the mid-1970s.
Gold is a compilation album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records in 1979. It collects the band's four Top 40 hit singles from the 1970s, as well as three additional singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, a single that missed the chart, one b-side, and one album track. All tracks were also featured on their four studio albums to date: Dragon Fly from 1974; Red Octopus from 1975; Spitfire from 1976; and Earth from 1978. It peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified a gold record by the RIAA.
Earth is the fourth album by American rock band Jefferson Starship. The album was recorded in 1977, with the same band lineup as the previous album, Spitfire and released in 1978.
Sunfighter is a 1971 album created by Paul Kantner and Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane. The album was released shortly after the Airplane album Bark was released, and is the second record released on the Airplane's own Grunt vanity label, distributed by RCA Records. The album features a picture of their baby daughter, China Wing Kantner, on the cover. Many Bay Area musicians perform on the album, including all of the then current lineup of Jefferson Airplane, members of the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and the horn group, Tower of Power. This album is also the first time a 17-year old Craig Chaquico recorded with Paul Kantner and Grace Slick. He would go on to become the lead guitarist for Jefferson Starship.
Windows of Heaven is Jefferson Starship's first studio album since reforming in 1992 and ninth album overall. It was first released in Germany, but the band told fans to wait for a new American remixed version. The single "Let Me Fly" was released along with the American release, but did not chart on the Billboard charts. Grace Slick joined the band in the studio to record vocals on "I'm on Fire" which only appears on the American and Japanese versions. The track "Maybe for You" later reappeared on the 2008 album, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty.
"Miracles" is a song written by Marty Balin and originally recorded by Jefferson Starship, appearing on its 1975 album Red Octopus.
"With Your Love" is a song written by Marty Balin, Joey Covington and Vic Smith. The song was first recorded by Jefferson Starship and was the lead single of their 1976 album Spitfire. In the US, the single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was also a top-ten hit in Canada.
"Count on Me" is a 1978 song and single by Jefferson Starship written by Jesse Barish for the album Earth. The single, in lighter rock mode, gave Starship another US Top 10 hit after "Miracles". It was featured in the end credits to the movies Grown Ups and The Family Stone.