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Grace belts out its lyrics to a musical wall of sound driven by Jack Casady's bass guitar."Wooden Ships" from "Volunteers" is also nice, and Papa John Creach lends an added dimension not heard in any other Airplane recordings of that tune.The concluding medley is also a real kicker.I concur with a prior reviewer that if you are not familiar with the Airplane, this should not be your starting point. Songs that were lackluster in the studio recording - with a bad mix to boot - are performed with a riveting intensity.
No going out with a whimper. This 2-CD set really rocks.
Well, at the time the band didn't know this would be the end (Jorma quit just days afterward to start recording "Quah"), and it was the grand conclusion of their tour to promote "Long John Silver," so what do you expect.I am truly impressed at the material done here from that album. The Airplane finished their seven-year run in a blaze of glory.
The great majority of tracks are from their last two studio albums, "Bark" (1971) and "Long John Silver" (1972).I see that a number of reviewers here have knocked the concert for not having more of their songs from earlier albums. The title tract of "Long John Silver" has a makeover that is nothing short of a remarkable.
For that I would recommend "Surrelaistic Pillow" or "The Worst of Jefferson Airplane." This set is the icing on the cake for us longtime fans.
I relly enjoyed this 2 disc set. I especially liked the versions of Lawman, Have you seen the Saucers, Wooden Ships and of course the Diana/Volunteers medley. Even though Marty isn't on it, Davis Freiberg's vocals are excellent as are Papa's contributions and Jack's bass work is incomparable. I would say it is a must have for any old Airplane fan.
The live sound here is definitely superior to the Quicksilver Messenger Service's "Live at Kabuki Theater" but not quite up to "Thirty Seconds Over Winterland " which contains some of this same material and similar band members (including Papa John Creach). Creach on screaming violin, a nice touch indeed. You have to smile at the enthusiasm of the opening band introduction, which sets the right mood for enjoyment of this lengthy set. This was one of the strangest band line-ups of the day, rife with vocalists and guitarists, no keyboards, and the elder Mr. Songs like "Milk Train" aren't acquitted as well here as on "30 Secs" but the longer total performance makes up for it, and generally there aren't many long tired jams, just faithful performances of the songs. Grace laments that she has no idea where lyrics to "Twilight Double Leader" come from.I wonder, didn't this song mean to invoke the baseball term "Twilight Double HEADER."
The last night of the tour, a bit too much partying before the show. When the band is cooking, this show is very hot. This show is definately for the true die-hard fan of Jefferson Airplane. It definately shows in her performance.While the drumming from Johnny Barbata is rather heavy handed, it is definately sevicable for the band. Unfortunately Grace Slick is not in any other form here other than bad. I have several bootleg shows from Jefferson Starship from this era and Grace is often much better than she is here. Paul, Jack, Jorma and Papa John hold this show together and really make it worthwhile to listen to. I guess it's worthwhile to have for the "Historic Show" that it is, but there's a lot better live material out there of this band.
seems to me that most criticisms of the airplane are all sorta the same.what do people expect.seems that most that booked return flights on the jefferson airline did so for the experience.some rides were bumpy, delayed or even canceled.but when they took off they shattered barriers.today the experience is past but the atmosphere is conjured up in live albums like this one.i'm not sure what a five star rating is supposed to mean but this album will take you for an old fashioned ride.its a 5 star blast-off through an old foggy atmosphere and back again.Fly Jefferson Airplane and Grace will get you there on time
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