Jefferson Airplane

[Ovi]

I think they're a pretty good band. 'Surrealistic Pillow' is definitely their peak with classics such as 'Today' (one of my all-time favourite songs), 'White Rabbit', 'Somebody To Love' or 'Comin' Back To Me'. 'After Bathing at Baxter's' and 'Crown of Creation', even though not as good, still have plenty of great moments. I'm still working on their other albums.

I think they were very talented musicians, with Balin and Kantner as good song-writers, Grace as a very powerful and specific singer, Kaukonen as a spontaneous guitarist, who even wrote some gems by himself and Casady, probably one of the greatest bassists of the 60's.

Any more fans around?

[MyGlove]

i'm a big fan of White Rabbit and Somebody to Love. The rest of Surrealistic Pillow is nice enough. That's all I've heard by them unfortunately.

[Aum Bop Diddit]

I dig some of their stuff  a lot -- generally specific tracks as opposed to albums.  At their best they were mighty.  "Surrealistic Pillow" is likely the best, but "Volunteers: is worth checking out for sure.  Fave JA tracks offhand:

Good Shepherd
She Has Funny Cars
Today
Comin' Back To Me
Plastic Fantastic Lover
Have You Seen the Stars tonight? (JS I know)
Volunteers
My Best Friend

Like the two hits too and others.

[Aegir]

A Song for All Seasons is great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjaL_zU7buY

[JanBerryFarm]

WERE a pretty good band. Not ARE a pretty good band.

Pretty much drivel after Crown of Creation.

[Loaf]

Pretty much drivel after Crown of Creation.

Nonsense. Even up to Bark, they were great. It's only on Long John Silver, where the band were stretched too thin from all their sideproject commitments, that JA disappoint.

[Moon Dawg]

 Everything from TAKES OFF to VOLUNTEERS rates as classic. Balin gave them some cohesion that went missing for BARK and LONG JOHN SILVER as Kantner's naive political musings came to the forefront.

[Alex]

I really hope Grace Slick was embarrassed by these:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxGGckAc1rs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ezetZpcsmo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiCCB3h_R8Y&feature=related

[Ovi]

I really hope Grace Slick was embarrassed by these:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxGGckAc1rs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ezetZpcsmo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiCCB3h_R8Y&feature=related

She was. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAiQf-jQhWI

@4:09

[Music Machine]

She talks in her autobiography about how she was just after a payday and after a while could sense Mickey Thomas' dissatisfaction with having to share a stage and leader duties with her and in the late 80's used a shoulder injury as an excuse to bail from the band and cross the floor to the reunited Jefferson Airplane.  

Not long after Grace left, Starship drummer Donny Baldwin gave Mickey Thomas a head injury during a fight and Mickey replaced the rest of the band with a bunch of session musicians. He still plays county fairs, private parties and anywhere else that will have him in that incarnation of the band to this day.

In '84 she put all the eccentric songs she was working on in the early 80's that in the old days would have wound up on Airplane albums on her synth heavy solo album Software. I recommend it to fans of the Beach Boys Love You album.

[I. Spaceman]

She talks in her autobiography about how she was just after a payday and after a while could sense Mickey Thomas' dissatisfaction with having to share a stage and leader duties with her and in the late 80's used a shoulder injury as an excuse to bail from the band and cross the floor to the reunited Jefferson Airplane.  

Not long after Grace left, Starship drummer Donny Baldwin gave Mickey Thomas a head injury during a fight and Mickey replaced the rest of the band with a bunch of session musicians. He still plays county fairs, private parties and anywhere else that will have him in that incarnation of the band to this day.

In '84 she put all the eccentric songs she was working on in the early 80's that in the old days would have wound up on Airplane albums on her synth heavy solo album Software. I recommend it to fans of the Beach Boys Love You album.

Great post.