Jefferson Airplane was coming of the heels of their hot selling studio album Volunteers when they played at Woodstock. The original title for the album was Volunteers For Amerika, which did not go over real well with the label establishment of the day.Needless to say they went ahead and recorded with the abbreviated title and gained success and notoriety very quickly with their acid soaked bluesy rock sound.
They followed The Who as the sun began to rise on Yasgur’s farm on August 16th 1969. A band like The Who would be a tough act to follow for anyone but they did well just the same and took their place alongside their contemporaries, delivering a classic performance immortalized on this 2 disc set.
Like Joplin, Grace Slick was yet another budding female star paving the way for legions that would follow her. She would leave behind quite a legacy of recordings and events before she finally retired from performing live in the mid nineties. If you get a chance read her biography as it is very interesting rock ‘n’ roll diary.
This limited edition set includes a remastered version of Volunteers and a brilliant performance at Woodstock that would establish the Jefferson Airplane as one of the rising stars in rock music that had a voice politically. Their entire purpose was to treat their audience to a great rock show while raising awareness and what they felt was the truth about politics in our country during the 60s. Stir the pot they did and in doing so united an entire generation of youth ready to embrace their music and vision.
Jefferson Airplane symbolized the time and the event perfectly. Although the live disc features only half of the tracks that the studio recording offers, each song is filled with incredibly full and lively rock-psychedelic-blues that still stands up well today. The audience does not get cheated; the band would give it their all. Jorma Kaukonen was on fire that day, peeling off licks as if it were second nature. This music is proof of his importance to the band and shows why he was the centerpiece and everyone marched in step right behind him.
Woodstock was magical for Jefferson Airplane and the audience, everything clicked and they sounded like a band firing off on all cylinders in perfect synchronicity with the universe.
This series of limited edition CDs covering rock icons performing at Woodstock is excellent reminder of where we came from and where we are going today. You can hear it in the music and the atmosphere of the audiences and it all still transfers very well to this day.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
September 13, 2009
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