Search - Jefferson Airplane :: Volunteers

Oops I quoted Grace singing "@#$%" in my first review submis

Stargrazer | deep in the heart of Michigan | 07/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jefferson Airplane always had a little bite to their "We Can Be Together" politics. Living at the epicenter of hippie culture in San Francisco as they were, it's hard to duck the flowers and beads when talking about their musical aesthetic -- sort of Haight-Ashbury's answer to the guitar sounds the Velvet Underground was making, plus a heady dose of electric and country blues, plus 3 and sometimes 4 way vocals, plus incendiary musical change-ups that hinted at sprawling psychedelic vistas.



A case in point is "Turn My Life Down," a concise track that starts with a fairly standard coffee-shoppish slide guitar before nimbly slipping into Laurel Canyon-style guitars and Hammonds. Then, suddenly at about 1-and-a-half minutes, the song tranforms into a romping pop melody and searing guitar counterpoint, nearly lifting the track right out of the stereo.



The title track "Volunteers," "The Farm," and "Good Shepherd" all espouse a back-to-nature agenda while simultaneously pointing an accusatory finger at religious zealots and political opportunists. But rather than being soap-boxy, these come off as beautifully constructed songs, scintillating in a raggedy way that is most often attributed to early Neil Young.



If you were concerned things were going to be a bit treacly and trapped in dated politics, Grace Slick delivers two songs that make it clear she was the Kim Gordon of her day. "Hey Fredrick" and "Eskimo Blue Day" are unflinching and raw -- "Either go away, or go all the way in" snarls Slick in the former tune. He voice soars over ambiguous lyrics that seem to search out some sort of meaning in religious and interpersonal dynamics. It could have been a boring graduate-level lecture... or it could be the dynamic and provocative polemic that she delivers here. You don't even notice nearly 9 minutes have passed. She is equally demanding in "Eskimo Blue Day," reminding us in no uncertain terms that "the human name doesn't mean @#$% to a tree."



As if to rub salt into the wide eyes of stupefied right-wingers who may have heard the album in its day, one of the closing songs is a tremulous organ reading of "Meadowlands," a communist-affiliated anthem much-reviled by the "Red Scare" set.



Another quote from the previously mentioned "We Can Be Together" is below. For as rewarding and generally uplifting as this album listens, the Airplane was out for blood -- striking a blow for the youth and pulling no punches in alienating apathists, poseurs, and opportunists. It's delivered with excellent musicianship and some thrilling left-turns too, making this album a real accomplishment from its era. One of my period favorites -- enjoy!



"We are forces of chaos and anarchy, everything they say we are we are, and we are very proud of ourselves."

"

It Just gets better

William G. Hayward | Swarthmore, PA United States | 02/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, Spencer's gone, we're all getting on, the present gets crappy and scary, and the 60's just get more mythical as we go. So when do we realize this band and their cronies were the Cassandras of their time? (Google her).

The music is epic and anthemic, even the quiet songs like "Good Shepherd" and "Turn My Life Down" have an urgency to them that asks the listener to think about the choices and compromises they have made, the lifestyles they have chosen.

I gave this album a good headphone listen tonight, and I'm convinced the reason this band has become so obscure and forgotten is because they spoke an uncomfortable truth to comfort. They were not about entertainment, but rather whatever entertainment's opposite is.

This album is not just a collection of erudite, well written and really well played songs, but a statement about America (as it was then) that has become horribly and prophetically realized 40 years later.

If Baxters was anti-commercial, Volunteers was anti-everything our dopey leaders thought was good for us, and (more importantly) them.

What is the last time music actually made any kind of political statement about the status quo, the way this album did? U-2, maybe, but every other pop artist these days is all about the mo-ney. No musician today will let you hear a discouraging word about the way things are, so listen to the increasingly ancient sounds of the Airplane to understand where politics briefly met art and music. Good luck on your 401K, motherf$#*er!"

Not Their Best, But Still a CLASSIC

Leonardo Mirenda | Rome, Italy | 08/17/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Infact this album explains us the situation that Jefferson Airplane was living in the 1969 period: infact on traks like "GOOD SHEPERD" you can see that the Jack Casady-Jorma Kaukonen combo was increasingly removing from Jefferson Airplane politic mission, and the fact that Marty Balin not writes any song, makes we think that he was not very interested on making music with them.

And of course this album mixes a lot of Jefferson Starship sound on albums like "BLOWS AGANISTS THE EMPIRE" or "SUNFIGHTER" and Hot Tuna sound on albums like "BURGERS"

Anyway, I love this album because when I went to see a Jorma Kaukonen's show, here in Italy, he signed up it!"