Search - Jefferson Airplane :: Worst of Jefferson Airplane

The Crown of Creation

J. H. Minde | Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York | 06/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE WORST OF JEFFERSON AIRPLANE is that band's ironically titled Greatest Hits album. Dating from 1970, THE WORST reflects the best work put forth by the Airplane's "classic" lineup of Marty Balin, Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Spencer Dryden and Jack Casady (as well as two selections from JEFFERSON AIRPLANE TAKES OFF, featuring Signe Toly Anderson on vocals and Skip Spence on drums). This new re-release also features two songs not on the original disc, "Watch Her Ride" and "Greasy Heart," which are intelligently inserted in chronological order.



By chronologically arranging the songs we can see the Airplane evolve from a Mamas & Papas/Association folk vocal harmony group ("Blues From An Airplane"), to an unquestioned commercial success ("White Rabbit"), into an experimental Acid Rock band ("The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil"), and then into a densely musical, overtly political entity ("Volunteers").



This evolution ultimately led to the band's demise. Shortly after the release of THE WORST Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady left to form Hot Tuna, a group focusing on the early Airplane's folk and blues roots, and Spencer Dryden was asked to leave the band. The departure of Kaukonen, Casady, and Dryden irrevocably changed Jefferson Airplane's sound and guaranteed their downfall from the most successful of the San Francisco psychedelic bands into an also-ran constantly shifting passel of musicians who copied but never captured the classic lineup's sound, and never quite defined their own. Jefferson Airplane limped on until 1972, and was succeeded by the much less daring Jefferson Starship in 1974. Although there were numerous albums and several tremendous hit songs created by the Airplane's various iterations after 1970, for true Airplane fans they've always had the feel of counterfeits.



To hear THE WORST OF JEFFERSON AIRPLANE is to experience the Airplane at their best: In the era they defined, at the peak of their powers, and at their crown of creation."

Jeffersonian Principles

Jim Newsom | Norfolk, VA | 06/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Marty Balin began putting together the band that would become Jefferson Airplane in 1965, he called the music he intended to make "fojazz," a hybrid of folk and jazz. But what he and the band actually created was an even more far-ranging concoction, dubbed "psychedelic rock" because of its role as soundtrack for the hallucinogenic drug scene of the time.



The Worst of Jefferson Airplane was an essential part of every college student's record collection in the early `70s. Originally released in November, 1970, the 15-track LP neatly summed up the band's first five years, offering glimpses of the Airplane's many sides--Balin's pop-rockin' "It's No Secret," the romantically beautiful "Today," Grace Slick's strangely disturbing "Lather," Paul Kantner's anthemic call to revolution, "We Can Be Together," Jorma Kaukonen's acoustic interlude, "Embryonic Journey."



Kantner coined the Worst of moniker as a typically Jeffersonian dig at the record industry the band had often done battle with. In fact, the compilation was lovingly assembled by the bandmembers themselves, and included the group's only two actual hits, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit," as well as samplings from their six albums up to that point.



This Legacy reissue includes two bonus tracks, Kantner's "Watch Her Ride" and Slick's menacing "Greasy Heart." Its chronological layout allows the listener to trace the sonic and lyrical development of the psychedelic era itself while following the trajectory of San Francisco's most successful band. It's a journey that is still worth taking. The only disappointment is that the CD's expanded capacity wasn't maximized to include the post-Worst sort-of-a-hit, "Pretty as You Feel," or the definitive "Wooden Ships" from Volunteers. --Jim Newsom



originally published in Port Folio Weekly, 6/13/06

copyright 2006 Port Folio Weekly. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission."

Jefferson Airplane Loved You--'Cept Maybe Grace Who Would Ju

Gregor von Kallahann | 08/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are so many re-packagings of Jefferson Airplane/Starship material out these days that any newcomer to their music must feel a little overwhelmed. If it helps, most of these compilations were way after the fact, "Worst of..." was the original "best of," released first on vinyl in the early 70s. I didn't buy it then because I had everything on it on other records (this being a bit before anybody thought to entice fans with "bonus tracks"). To me all the early Airplane albums were essential, and this package was at best, a good intro for the uninitiated.

But now since I haven't replaced every single vinyl LP with the CD version (have some, not all), this collection makes sense. In fact, it makes damn good sense. In terms of providing an overview of the Airplane's most creative period, this 15 track sampling is hard to beat. Two of the best tracks from the neo-folkie, pre-Grace "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off" open the album on a sweetly melancholic note, a little stiff and unformed yet. Then suddenly you're caught up in the aural whoosh of "Somebody to Love," that sharp almost genderless voice coming out of nowhere. Grace Slick makes a ferocious entry, into the song, into the band and into music history.



It scarcely lets up from there. I've often maintained that the great thing about the Airplane is that the sweetly sappy one was the guy (Marty Balin) and the edgy, neurotic one was the, uh, girl (and even in '67, "chick" scarcely applied to Grace Slick). "Worst of..." balances this odd yin and yang nicely. The shortest and most effective of Marty's "Surrealistic Pillow" ballads, "Today" is strategically placed between the two big Slick numbers (and of course, that would be "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit"). "Embryonic Journey," the celebrated acoustic instrumental from "Pillow" segues into Paul Kantner's lyrical "Martha," one of "After Bathing at Baxter's" gentler tracks.



And then we're off into the era of Kantner's ascendency. Kantner, who was in many ways the glue that held the Airplane/Starship together, was also the object of increasing critical abuse as the 60s wore into the 70s. Truth to tell, he did write a few clunkers in his day, but what's represented here is Kantner at his visionary best. The joyous "Pooneil" is childlike without being mawkish, and "Crown of Creation" made just the right political statement for late '68 (more mournful than didactic, actually, which may be why it holds up today--[other] concerns aside). Then Grace does a brooding slow tempo number ("Lather"), and Marty demonstrates his ability to rock out with the bouncy live version of "Plastic Fantastic Lover." Every band member gets his or her chance to shine, including guitarist Jorma Kaukonen's stately "Good Shepherd," which is lovely, a bit rootsy and prefigures his Hot Tuna and solo work nicely.



And it ends with "We Can Be Together" AND "Volunteers"--two songs that were meant to be played back to back (and often were in concert). If that doesn't close the record on a high note, and if you're not spazz-dancing in the aisles or in your living room by that point, well, I'll eat my bandana.





"