Search - Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship :: Vh1 Behind the Music Collection

Another missed opportunity, I'm afraid ...

David Juliette | 02/18/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Although this might be an exciting record for someone who grew up listening to his father play "Miracles" over and over, to those of us who have been with this band for the past 35 years, through Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna and the various solo and semi-solo flights of it's principals, this is a paltry collection indeed.While the first six tracks represent some of the best-known songs of the longest-lasting Airplane configuration, we start sliding downhill fast, first with Marty Balin's Starship crooning, then with Mickey Thomas' shrill screeching. Neither of which come even close to representing what these bands are capable of. Treated as if it didn't even exist was that fascinating period during the early seventies when the Airplane was disintegrating and Starship and Hot Tuna were forming from it's ashes, like two new planets rising out of the debris of their shattered predecessor. While some of what was produced during that period didn't weather the passage of time very well, a good deal of it still stands up as being truly remarkable.But how any collection can attach the names of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship to itself while at the same time marginalizing the contributions of Paul Kantner, Grace Slick and Jorma Kaukonen is well beyond me. Sure, we have Grace's "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit", but just once I'd like to see "Hey Frederick" or "rejoyce". And what about "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooniel", "Ice Cream Phoenix", or the live version of "3/5ths of a Mile in 10 Seconds" from "Bless it's Pointed Little Head" ? Or even the live version of "Somebody to Love" from the same album, just for something different ?The musical contributions of this remarkable group of people is not being served by collections like this, and the cost is that people looking for interesting music among all that's out there these days have a much harder time finding and appreciating it. Airplane and Starship, and to a lesser degree Hot Tuna have not been treated very well by the press over the years, and with collections like this that focus only on commercial "hits" instead of some of the genuinely creative things that they've done, who can blame them ?This sounds an awful lot like I'm dismissing everything from "Red Octopus" forward, which is, admittedly, an easy thing to do, but I'm not. Kantner's assertive voice on "Spitfire" and "Nuclear Furniture" saved that entire period from complete shame. Kantner, Balin and Casady's 1986 "KBC Band" showed us a new energy that is still kicking up it's heels today. And the 1989 Jefferson Airplane reunion album was a real overlooked gem, if you discount "Summer of Love".The VH1 collection doesn't even give a hint of any of this ...If you'd really like a representative look at the work of these musicians, I'd recommend the 2-CD "2400 Fulton Street". Or maybe you can find a vinyl copy of Jefferson Airplane's "Flight Log"."

Everything I Was Looking For!

hicks76 | Thompson, Manitoba Canada | 11/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I wasn't around when the early material was being released, I discovered Jefferson Airplane through my father's repeated listenings to "Miracles". When I was growing up, the band Starship was quite popular, and put out some great 80's tunes like "Sara". When I found out that there was a "Jefferson Starship", I finally realized the link, and set out to find out more about this super-group. For anyone who wants a comprehensive view of the band and it's evolution, this is your disc! I couldn't believe I'd found a CD with "Comin' Back to Me", "Crown of Creation", "Miracles", "Your Love", "Jane", and "Sara" on it! To my ears, anyway, all the good stuff is here, and I'm so glad I discovered it! In fact, I think I'm going to buy a copy for Dad right now..."

Jefferson to Starship Sampler

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 07/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As with many groups that have existed for more than three decades, a single CD is going to be inadequate. Indeed, two CDs may be insufficient for the amount of quality material that any such group would have. Such is the case with this single CD that purports to cover Jefferson Airplane and the two subsequent incarnations, Jefferson Starship and Starship.From a marketing viewpoint this CD is a great idea. Take some of the most popular music from a group that has existed in various forms for three decades and put it onto a single CD, thereby creating a single CD that previously did not exist. From a customer viewpoint the concept is marginal as it trivializes the scope of the contribution of that group, unless you are a casual fan that only wants to have a best of the best sort of CD, and are willing to give up all the other quality music a group created. Thus, this CD becomes more of a sampler for the three groups versus any sort of real representative collection.While this CD is a sampler, it is a decent sampler. "White Rabbit," "Somebody to Love" and "Volunteers" were among Jefferson Airplane's most well-known music, though not Jefferson Airplane at its cutting edge best. Similarly, Jefferson Starship is represented by seven songs that all had a fair amount of radio play; some of them significant amounts of radio play, including the nearly seven minute "Miracles." Starship is represented by five selections, including "We Built this City," "Sara," and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now." However, these selections again point out the weakness of this sampler. Very little of the highly artistic and cutting edge music of these groups is here. The focus of this CD is on the music that was popular.While this CD may serve for casual fans, more serious fans have several options. There is another collection of hits for the three groups that is a two disk set that has twice the music. There are also multiple greatest hits albums of various sizes for each of the individual groups. Of course, for the very serious fan there are also the numerous albums, including "Surrealistic Pillow" and "Red Octopus," both of which are regarded as being among their best.I give this CD 4 stars as a sampler versus a true collection of greatest hits or best of. Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship, without mentioning the Hot Tuna connection, had a scope far greater than a single 80-minute CD could hope to cover. If you think you might like these groups and you wanted to take this next step to discovering the scope of their music, this CD could be an excellent next step. However, if you like what you hear on this CD, please continue on to discover the true scope of the contributions of these groups."