Through much of my adolescence and early youth the Jefferson Airplane were my favourite band by far. I was lucky enough to see the original Airplane twice and if I could go back in time to experience only one concert again, their 1969 concert in Detroit would be it (although I would bring earplugs as they were LOUD).
The Airplane only lasted until 1972 when they morphed into the various incarnations of the Jefferson Starship, which I saw four times in later years. July 20th was the 50th anniversary of the last studio album, Long John Silver. Recorded live off the floor at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco in early 1972, it is a perfect snapshot of the Airplane at the end of its too short life.
It's been a while since I've listened to this album and it holds up better than some of their earlier recordings. Without Marty Balin in the group, Paul Kantner's anthemic science-fiction-tinged epics ("Son of Jesus" and "Alexander the Medium") get the full blast of the band's power. The high point of the album though is probably Grace Slick's soaring "Aerie (Gang of Eagles") which I drove my parents crazy with by playing it at full volume the last year I was living at home. And you should play it loud too.
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