Jefferson Airplane Review

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(More customer reviews)It's funny when you lived something and can go back later on in time to reevaluate things. I remember how incredibly excited I was at the news of the Airplane's reuniting in '88. I bought this CD when it was originally released. A fan of both the Airplane (in a more mythic fashion) and Hot Tuna (in a more real fashion), I was prepared for an incredible musical explosion like the World had never seen before. I was dissappointed in 1989 when this CD came out. 13 years later, I think I know why. It wasn't a bunch of old bandmates at the top of their games when this came about. The end of the 80s was a musical wasteland that hadn't been too good to any of these players for awhile. This CD was something to do, hoping to recapture something they knew they could still get away with due to the nostalgia. Essentially they picked up where they left off with Long John Silver. An album of music by two bands playing together, but not as one. Jefferson Starship meets Hot Tuna. It's only too bad they didn't get Papa John Creach in for the reunion. He still had a few good years. The rest seemed to disappear after this album, perhaps for good- with the exception of Kaukonen and Casady who continue to thrive as Hot Tuna- even recapturing an earlier sound during their electric performances I thought was lost. Maybe they can all take another stab at this someday. I was lucky enough to enjoy a live performance during the tour for this album which absolutely made up for any shortcomings in the studio. Old and new, altogether on stage. "Crown of Creation" live in 1990 was every bit as good as it may have been 20 years earlier. For now, it is nice to be able to look back after so long and place this CD alongside the others to take its place in their collective history. It's not bad, but could have been so great.

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Double Compilation from Jefferson Airplane. 16 Songs Including White Rabbit, Today, Plastc Fantastic Lover and Others.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Boz Scaggs Review

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(More customer reviews)The rhythm section that propelled the great Atlantic soul singers like Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding...the legendary lead guitarist Duane Allman just as he was forming his great band...the keys to the kingdom were handed to the former Steve Miller Band guitarist and aspiring singer Boz Scaggs for his debut solo album in 1969...and boy oh boy did Boz ever deliver!
"Boz Scaggs" is another candidate for the greatest overlooked, unjustly forgotten album of the classic rock era. It wasn't overlooked in its own day. Back when FM radio was "free form" and could play 10 minute-long cuts, the amazing "Loan Me a Dime," a delicately soulful blues wail that evolves into a monstrous Allman guitar workout, was a staple, especially at night. But the whole album is as good as that climactic moment. "I'll Be Long Gone," which Tracey Nelson also memorably covered, is an emotional inspiration. There are many other highlights--"Look What I Got" has the emotional directness of the Band; "Sweet Release" is heavenly soul. The album is sequenced beautifully; it is almost flawless.
A lot of fans of this album like to bemoan the fact that Boz Scaggs seemed to "go commercial" in later years, especially with "Silk Degrees." I think this is the wrong way to look at his career. This album is so complete, so rich, and so thoroughly occupies the territory, what else could he have done with it? Scaggs obviously loves the whole wide expanse of soul, blues and R & B, and feels no need to settle into a single groove within that broad category. So, with each album, he explores a sound as thoroughly, creatively and thoughtfully as he can, and then, on his subsequent album, moves on to explore another aspect. "Silk Degrees" happened to be very successful, but it's just as fresh as this album, a classy, creative take on the dance music of its time. "Middle Man" went even further uptown; it is the only Steely Dan-influenced album that belongs on the same shelf with them.
Some day, a label like Rhino is going to do the kind of comprehensive job on Scaggs' career that they have done with other artists of this period, finally releasing the albums that have sunk out of sight like "Moments," unearthing some unreleased and obscure tracks that show his work with his consistently great array of sidemen, remastering (although this disk, old as it is, sounds just fine), maybe digging out some live performances (Scaggs has never released a full live album), and finally get this great artist the credit he is due.

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The incredible first album with Duane Allman on guitar and featuring his FM radio staple 'Loan Me A Dime'.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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