When I was a kid, I can remember having two favorite bands. The first was the Beatles of course (for obvious reasons).
The second though, was the Jefferson Airplane. Some of the reasons there should be fairly obvious — Grace Slick's dark and druggy sexuality made me cream my very hormonally charged thirteen year old jeans the same way that I'm sure they did many other young boys growing up back then in the sixties as I did.
But where the Airplane really cast their spell on me was in the way guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady wove such intoxicating tapestries of sound. They were more like tunnels which took you deep into the rabbit hole Grace sang about actually.
There was nothing quite like the way Casady's rumbling bass lines sucked you deep down into that tunnel — and there really has never been another like him before or since. Couple that with Kaukonen's sharp, raga-esque blasts of guitar and you had a uniquely different flight into the other worlds of consciousness altogether. Fantasies of Grace's own rabbit hole notwithstanding (sorry, couldn't resist...)
I mean, sure. Grace was every sixties male teenyboppers hippie chick goddess — and undoubtedly the focus of many a pre-pubescent masturbatory fantasy back then (which forty some odd years later, I can now admit included my own). Where Janis was sorta scary, Grace was more like comely, okay?
But while Grace may have made one hell of a psychedelic flight attendant, it was Jorma and Jack who were truly flying this particular Airplane. With these two amazingly gifted musicians as your psychedelic pilots, any additional drugs were completely unnecessary. Fly Jefferson Airplane indeed.
Another thing I used to do back then was mark the songs on my vinyl albums with stars for the songs I really liked. The ones I'd skip over would be unmarked, while others might have one star or two. But the ones which really kicked ass might have four or even five.
When Jefferson Airplane released their first official live album Bless Its Pointed Little Head back in 1969, the song "Plastic Fantastic Lover" was marked with five stars. No question about it. As songs released on live albums go, this one ranked right up there with the fourteen minute version of "My Generation" from The Who Live At Leeds.
To this day, I have never heard a bass riff that rumbled my speakers and my entire being, the same way that this one did, and still does to this day. Kaukonen's leads — razor sharp and concise — likewise cut through Casady's deep as thunder bass runs like a knife to butter, and Marty Balin's vocals here are the icing on the cake.
Article comments
1 - pablo
I cannot help but comment on this article by Glen Boyd. Glen does not say whether he actually got to see the old Airplane in person.
I was fortunate to grow up in San Francisco in the 60's, and I was 12 years old when I saw my first Airplane concert live at the old Fillmore on Geary. In those days there were shows on Friday nights, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. As I was so young at that time my parents did not allow me to go out late at night in SF. So I would go down to the Fillmore on a weekly basis on Sunday afternoons. Being the 12 Iyear old kid that I was in 1965, I would latch on to some one waiting in line, and they would vouch that they were my guardian, and frequently get in for free!!
To see the old Airplane in person was one of the most amazing things even to this day that I have ever seen. Raw, gorgeous music that just oozed of rhythm, depth, and joy. My all time favorit Airplane song still to this day is "Coming back to Me", because of its simplicity and depth. That would be followed by "Volunteers of America", and "Plastic Fantastic Lover".
I had the unique opportunity at a very early age to see such incredible musicians as Otis Redding at the Fillmore, Hendrix at Winterland, Love, The Loading Zone with Linda Tillary, Big Brother, Quicksilver, and of course my all time favorite band in the world, The Grateful Dead.
Thanks for a lovely article that brings back so many fond memories of those times and the Airplane in particular.
2 - pablo
For the record Glen I saw the old Airplane in concert about 30 times.
3 - Glen Boyd
I saw them just twice Pablo...both times were in 1969 in Honolulu. Thanx for the nice words.
-Glen
4 - Mark Saleski
i was always sorta fond of 30 Seconds Over Winterland. i know that was the end of things, but Papa John made it all sound very cool.
5 - Glen Boyd
Thirty Seconds has some fine moments, and I agree that Papa John's fiddle added a new dimension to their sound.
But its nowhere near the classic that Pointed Head was/is, and as you note, the band was already in free fall by then. I sort of understand the rationale behind continuing to release these lost live albums for historic value (and there are some great moments on these latest discs)...
But in the end, you can only go to the well so many times...
-Glen
6 - Toby
Excellent article! Like you, the Airplane is also my second favorite band, behind The Beatles. I'll never forget how amazing it was listening to Surrealistic Pillow and Crown Of Creation for the first time. Sadly though I was born too late to see either Airplane or The Beatles live...
7 - Dave
I was just listening to a bootleg Volunteers Sessions disc and ran across this article. Glen is the shit. You should read his other stuff. He's got a couple of blogs. Very entertaining reading. Great minds think alike Glen! Have you heard that Petty live 4 disc set that came out earlier this year?? My favorite discs of the year right there. Maybe I'll see you at the Sport sometime soon.