Jefferson Airplane Takes Off [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Jefferson Airplane | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 19, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B0000A0DRW
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,462 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Their great 1966 debut, with bonus tracks High Flyin' Bird; It's Alright; Go to Her (version 1); an alternate, unedited version of Let Me In ; unreleased alternate versions of Chauffeur Blues and And I Like It .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten Masterpiece, October 21, 2003

By 

Josh H. (Toledo, Oh (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (Audio CD)

Jefferson Airplane's debut album is usually not acknowledged, but nonetheless, it's a stunning work of art. And not many people seem to know about Signe Anderson, their original singer before Grace Slick. She's not quite as good as Grace (then again, nobody is), but her voice is still VERY powerful and downright stunning at times. "Chauffeur Blues", her only solo spot on the album, is the best example. Listen to her wail at the end of the song and you'll see what I mean. And I love the line "I'm gonna steal me a pistol and shoot my chauffeur down". Signe was awesome! And look at the pictures of her in the booklet. What a doll she was. Anyway, the rest of the album is spectacular as well. My favorite is the killer "Bringin' Me Down", in which the vocals are irresistable and euphoric. Excellent song. "Let Me In" (is it sex-related?) is one of Kantner's best performances ever; "Blues From An Airplane" is breath-takingly spooky; "Run Around" is mediocre; "Tobacco Road" is a fabulous blues tune and the album closer, "And I Like It", is an emotional epic. The hippie anthem "Let's Get Together" is good, but not really a highlight. "Come Up The Years" and "Don't Slip Away" are simply two of the greatest romantic rock songs EVER recorded. The latter features a wonderful guitar line, too. So that leaves Marty's famous "It's No Secret". It's a very good song, but the band would eventually do it better in concert with Grace.
Most of the bonus tracks are phenomenal, too. "High Flyin' Bird" is wondrous, and there's also a great tune called "Runnin' Round This World". Then there's an alternate version of "Chauffeur Blues", however it's more or less the same as the original. A longer, better version of "And I Like It" is also included.

Oh, I forgot to mention something: Listen to Casady's bass lines on "Chauffeur Blues". AWESOME. AWESOME BEYOND WORDS.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Often Overlooked First Album before Grace Slick, September 26, 2005

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (Audio CD)

I share with some other reviewers the feeling that this album is a regrettably ignored beginning for what was easily one of the four or five most important American bands in the post-Beatles world of Rock.

Part of the reason for this was the great success of 'Surrealistic Pillow', the group's second album and the first to feature Grace Slick, who brought with her two of the groups's most distinctive tracks, 'White Rabbit' and 'Someone To Love'.

This album clearly demonstrates that the group started out as Marty Balin's band, with Kantner, Jorma, Skip Spence, and Jack Casady all brought in to share Balin's vision. That this album is as good as it is becomes a testament to the strength of that vision. And, even without Gracie, you can still hear echos of Balin's (and Kaukonen's) signature sounds on much later albums such as 'Blows Against the Empire'.

The tracks and the liner notes on this album also demonstrate the folkie roots of the band, along with several of the other major West Coast groups such as Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, and The Mamas and the Papas.

Eight of the eleven tracks on this release were written or co-written by Balin, and each one easily stands up to the three standards such as 'Tobacco Road'.

When you are assembling your Jefferson Airplane CD collection, this one is at least as important as some of the lesser works put out under the Jefferson Starship imprimateur.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Known Masterpiece, March 9, 2005

By 

G. Pascal "Gem" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (Audio CD)

Most general rock fans know Surrealistic Pllow is a fantastic album, but this album is almost as good. This is the perfect folk-rock album- the first 9 songs are outstanding.Tobacco Road has some great guitar and is sung much more heartfelt than , I think it was The Nashville Teens? that had the hit, & many artists have covered it, but this is the best version I've heard.It's No Secret the single is classic '66 in moody mid-tempo atmosphere. . Their cover of Let's Get Together is sung maybe a little better than the Yopungbloods, though it doesn't have that haunting guitar on it. Blues From An Airplane & the beautiful Come Up The Years are other highlights.