Customer Reviews

Jefferson Airplane Takes Off

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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.

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.

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.

I picked up this CD on something of a lark, and what a mind-blower it's turned out to be. "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off", originally released in September of 1966, is an astonishing debut album.

The liner notes of this particular CD edition point out that this is basically a 'live in the studio' album, without much overdubbing or "studio experimentation", but that just makes the Airplane's accomplishment here all the more impressive--clearly these guys knew exactly what they were doing. The playing on this album is sensational. A ton of credit has to go to Marty Balin--not only is he one of the best, most expressive vocalists in all of '60s rock, but he seemed to have some kind of sixth sense in terms of assembling the original band lineup, and apart from 3 covers, he wrote or co-wrote the remaining 8 songs on the original album.

You CERTAINLY shouldn't get it in your head that this can't be as good as later albums due to the absence of Grace Slick. Yes, Grace is great, of course, and incredibly distinctive. But Signe Anderson, in her only album ever with the band, absolutely soars on her vocal spotlight "Chauffeur Blues", and although she's not involved in any of the songwriting, she plays a vital role in the group's frequent, rich harmony arrangements.

Also, don't let people who tag this as a 'folk-rock' record give you the wrong idea--it's actually an extremely versatile album. The album opener "Blues From An Airplane" (co-written by Skip Spence) is a superb, ominous acid rocker that captivates you immediately with its droning guitars and Jack Casady's thunderous bass. Paul Kantner steps up to the mic for a devastating lead vocal turn on the mind-blowingly awesome "Let Me In", a ferocious, cathartic, cleverly-timed garage rocker stuffed with blistering riffs and a smoking Jorma Kaukonen solo. The deviously laidback shuffle "Bringing Me Down" has sort of a Byrds-y jangle to it, matched with a quasi-bluesy pattern, melodic bass, and a great descending riff sequence. Marty Balin's one solo composition "It's No Secret" is a brilliant love song--Balin's exuberant, from the gut vocals on it are intoxicating, and the song's surprising bridge section elevates it to a whole other level of genius. The cover of "Tobacco Road" is superly done, with its moody opening guitar passage setting the stage perfectly. The 6/8 ballad "Come Up The Years" is an achingly lovely and bittersweet love song with an appropriately shimmering glockenspiel part. "Run Around" has a manic, arpegiatted guitar part that just knocks your socks off. Kaukonen brings on a full-blown slow blues vibe for "And I Like It", a defiant, yet deeply emotional epic with a wrenching solo vocal from Balin--it was a brilliant way to end the original album.

You can hardly even pick out favorite songs on here, and album plays out like a truly unified, ingeniously-conceived, timeless work of art.

A big thumbs up to RCA for the inclusion of 9 bonus tracks, including a 'hidden' instrumental version of "Blues From An Airplane" at the end. We get the 'original uncensored version' of "Let Me In" which 'accidentally' appeared on a very limited number of early pressings of the original vinyl album--RCA had issues with some of the lyrics and the band re-recorded it from scratch, which proved to be a blessing because the subsequent 'regular' version of the song is more forcefully performed, although the 'uncensored' version is still terrific and fascinating from a historical standpoint. "High Flying Bird" wasn't included on the original album, perhaps because they felt they already had one gloomy cover song with "Tobacco Road", and "...Bird" does have a similar feel, but it's wisely appended here. The 'early version' of the rocker "Go To Her" and an 8+ minute take of "And I Like It" are just a couple more goodies that round out what appears to be THE definitive version of this beyond-classic album (although some fans may also want the version that presents the whole album in mono & stereo versions). An absolute must-have.

it's interesting to see a whole new generation turning on to this album. I hate to admit that I am old enough to have seen the Jefferson Airplane of this album live at UC Santa Barbara - one of the best concerts I have ever seen. It's really good to hear that this style, which I liked even more than the Grace Slick days, still sounds fresh and appealing. Sometimes Grace screeched on the high notes. Signe Toly Anderson, on the other hand, had a voice that was very well matched to Marty Balin in depth and tone. And as for Jorma - well, his work is just timeless.

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various recordings from the 60's and 70's.

There has never been a more appropriate day to review the debut Jefferson Airplane effort. The female vocalist at the time Signe Anderson is now battling cancer and monetary issues. Before we get to the music, please help her. If you go to the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship message boards, you will see information on making donations directly to Signe. If you need further information, please contact me directly and put Signe Anderson in the subject line.

As often happens in the world of rock and roll even passionate fans of a band will miss the actual birth. Deep Purple for example is often associated with the start of their musical journey when Ian Gillian took over the vocals, but they had three studio albums under their belt. The progressive band "Yes" had two records released, yet many people think the third album is their first.

The Jefferson Airplane did have a flight before the classic line-up took hold. The fantastic first record is before Grace Slick and Spencer Dryden (Drums) would be part of the crew.

The perfect opening track for the recording is Marty Balin's "Blues From An Airplane." After the first verse, any ear can decipher the brilliance and passion in his voice.

"It's No Secret" (Another Balin composition) would become a staple of the band's early stage repertoire. Balin changes gears and shows his musical diversity with the upbeat rocker.

"Tobacco Road" is indeed the often-covered tune written by John Loudermilk. The majority of folks may think of the Nashville Teens hit version, but the Airplane rendition is as good as any.

"Let's Get Together" (Written by Dino Valente) yeas later would become an anthem for the Youngbloods under the name of "Get Together." Before the well-deserved accolades were handed to them, the Airplane had done a superlative arrangement.

Signe Anderson's voice can be heard miles away on the brilliant "Chauffeur Blues." She relayed a great story to me for the book that during a studio session of the song a mixing board ended up exploding because the engineers had her levels too high.

If you don't already know how tight the reigns were on suggestive lyrics back then the bonus tracks will introduce you to the songs that were originally censored and how ridiculous the reasons were! Even from day one, Paul Kantner was pushing the musical envelope.
The remarkable achievement of the initial J.A. recording is the consistency. While they took some blues from Jorma, folk from Paul, and Marty's love for rhythm and blues, they also initiated a sound for the ages. As great as they would become, even if this line-up remained and the style didn't take the more esoteric approach, they could have had their place in history as a tremendous rock and roll band.

The remastered CD sounds even better with the additional tracks. Play it once and it won't ever be too far from your hands.

Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

This first album has always been one of my favorites, but is often underrated. To understand it's significance, the reader really must go back and listen to the banal, simplistic music that was out in 1966, like the Young Rascal's "Good Lovin" or "Ballad of the Green Berets" (#1 Billboard hit of '66) for example to hear how REALLY different "JA Takes Off" was.

The Jefferson Airplane was an outgrowth of the early sixties folk music craze, yes Bob Dylan, but Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, etc. In fact Paul Kantner, Dino Valente (QMS), Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan (!) all once played backup for folk singing legend Fred Neil in New York in the early 60's. The name "Jefferson Airplane" came from an old black blues/folksinger Blind Lemmon Jefferson. Story goes, he had a folklorist who catalogued his music. When he didn't know who wrote the songs he would say, "That's one of Jefferson's Airplanes". stories abound. (note: this is NOT the explanation in the liner notes, but this is what JA said in a magazine in 1966!). So these folkies sat around the coffee houses, singing and passing the hat, but they spent years learning to sing harmonies together and play acoustic instruments. Then came Bob Dylan's "Bringing It all Back Home" where Dylan used electric instruments - and all the folkies, like DC's Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, turned on, tuned in and went electric, too. The psychedelic San Francisco scene burst upon the music industry and ripped it literally into a totally new direction, led by JA, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother, Greatful Dead, et al.

Initially, everyone in the group (but singer Signe Anderson) played guitar! Casady was put on bass and Skip Spence, who "looked like a drummer" became group drummer. Kaukonen, who could play rings around everyone else, got lead guitar.

Well, the really different thing on this album was the modal chords (like those in Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue"), and rapid tempo changes, chords like no one in folk or rock had ever used before, mostly minor keys with nineths, thirteenths, jazz chords. Thick chords in vocals and guitars that just hang in the air! The double vocal leads. We couldn't believe it when we first heard it. Listen to "Blues From an Airplane", "Bringin Me Down", "It's No Secret".

"Come Up the Years" is a love song (probably) about the very very young groupee, Martha W, the runaway daughter of a local politco, who the Airplane reputedly hid from the authorities for years... "Don't Slip Away" may also be written about Martha, no ones talkin'. Another song would be written for her is on Bathing at Baxter's.

"Let's Get Together" written by QMS Dino Valente, would later become a huge hit in a weaker version by The Youngbloods.

Now some of the album falls back on it's folk roots a bit much, like "Tobacco Road", but the rest is very good music.

Pretty, perky singer Signe Anderson didn't get as many solos as Gracie Slick, who replaced her when Signe became pregnant, but she has a great voice. Her voice actually blends better with Marty Balin than Slick. Listen to her belt out the "Chauffeur Blues", popularized by Bessie Smith.

The reviewer in the liner notes says this album comes from a time when the standard was set higher. Amen to that!

This was Music that Changed Rock Forever.

Very well recorded, especially for it's day. good bass. Music aside, this is a much better technical quality recording than Surrealistic Pillow, for some reason!

Eeegads...I still have my original "Black Dog" RCA pressing of this gem. It really is a great album. It stands up to the test of time and all that. I saw them twice with this line-up....before Gracie and before Skip Spence went off to found Moby Grape with Mosely and Miller. The pic shown of the back of the Jewel case is NOT accurate. That's Spencer Dryden on the drum set....not Skippy.

With either line-up, their performances in general were quite good and tight for those first few years. As their music got louder however, things started to unravel. One needs to remember that this was a time when stage monitors were rarely found. Unable to hear one another's voices made for some horrid harmonies. Marty Balin was getting edged out as well. In many respects he was the glue that kept the whole group going.

Just thought you'd like to know.

Tom

There have been great albums that people don't remember as masterpieces, like Jethro Tull's "This Was." They always think of "Aqualung," but their first was really their best (Mick Abrahams - best guitarist Tull ever had!) Same with this one. As some reviewers say - this is a folk-rock classic. A shame, because it all went horribly wrong later on when psychedelia ruined it all. Folk-Rock, and especially the bands out of L.A. and San Fran during 1965 to early 1967 was phenomenal. This album along with Surrealistic Pillow were the best. After that, Marty Balin got pushed aside. BIG - BIG Mistake. But - like I said, a Folk-Rock Classic.
There are also bootlegs of this band live and if you get a chance, try to find them playing these songs live - very cool. 12 strings ringing out, baby! You can almost see Roger Mcguinn drool!! Buy this at all costs and you will not regret it. Only thing is - it will make you cry when you compare this to the crap that's out today. Oh - by the way...I heard a live concert of the group just after Grace replaced Signe Anderson and they played the songs from this record and...Grace does'nt cut it. Not on Signe's songs. Sorry Grace - you did well on your own but you could not match Signe on this stuff. I put this album in the top 10 BEST folk rock albums of all time! Get it!!

When Grace Slick joined the Jefferson Airplane their sound changed. This album with Signe Anderson captures the orignina sound, which was more like the Byrds. Lots of folks were doing Tobacco Road at the time and theirs is one of the best. Come Up the Years forshadows the sound of the Next album, Surrealistic Pillow, and is one of the best on the album. In contrast Grace Slick (and every other woman in "pop music" at the time, except Janis) Signe Anderson wasn't cool as she sang. She grabbed the mike and danced and shook. I'm sorry they didn't add Fat Angel (a Donovan song)as a bonus track. The Airplane was singing it allot at the time they recorded Takes Off. (Gract sings it on the Pointed Head live album.)