Customer Reviews

Jefferson's Tree of Liberty (Spkg)

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Tree of Liberty is everything you've ever loved about Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship (exorcise the memory of the emasculated Starship.) Driven by Paul Kantner's ringing 12 string Rickenbacker, the soaring harmonies, this collecton is a call to arms, to dream, to go to the edge and beyond. Jeffersonians past, present, future, and even retired, are mostly present and accounted for. (Only Jorma is among the missing, and his finger picking acoustic skills would've fit right in. Maybe next time?) Never has America needed to be reminded of righteous anger, and putting that anger into positive motion to change the world, more than it does now.

It's an album of rebels and revolutionary anthems - across the times, across the oceans, across the continents. From Ireland, to Nicaragua, to union workers in the fields of California, to 13 upstart colonies declaring their independence from an oppressive monarchy, along the Underground Railroad, to utopian dreams of redemption, brotherhood, and peace, 19 soul rousing and blood pumping songs. Who would've thought the lustiest and loudest collection of songs would be made by (mostly) wooden instruments? Who would've thought the most passionate album to be released this year would come from Jefferson Starship?

Lest you think this is a dreary collection of political polemic dirges, think again. This is an album to listen to with people, two big bottles of wine, and to sing along to. After a few listens you won't be able to help yourself. The songs choices range from Woody Guthrie, the Weavers, Phil Ochs, Dylan, Lennon, Marley, and Sandy Denny. And from the greatest of them all, Traditional.

It kicks off with a rousing nod to "Volunteers" before it settles into the Weaver's classic "Wasn't That A Time." Cathy Richardson is a welcome addition to the crew. She has the vocal chops and power of, dare I say it? Grace Slick, but with a gritty undertone that can go any way she wants to take the songs. David Laflamme's violin soars above the acoustic guitars and martial drums.

"Follow The Drinking Gourd" is from the days of the Civil War, a road map for the Underground Railroad. Look up at the stars to the Big Dipper and imagine following it to freedom. The Weavers unearthed "Santy Anno." Paul can't resist reminding us that in the future it will be space ships, before he leads the crew into a lusty sea shanty, you can practically feel the waves rolling with the banjo and squeezebox.

David Frieberg takes a solo turn on Dino Valenti's poignant "Cowboy On The Run," with beautiful pedal steel guitar by Barry Sless and piano by Chris Smith. David's wife, Linda Imerial, and Cathy Richardson provide sympathetic backup. It's pure Nashville.

It would take all day to hit all the highlights. But I would be remiss not giving a shout out to longtime Jefferson collaborators Darby Gould on Richard Thompson's "Genesis Hall," Diana Mangano's full throttle support on "The Royal Canal" - beloved to Pogues' fans as "The Auld Triangle." As befitting a guy born on St. Patrick's Day, Paul O'Kantner gruffly sings the prison lament of Irish Rebel Brendan Behan, with a dirty ole man "heh heh" during the part about the women's prison, followed with a storming "Rising Of The Moon".

The mash up of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" with John Lennon's "Imagine" somehow works, heartfeltly delivered by Cathy Richardson. If there is one song to pick as a "single" - if things like that are still done - it's this one.

Both "In A Crisis" and "On The Threshold of Fire" remind me of the Paul Kantner circa BATE/Sunfighter. "In A Crisis" refrain sticks with you long after the song has stopped playing - "In a crisis we cut away what we don't need anymore. In the good times we fight our way, fight our way back home." The whining guitar riff underneath, played with judicious economy by Slick Aguilar, underscores the haunting melody. "On The Threshold of Fire" could've fit right in the Hijack / Starship Suiteon BATE.

Marty Balin contributes "Maybe For You" if anybody needed to reminded of his talent with a love song. I miss his sweet tenor. It's too bad he's not singing on the rest of the songs. Jack Casady makes an appearance on bass with his Armageddon-announcing rumble.

Darby Gould's acapella version of Sandy Denny's "Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" sent shivers down my spine. Only one thing could top it, and that's Grace Slick singing "Surprise..." Some of Grace's best work was singing backup and harmony, as she is here. Too bad my CD says "Untitled" and there's no additional information as there are for the other songs.

Surprise, indeed. This is one of the best releases of the year. If you love great songs, passionate singing and playing, need reminding that all evil needs to triumph is for good people to do nothing, then Tree of Liberty is for you. Lay your money down.

This is a Jefferson Starship album like no other before. It's also the first Jefferson Starship studio recording for over a decade, so expectations are (understandably) high. Providing long-term fans approach it with the right expectations then they shouldn't be disappointed. On the contrary! I can guarantee that many people will be surprised by what they hear and I anticipate that the majority will be delighted. As for anyone whose never heard Jefferson Starship in any guise before, they're going to be mighty impressed.

You have to begin with the premise that this is essentially a folk record. Many of you know that's where Paul Kantner and David Freiberg started out as musicians; and those of you who've read my detailed interview with Paul in Holding Together Magazine last year will recall his love of The Weavers, the '50s folk quartet fabled for their stunning vocal harmonies and principled left-wing politics. You could say that's where Jefferson Airplane really began. They then became outlaws in the eyes of an America where the dream of establishing and respecting the rights of every person, regardless of sex, colour or creed, was already writhing under a hail of assasssins' bullets and poisonous anti-democratic machinations. That was '63 going on '68, when our heroes were, by their own admission, "obscene, dangerous, dirty, violent and young". But, of course, the wheel keeps on turnin' - so now in 2008 things aren't a whole lot better on the sex, colour and creed front, anti-democratic machination has been honed to an art form and our heroes are no longer young. Thankfully for us, they're still capable of being obscene, dangerous, dirty and violent, in as much as they have raised their voices in protest against the empire one more time. That's essentially what folk music does. It's by and of the people and for the people; it's lyrically `dense' and musically `simple'; it's our social conscience in song form; it sings of our hopes and our fears on a secular plane (no pun intended); it holds us together and celebrates our humanity - community in the face of chaos, if you will.

Of the eighteen tracks listed on this album, (there's also one hidden surprise), all but one are covers. The single original is Paul's "On The Threshold Of Fire". The majority of the covers are well-known folk/protest songs.

From The Weavers' repertoire we have "Wasn't That A Time", "Follow The Drinking Gourd", "Santy Anno" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine". There's Woody Guthrie's "Pastures Of Plenty", Dino Valenti's "Cowboy On The Run", Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore", Dylan's "Chimes Of Freedom" (minus the `Starrry-eyed and laughing' verse) and Richard Farina's "Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood". There are a couple of Irish classics, the revolutionary "Rising Of The Moon" and Brendan Behan's "Royal Canal (The Auld Triangle)". "Frenario" is a traditional song from the American War of Independence, "Commandante Carlos Fonseca" is a Nicaraguan revolutionary song, "Genesis Hall" is Richard Thompson's Fairport Convention classic, "In A Crisis" is the World Entertainment War song performed live since JS-TNG days, "Maybe For You" is the Terry Terrell tune as performed by Marty Balin on `Windows Of Heaven' (the European, not the US version) - it's still sung by Marty here (in fact, it's his only contribution to the album) but is a different version from that on `Windows Of Heaven', and "Imagine Redemption" is a bold melding of the Lennon and Marley classics that its title implies.

That leaves the hidden track. "Surprise, Surprise" is an unused recording from the `Sunfigher' sessions in 1971, a Jack Traylor song that was omitted in favour of "Earth Mother".

In keeping with its folk sensibilities, the playing on `Jefferson's Tree Of Liberty' is mostly acoustic: the core musicians being Paul Kantner, David Freiberg and Cathy Richardson on guitars (6 and 12-string in Paul's case, plus banjo), Chris Smith on piano and bass, Prairie Prince on drums. There are additional musical contributions brought in to good effect: Paul's son Alexander plays electric bass on "On The Threshold Of Fire" and Paul Lamb (who recorded the album) adds French horn to the Kantner opus; David LaFlamme contributes violin to "Wasn't That A Time"; Barry Sless brings pedal steel to "Cowboy On The Run"; David Grisman plays mandolin on "Frenario" and "Pastures Of Plenty" - and "Maybe For You" features Slick Aguilar, Jack Casady and T. Lavitz because it waa recorded in 1996 by that incarnation of Jefferson Starship.

The sound is organic and intricate, well-played and well-recorded. The closest reference-point is probably `Blows Against The Empire' or `Sunfighter' but without the sonic roar that electricity gives to a starship. This is a wooden craft, not a metal one. That's not to say that it is a light sound or lacks momentum. Jefferson Starship doing folk is going to rock and soar by definition! - so you will find Kantner's trademark anthemic 12-string propelling most everything forward, and there are some very apposite musical quotes from the Airplane canon used to embellish some of the songs.

It's the vocals, however, that set the seal on this recording, that really steal the show - and the vocal harmonies in particular. Paul Kantner, David Freiberg and Cathy Richardson are the principal vocalists. You all know what Paul and David sound like, I guess. Cathy Richardson is a revelation. I know fans were sad that Diana Mangano stood down from active duty; (I count myself among them); but believe me, Cathy is just awesome on this recording, really one of its high points. She sings lead, she sings harmony. She performs "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore" solo accompanied by her own guitar. But she's not alone. Diana Mangano returns to harmonise beautifully with Paul on "Royal Canal" and "Carlos Fonseca" and Darby Gould sings lead on "Genesis Hall", duets with Paul on "In A Crisis" and rounds out the album with a peerless a capella rendition of "The Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood". If you have hairs on the back of your neck, prepare for them to rise. Paul mooted a `Women' project years ago - in one sense he's realised it here. The only persons missing are Ronnie Gilbert (and wouldn't it have been something to hear her singing on those Weavers songs again?) and Grace Slick!

The women are good and David and Paul are in great voice too. The true magic happens when they all harmonise together - it just lifts the spirits to hear such a wonderful sound on track after track - a chorale blowing against the empire!

There you have it. Well done to all involved: to the band for its music, to the part players for what they've added, to the management for finally making it all happen. `Red Octopus' it ain't; `Freedom At Point Zero' it ain't; "Winds Of Change" it ain't - and yet `Jefferson's Tree Of Liberty' is more radical than any of those illustrious precursors. This is a very different Jefferson Starship record but it is destined to be very special.

The Jefferson Starship website includes a detailed review of this new CD. It mentions the inclusion of Grace Slick, and I could swear that she can be heard in the background on a couple of the tracks. She certainly is on the poor-quality bonus track, which sounds like it was recorded on an old Craig cassette recorder - in mono - in someone's living room. I scanned the booklet several times in vain for any mention at all of Grace Slick. Not even in the "Special Thanks" section is she mentioned. Kantner and others who write about these songs in the notes also make no mention of their former band mate. It made me wonder, what's up with that? My only guess would be that Grace Slick wanted her official retirement to remain so, and refused credits or photos.

Marty Balin makes a brief and welcome appearance on the lovely "Maybe For You," but that's about it for him, so aside from the participation of David Freiberg, how is this a Jefferson Starship album? I ask this because although Kantner is a blazing presence here, the music isn't, for the most part, the rock and roll style associated with Jefferson Airplane/Starship. So it is with some confusion that I listened to this album for the first time. Now, I have extremely eclectic taste, and I love folk music, so this CD turns out not to be a stretch for these ears to appreciate. Amusingly, there are places where I was reminded more of The Grateful Dead, and indeed, sometime Jerry Garcia collaborator, David Grisman, participates on a fine rendition of Woody Guthrie's "Pastures Of Plenty" and the traditional "Frenario" (a Dead staple also covered by numerous folk luminaries under differently spelled versions of the name). At other times, there are echoes of Fairport Convention, particularly on Richard Thompson's "Genesis Hall," sung by Darby Gould, who sounds a little like the late, great Sandy Denny, but who morphs into a Slick sound-alike on the loud bits. Another cameo appearance comes with It's A Beautiful Day's violinist, David Laflamme, on the CD's opening track.

The "new" female lead singer in the Jefferson Starship lineup is Cathy Richardson, whose resume has been written about by several other Amazon reviewers here. She and another singer who lends her voice, Diana Mangano, both sound like Grace Slick at times, especially when belting and driving their vibratos. Richardson is an engaging singer, actually, and a worthy Slick replacement, I must say, without really TRYING to sound like her. I caught her Off-Broadway performance in LOVE, JANIS, and she was impressive. There are a couple spots on JEFFERSON'S TREE OF LIBERTY when Cathy's voice gets down and raspy, and may have reminded me of Janis even without the prior knowledge of her Joplin stage role.

In a way, this CD should have been called something like "The Paul and Cathy Hour," as these two are the dominant vocal forces. Having said this, I think it's a fine folk record. Obviously, buyers should beware if they want something that sounds like the Jefferson Starship they are most familiar with. Only one song, the Kantner original, "On The Threshold Of Fire" really sounds much like a real Jefferson Starship song. It begins with a glass harmonica and a brief spoken introduction. If Grace is in evidence anywhere on the body of this album, its among the backing vocalists on this tune and the first track, The Weavers' "Wasn't That A Time," but again, nowhere is she credited, and she's buried in the mix, with Cathy Richardson much more up front. But I swear I can hear Slick in there, and it's this ghostly echo that gives "Threshold Of Fire" its distinct Jefferson Starship sound, along with the monotonic drone of Kantner's baritone.

Speaking of which, there are complaints in these pages about Kantner's singing. I think he sounds like he always did, if maybe a bit more ragged. His voice is perfect for this type of music. In fact, it's his vocal contribution throughout which gives the album a consistent sound quality. He was never a wonderful "singer," but his voice has a character that I've always liked and felt comfortable with.

One more word about the muffled-sounding "hidden" track, untitled and obviously begun by the immediately recognizable voice of Grace Slick: I hated it for the first few bars, but upon repeated listens, I could swear that I was hearing an old bootleg copy of some never-before-issued Jefferson Airplane song. In a very strange way, this humble little home tape is one of the highlights in what has turned out to be a surprising and unexpected recording. This will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I, for one, am not disappointed after all. The album stands on its own merits, and its timing is perfect, given the politically turbulent times we find ourselves in (yet again). It's fitting that Dylan's "Chimes Of Freedom" is included, along with John Lennon's "Imagine." The latter has been done to death, but it's still one of my own favorite songs, and this treatment sounds fresh, being mixed up, as it is, with a Bob Marley composition! With other interesting choices, such as "Royal Canal," made famous by the folk duo Ian & Sylvia, and Quicksilver's "Cowboy On The Run," by Dino Valenti, JEFFERSON'S TREE OF LIBERTY is a special project with many inspiring and beautiful moments. Kantner and Co. have not made a flawless album, but it's real and heartfelt.

1. "Wasn't That a Time" - Kicking off Jefferson Starship "TOL" CD with the anthemic opening chords of 1969's "Volunteers/We Can Be Together". The timbre of Paul Kantner's voice greets you warmly. Paul's vocal is deeper than recent concert gigs (IMHO). Upon multiple listens, I find it terrific and powerful, especially the breathtaking harmonies with Cathy Richardson on this key track by "The Weavers". "Wasn't That a Time" is the title of "The Weavers" CD Box Set and PBS Video documentary. David LaFlamme adds some funky violin, reminding us of the spirit of Papa John Creach. We are grateful for the updated 60's lyrics penned by Mr. Paul Kantner, as he proves he is the mentor of "Jefferson's Tree of Liberty".

2. "Follow the Drinking Gourd" - The track opens with astronaut chatter. The tune has wonderful "A Minor to D Major" guitar changes. This traditional composition was a favorite of Bay Area folkies including Jorma Kaukonen and Janis Joplin. Jorma performed this song in his repertoire before joining JA and sang a solo acoustic version with all the lyrics in 1964 at the Cabale Creamery in Berkeley, CA. In 1981, Jorma performed this ode to the "Underground Railroad" on a WLIR-FM (92.7FM) radio broadcast from the legendary "My Father's Place' in Roslyn, NY. Jorma announces he's having an informal contest regarding the correct title of the tune, which he now performs as an instrumental (ala Mann's Fate). JK states: "This song has something to do with railroads, but nothing to do with trains". Hot Tuna recorded "Drinking Gourd" in 1997 for their "Live in Japan" CD. I find it fascinating that both Jorma K and Paul K were compelled to cover this tune and it's interesting to compare their versions. Cathy adds strong vocals and harmonica to the TOL version.

3. "Santy Anno" - I first heard this Weavers song performed by JS at the intimate IMAC Theatre in Huntington, NY. On a magical June evening in 2003, JS with Paul, Marty Balin and Diana Mangano performed at IMAC. Early and Late show soundboard recordings were available for sale to the audience less than 15 minutes after the shows ended! In 2003, Diana M accompanied Paul on harmony vocal. In 2008, Cathy does the song justice as Paul again breaks out his banjo (ala "Baby Tree" and "Declaration of Independence"). Paul also adds a poetic spoken introduction previously used on "Wooden Ships".

4. "Cowboy on the Run" - The soothing piano sounds of Chris Smith jumps out of the speakers as the song begins. The voice of David Freiberg is strong and young (as eloquently stated in an earlier TOL review by Ethel Mann).

5. "I Ain't Marching Anymore" - A crucial 1960's anti-war anthem by Phil Ochs which is beautifully sung by Cathy. Ms. Richardson also adds a new verse of lyrics.

6. "Chimes of Freedom" - As Michael Gaiman states, JA had performed "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" in January 1966 in Vancouver, BC. In 2008, JS performs an enthralling cover version of this 1964 Dylan tune, "Chimes of Freedom". Bob Levinson is a DJ on Nassau College radio WHPC, 90.3FM on Long Island. His 2-hour Friday night show entitled "Positively Dylan", plays ...you guessed it...nothing but Mr. Zimmy. WHPC station has a copy of "TOL" and has played "Chimes" several times already. This listener is glad to hear JS incorporate their individuality to the version. The "Na-Na-Na" section is reminiscent of the refrain from the JS song "Shadowlands". My only wish for "Chimes" was that the band had included all 6 verses of Bob Dylan's transcendent lyrics, but they may have felt a time constraint as Dylan's original version is over 7 minutes long.

7. "Genesis Hall" - by Richard Thompson. Darby Gould makes her first appearance on the CD showing off her vocal prowess. This song takes us back to 1992 for lift-off of JS "The Next Generation".

8. "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" is a musical relief after the earlier politics. It is fun to hear PK chuckle after having "twins". Leadbelly also wrote "Midnight Special" (made famous by CCR) and "Goodnight Irene", a Number One record by "The Weavers" in 1950, until they were blacklisted.

9. "Royal Canal" - Diana Mangano's first song on the disc and she is Wonderful (with a capital W) singing "The Auld Triangle". Bob Dylan also covered this Irish tune during the Summer of `67 Basement Tapes recordings. PK snickers on the verse "in jail with 70 women". Jingle, bloody, Jangle, indeed!

10. "Rising of the Moon" - Admirable job by PK on this Irish revolutionary song with pennywhistle by Chris Smith.

11. "Frenario" - David Grisman's mandolin contribution is perfect. This traditional song is also on the first Bob Dylan album in 1962, entitled "Pretty Peggy-O". Dylan introduces the song: "I've been around this whole country, but I never yet found Fennario". Simon and Garfunkel also recorded a harmonized arrangement of "Peggy-O" on their 1964 debut, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M".. Another favorite version is by the Grateful Dead from Englishtown, New Jersey on 9/3/77.

12. "In a Crisis" is from WEW (World Entertainment War), Darby's previous band. Darby sounds strong ("We fight our way...") on this song originally from 1992 JS concerts. Barry Sless adds haunting pedal steel guitar. The sampling of "War Movie" from Jefferson Airplane's LP "Bark" (1971) knocked me out! The introductory guitar chords have the feel of "Blows Against The Empire's final song: "Starship"...'What you gonna do when you feel your lady rollin'....

13. "Maybe for You" - It is a pleasing listening experience to hear Marty Balin and Jack Casady on Track 13, even if it is a 1998 tune that some already know from JS "Windows of Heaven" import.

14. "Commandante Carlos Fonseca" - A tune that Paul brought to the 1987/1988 "Hot Tuna w/ Paul Kantner" shows. Paul added this and Fred Neil's "The Bag I'm In" contributing some political relevance to Tuna concerts. PK told the story of his recent excursion to Central America. At the Nicaragua Arts festival, he met Kris Kristofferson and Sandinista president Daniel Ortega. Paul and Grace Slick performed this so-called "National Anthem" of Nicaragua for a benefit concert at "The Great American Music Hall" in SF on 10/16/1988. This show is worth searching out as it contains stripped down versions of "White Rabbit, Wooden Ships, Volunteers, Have You Seen the Stars Tonite and Common Market Madrigal" from the "soon to be recorded" JA reunion in 1989. At GAMH, Grace sounded strong on the Spanish lyrics, a throw-back to Side 1 of "Manhole" and Side 2 "Jeez, I wish I knew Spanish". On "Tree of Liberty", one must adjust to the shouts of "Viva" throughout the track, but Diana Mangano belts out the vocals as good, or "dare-I-say", even better than Grace! Diana rules! A highlight of the CD.

15. "Pastures of Plenty" - This reviewer admits to be a somewhat accomplished "hack" guitar player for the past 25 years so I appreciate the opening, descending riff of "Pastures". The chords tickle my ear and conjure up images of Beatles White Album: "Dear Prudence" or Hot Tuna in 1975: "Serpent of Dreams". David Freiberg and Cathy Richardson sound terrific, and David Grisman is absolutely fabulous on authentic Americana mandolin. Bob Dylan performed this Woody Guthrie composition regularly when he first came to "The Village" in NYC at age 21. Mr. D hitched from Hibbing, MN to visit his idol Woody Guthrie in a New Jersey hospital. Thanks David F for keeping this song alive!

16. "Imagine Redemption" - A fine combination of "Imagine" by John Lennon and "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley. "Imagine" is a 1971 socially enlightened composition that needs to be heard in the 21st century. Neil Young performed this at a 9/11 TV tribute concert. Madonna performed this on her previous concert tour and Elton John sang "Imagine" at his Central Park concert. My favorite Lennon version is from the 1975 "Sir Lew Grade tribute". JL ad-libbed several non-lp words, adding "Imagine no immigration" (before Lennon had finally received his green card). JL also adds: "A Brotherhood and Sisterhood of man" in his wonderful Liverpudlian scoucse accent. The Tree of Liberty "mash-up" of Lennon/ Marley works well as sung lead by Cathy, with David F & Paul K on harmony, and Chris Smith on keyboards. I witnessed the JS crew perform a moving live version in Bayshore, Long Island on Sunday night, July 27, 2008.

17. "On the Threshold of Fire" is a brilliant new Kantner Komposition, "successfully segueing several separate songs" (intentional alliteration). I particularly enjoy the French Horn in the middle section. On the opening, Paul's 12 string acoustic Rickenbacker guitar sounds like "Mariel" (the organic "Hot Tuna w/ PK" versions vs. the KBC recording). Also, the chords have the reminiscent feel of Klassic Kantner Kompositions, such as "Caroline" and/or "St. Charles". A major achievement.

18. "The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" A cappella. This reminds me of the daring versions of "Be Young You" that Diana M used to pull out as an encore treat at many memorable JS shows. The composition was written by Richard Fariña, known for his novel "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me". Richard was married to Mimi Baez, the sister of Joan Baez. Richard died tragically in 1966 at aged 29, in a motorcycle accident. Darby Gould does a tremendous job singing this Richard Fariña tune.

19. "Surprise" - This 1970/1971 "Sunfighter" outtake with Jack Traylor and featuring Grace Slick on harmony vocal was pulled out of the archives. Although this compelling outtake has been traded in JA fan circles, it is a pleasure to have this bonus egg, in excellent quality.

I applaud the CD design by Michael G. There are informative liner notes for all tracks. Three cheers for resurrecting the "Dragonfly" image into the US Flag. The CD outer sticker proclaims "In the spirit of Jefferson Airplane, a clarion call of social conscience". As another US election approaches, it is relevant to include quotes from Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.

There is crisp singing by 3 female vocalists (Cathy, Diana and Darby), and 3 male vocalists (Paul, David and Marty), providing much diversity. The CD includes a smiling photo of "The Main Ten" (this moniker was initially used on Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder LP, which contains the chestnut "Blind John").

I'm sure all JA/JS fans will treasure the CD and feel good about the closing notes: "Here's to the future...here's to life and our children". All in all, this is a superb job by Paul Kantner and the Jefferson Family.

Cheers...
George Walsh

I'm not one for long reviews or analyzing songs. An album hits you or it doesn't - period. And this one hits you in the gut! From what I read this was an opportunity to dig deep into the Airplane history and revisit the songs and artists that influenced Paul, Marty and the early Airplane.
These are great songs you don't hear anymore. Nothing wrong with a little history. It's great to rediscover the genius of Phil Ochs and the Weavers. Regarding Paul's voice as mentioned in another review, it has history and character, if you want something smooth, buy a Barry Manilow disc. I suggest you go to their myspace site and check out
the tracks, I've heard them a million times and will probably hear the disc another 2 million
times. And by the way Cathy Richardson is great! Enjoy.

This album hearkens back to the folk music that got so many of the band's musician's started and has songs that relate well to the politics and state of the world today. The songs are all wonderfully written and performed, with the vocals that will bring goose bumps to your soul. Paul Kantner, David Freiberg, Marty Balin, Grace Slick, Cathy Richardson, Diana Mangano and Darby Gould all sing with power and beauty. I *love* this album.

There's LOTS here with at least 3 of "hit single" quality. Don't expect Grace to soar like the old days, but it's wonderful to hear her. Thanks to all these nice people. This soothes the soul.

Wow! Paul Kantner and friends travel all the way around, back to the beginning, then break through to a new dimension! This is amazing, heartfelt stuff, drawing upon myriad influences from the early days. Yet, it is not for Kantner to look backwards without looking forward.

This is not a recyling of Jefferson Airplane; nor is it a rehash of the Jefferson Starship of the '80s, so do not expect either. Rather, this is "Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation," a group that Kantner assembled in the '90s, which has performed more or less continuously since then, while enjoying flexible membership. This group picks up where Blows Against the Empire and Dragon Fly left off.

Darby Gould and Diana Mangano are both incredibly gifted, passionate vocalists; now augmented by Cathy Richardson, who is also amazing. These ladies don't attempt to "be" Grace Slick; instead they honor her legacy, and look beyond, to the future.

If you are unfamiliar with this music, you need to get reoriented. Here's how: First, listen to and assimilate Deeper Space/Extra Virgin Sky, Across the Sea of Suns, and Windows of Heaven. Then, check out Have You Seen The Stars Tonite: The Jefferson Starship Flight Manual 1974-1978 & J.S. The Next Generation 1992-2007, by Craig Fenton, for ALL of the history.

One could dub Jefferson's Tree of Liberty, "interplanetary folk music." Further!

I really love this release and Jefferson Starship is one of my all time favorites.
This should be called Paul Kantner and friends as very little of the old band is on all the tracks,but appear thru out.

This is some serious drinking music to get loose on.Some of the songs sound like basement tapes and there is not really much hard guitar rock and roll ...instead some fantastic 12 string acoustical work by Kantner.
It is very,very good,but you would have to be a fan to appreciate to fine work they do.A stranger to this band probably would miss the great tunes and complain about it not being flashy or bold for a rock band,however the fifty plus crowd who grew up in the sixties will enjoy some of the old hippie music from the old days.
The best songs are the new Kantner songs.I love this guy like a brother and hope he can get another CD before he retires.

I have rated this as the best release of the century so far, by any band.
Second place is the outrageously fantasticly great STONE PONIES W/LINDA RONSTADT(EVERGREEN) I just love that CD to pieces.
Third place goes to LEVON HELM / DIRT FARMER.It may be really my number 1.
This is all sort of Americana/country folk music that is so popular right now.

I still love the old Jefferson Airplane. I sort of liked the first couple of Jefferson Starship albums like "Blows Against The Empire", but pretty much hated what came later. When I read some of the reviews on this new release, I wanted to get hear more out of curiosity than anything else. I can see where anybody listening for the Airplane or Starship might be disappointed. Thats not what is going on here. You have to really sit down and give it a listen on it's own merits. It has more of a roots folk feel to it, with some outstanding vocals. The songs are coming from the past, but don't look for the Airplane. This is something else, and its good.