Customer Reviews

Keep on Truckin: The Very Best of Hot Tuna

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A single-disc Hot Tuna compilation is a tough proposition. England's Edsel Records tried it in 1994 with "Trimmed and Burning," a 16-track cross-section of every H.T. album except the first. "Trimmed" and the newer "Truckin'" both contain "Killing Time In The Crystal City," one of Jorma's finest acoustic blues compositions...quite possibly THE finest...of his entire career. It was inexplicably trimmed from the CD release of Hot Tuna's final "first-phase" album, the live "Double Dose," so that the album would fit on a single disc. You have to shake your head in wonder at how a decision like that could have been reached. "Crystal City" is also absent from the two-disc "Best of Hot Tuna" CD. The reality is that if you slammed the three compilations I've mentioned together and added a few bonus tracks, you'd have one mighty box set. That didn't happen, so let's return our focus to "Keep On Truckin'." You get two tracks each from "Hot Tuna," "First Pull Up," "America's Choice" and "Double Dose," three from "Burgers," and one each from the remaining three original albums. Offering Yellow Fever's "Sunrise Dance With The Devil" instead of "Bar Room Crystal Ball" (which appears on "Trimmed" and the double "Best Of") is questionable. "Crystal Ball" marked the apex of "Electric Hot Tuna"...it was loud, yet elegant and melodic with trademark Jorma lyrics about friends who want to help him but "they ain't got time to see which way I've fallen." "Hesitation Blues" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy," from the first album, are as essential as essential gets. I see "Keep On Truckin'" as a way to whet the appetite of novice Hot Tuna fans and a means of filling in the blanks (with "Crystal City") for the true believers.

Jefferson Airplane leadguitarist Kaukonen was one of the best, most distinctive of the post-Beatles guitar players. Whether finger picking acoustically or cutting through the band's increasingly dense textures with razor-toned electric licks, his singular sound defined the Airplane as surely as the loose three-part harmonies of Marty Balin, Paul Kantner and Grace Slick. His take on the traditional "Good Shepherd" on the Volunteers LP gave a clue of his arranging abilities and where his heart lay.

Kaukonen had spent his high school years in Washington, DC, where he and his best friend, Jack Casady, would haunt local blues, folk and jazz clubs. Jorma ended up in Frisco as a charter member of the Airplane and, when the band fired its original bassist, he sent for his old pal to come west.

Though the J&J twosome found immense success with this most adventurous of rock bands, they never lost their love for the rootsy music they had discovered together as teenagers. As Jefferson Airplane took off for higher heights, they began working occasionally on the side as a duo playing the acoustic blues of The Rev. Gary Davis, Jelly Roll Morton and Robert Johnson.

Their first album, recorded live at a club in Berkeley, California, came out in the spring of 1970. That first release was a stripped down affair, spotlighting Kaukonen's virtuosic acoustic finger picking and Casady's inventive contrapuntal electric bass playing. As the Airplane disbanded, Hot Tuna became more than an extracurricular hobby, expanding into a full-bore rock band with a following of its own.

The newly compiled Keep on Truckin' covers the history of Hot Tuna's various incarnations in the `70s. From ample samplings of the band's original acoustic orientation through its evolution to blistering blues rock, this collection resurrects one of the great offshoots of the classic rock era, a band that may never have been able to escape the shadow of its principals' past, but one unquestionably deserving a re-evaluation. --Jim Newsom

Originally published in Port Folio Weekly, 6/13/06
Copyright 2006 Port Folio Weekly. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

In 1970, the Jefferson Airplane was clearly suffering some major turbulence. Marty Balin had left the band in 1970, and Spencer Dryden, the group's rock steady drummer, was reportedly fired at the hands of Paul Kantner that year as well (due to him having a hand in firing manager Bill Graham). Only Jorma, Jack, Grace, and Paul remained from the classic lineup into the '70s, and replaced Dryden with Joey Covington on drums. That lineup released 'Bark,' in 1971. The group added veteran fiddler Papa John Creach and former Quicksilver Messenger Service David Freiberg as an additional lead vocalist the year later.

By 1973, the Airplane had crashed. The once ever-soaring Jefferson Airplane was no more. Paul, Grace, and David Freiberg formed Jefferson Starship; but Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen did something *completely* different. Their band, Hot Tuna, was formed in 1969, and prior to now, had simply been a side project. They released a few blues-rock (and one folk/traditional blues album in the masterful debut) albums in addition to what they were doing with the Airplane.

So when the group broke up, Kaukonen and Casady devote all of their time to the band. They added a drummer, Sammy Piazza (and eventually Bob Steeler, who replaced Piazza after he departed in 1975), and devoted their music careers to that band.

From 1969 to 1978, Hot Tuna released many fine albums (some studio, and quite a few live gems), showcasing just how talented these two Airplane veteran "pilots" really were. They knew how to jam, they had a textbook appreciation for the blues, and they knew how to create classic tunes themselves and completely reinvent standards to make them "Tunafied" (I just made that word up on the spot, not bad, right?).

But like Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna's sister band, they hit a rough patch as well. The group temporarily disbanded for awhile in the early 1980s, but reunited again in 1984. They have been a group ever since. They participated in the Jefferson Airplane reunion album in 1989, but after they permanently crashed in 1991, returned to playing together as a duo and with a few friends. They continue in this format to this very day.

'Keep on Truckin': The Very Best of Hot Tuna' is one of the umpteen Hot Tuna collections released by the band's label, RCA Records. It features some of the band's best material from 1969 to 1976 in crystal clear remastered sound. Yes, I know, a lot of albums today are mastered too loudly. Not this one. It's crisp, clean, and mastered perfectly.

And it contains everything a casual Hot Tuna fan would want. 'Hesitation Blues,' 'Sunrise Dance with the Devil,' 'Water Song,' and other great tunes from this band. So, if you are casual fan who wants only a bare bones collection of their songs, this will do just fine.

Now, if you are a fanatical fan, than this simply isn't good enough to recommend. It's missing 'Watch the North Wind Rise,' 'John's Other,' and 'I Wish You Would,' among many other Tuna essentials. This is very disappointing. These tunes were all major parts of Hot Tuna, and to see them absent on a so-called "Very Best of" album is quite frustrating.

Overall, get this if you are new Tuna fan or just a casual fan who doesn't want to dig deep into their enormous and vast catalogue. Otherwise, just stick to getting all of the studio, live, and archival releases. Trust me, if you do it that way, you will be much happier and enjoy this band much more. Hot Tuna are simply too difficult to anthologize. That's really what it comes down to. They weren't a "hit singles" band; rather, they were an album band, whose magic was in their studio albums and their live shows and releases. To really appreciate them, that's the route to go.

Three stars for the music, but the compilation just isn't a good way to fully appreciate this marvelous duo. You can do worse, but you could also do a lot better. Just do yourselves a favor and go buy one of their live albums. You will be MUCH better served that way.

Fasten your seatbelts with this one, and prepare for liftoff. Prepare yourself for a psychedelic journey. Now from the beginning close your eyes and put this under your tongue, o.k.?

Got hooked into Hot Tuna thanks to a KET Jubilee telecast. Really enjoyed the group's mix of Blue Grass and "stretched" blues pieces. Different sound.

This is the perfect intro to Hot Tuna. It has acoustic, acoustic live, and electric and electric live. Good sound quality and lots of music.