Customer Reviews

Live at the New Orleans House Berkeley Ca Sept 69

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

68 minutes in length approximately. The sound is very good-thanks in large part to the band. The CD is snapped in,inside a fold-out cardboard sleeve. The booklet gives details about the recording dates for this (and the original) set,and gives some background information. There are two great color photos of the duo in concert. All of the tracks (there are six different versions which appeared on the first album) on this release are previously unreleased.

Long time listeners of HOT TUNA (especially the first album) will find much to like on this new album. Recorded during the same series of gigs at the New Orleans House,in Berkeley,California in 1969,this set has the same sound and feel of that original album. Jorma Kaukonen (acoustic guitar and vocals) and Jack Casady (electric bass),(with latecomer Will Scarlett(e)'s emotive harmonica playing,which it's rumored he altered to get his sound),even at this early stage of their new band,play almost telepathically. Having known each other even before joining their main band,JEFFERSON AIRPLANE,has given them an edge enjoyed by few musicians of the time. Kaukonen's crisply picked guitar,and Casady's earth-moving bass,which he sometimes played contrapuntally to Kaukonen,gave their music a real identity. And Kaukonen's warm,yet slightly nasal,sly vocals fit seamlessly into the music.

Most (if not all) of the songs will be familiar ("Death Don't Have No Mercy","True Religion","Candy Man") to many listeners of HOT TUNA (mostly courtesy of Ian Buchanan who taught Kaukonen a number of songs) or country blues. Blues artists like Leroy Carr,Lightnin' Hopkins,and Blind Boy Fuller contribute songs and have influenced this music. There are also a couple of original songs by Kaukonen. Kaukonen's guitar style and approach to the music is heavily indebted to the Rev. Gary Davis,a blind singer,ace guitarist and banjo player. If you're unfamiliar with Davis and like country blues/gospel music,you owe it to yourself to give him a listen. Likewise the music of Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell,whose piano/guitar blues is very worthwhile. Along with Davis' style,combined with Kaukonen's easy going,good time approach to the music,these songs come alive,and show just how good HOT TUNA really was. Tracks like "Know You Rider" and "How Long Blues" are good examples of their (early) approach to this style of music. With Kaukonen's quick single note picking and full chords,Casady's rhythmic bass,and the mysterious Will Scarlett on harmonica,the music is never dull. The effortless weaving of their sound was truly (for the era) unique.

HOT TUNA was formed from the duo jamming on the old blues tunes for their own enjoyment. Their music was refreshing,especially compared to the heavily amplified music of their main band,JEFFERSON AIRPLANE. I can remember hearing their stripped down,uncluttered sound at the time,and being fascinated at how two musicians known for their jamming within the Airplane could take old country blues,and infuse them with their own,unique,relaxed sound.

With this new release of vintage,early HOT TUNA,we have another chance to hear music from an exciting era that will never be repeated. It comes from a time when two musicians would jam on the old tunes for fun,and that feeling spread to everyone who heard it. This album is yet more proof of that.

Hot Tuna began as an acoustic off-shoot of the Jefferson Airplane, with bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen joined by harmonica player Will Scarlet. Their 1970 self-titled debut, recorded live the previous year, consisted mostly of traditional folk, blues and ragtime tunes. This 68-minute collection is drawn from the same series of shows as was the debut, but features an entirely different set of performances. The half-dozen titles repeated from Hot Tuna are offered here in distinct versions; a few of these recordings appeared as bonus tracks on Airplane and Hot Tuna releases over the years, but several are offered here for the first time.

Kaukonen's acoustic picking is mesmerizing throughout and his singing is at ease in this setting. Casady's electric bass provides both time-keeping and melodic counterweight to Kaukonen's solo flights. Both players step back to give Scarlet a few opportunities to play some thoughtful leads on harmonica, filling out a fluid and surprisingly complete musical aggregation. Hot Tuna would quickly evolve with the addition of a drummer and violinist, leaving these early performances at the New Orleans House as the central record of their initial vision. This is a terrific introduction to the band's beginnings for anyone who hasn't sampled back to their start, and a satisfying second-helping for those who love the debut. Collectors' Choice's digipack includes two full-panel color pictures and three pages of excellent liner notes by Richie Unterbergber. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

What a great group of musicians! Jorma and Jack Casady have incredible chemistry on this album, as well as anything they play currently. They were so ahead of their time back then. A must have for Tuna and Airplane fans!

For fans of their first album This is a lot of the same songs with arrangements just different enough to make it worth owning.

If you are a fan of the original Hot Tuna release, you will love these live renditions . Recorded at the same basic time as the first album , these songs have a lot of the same arrangements and riffs. I totally love listening to these awesome songs with a fresh sound. Highly recommended to those who are into the unique early acoustic Hot Tuna material.

In early 1971 I found a record at a friends house entitled: "Hot Tuna" as it had Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady as it's main force I was really interested in hearing this weird looking record. Well, midway through the opener: "Hesitation Blues" I looked like I had dropped two tabs of Purple Barrel as I had a dazed but very goofy grin as I was lookin' at the phonograph that was playing this amazing music.

We had already been listening to blues as played by The Cream and Jimi Hendrix for years but, this was different as Jorma took it back several decades and Jack played all around Jorma's acoustic guitar like a demon and dropped bombs in all the right places. This was old style stuff as played in the delta areas and ramshackle back porches in rundown shacks on the other side of the tracks in the 1920's and 30's in the south.

Now, somebody has let more escape from Jack and Jorma's (with Will Scarlett on harmonica) gigs at the New Orleans House, a small club located in Berkeley, Ca. in September 1969 that were recorded on multi-track tapes for that very first Hot Tuna record. This CD contains 13 tracks and 68 minutes of more music from that wonderful run of shows. Songs well known from the first, second and third Hot Tuna records are found here in different forms than the ones I have already heard. For me, the catch-of-the-day is: "Sea Child" in a ten and a half minute version that Jorma cannot end. This: "Sea Child" is quite different from the studio edition found on: "Burgers" a few years later as Jorma has found space within the realm of acoustic music to go exploring and he indeed soars in the passages of music found on this song. This is why music when played live can often contain that X-Factor that surpasses studio recordings by miles.

Hot Tuna, is a live band. This CD finds them at the peak of their powers performing their music in a small club and recorded (with most excellent sound) at the begining of a long road that has lasted over 40 years. No Tunahead should be without this one.
Four & 1/2 Stars!

Very Simple:If your a Tuna fan THIS IS A MUST!!! Sounds like they are playing in your living room. Amazing recording of a fantastic set at the Orleans House in Berkley during the magic of '69.

What more can I say ... if you are a fan of if the first (acoustic) Hot Tuna album
then this is a must for your collection

Hello -- Does anyone know if this album/cd is now out-of-print?

The previous two reviewers have done a thorough job, so I'll simply add that, for my taste, the harmonica is far too prominent here, with too many distracting fills. As a historic acoustic blues guitar album this might rate a 5 if not for that piercing harmonica (which is certainly played with virtuosity, but when you already have a guitar virtuoso who needs the harmonica?). In no way should this prevent anyone from trying this music, however, and a few songs are harmonica-free. "Sea Child" is particularly gorgeous.

This is another smapshot into the beautiful interactions between Jorma Kaukonnen and Jack Cassidy at their acoustic best. The late sixties and early seventies were a time that there was a lot of great music created, possibly recorded and then either lost or buried. This little gem of a compact disc is Hot Tuna at their best with a selection of tunes that includes a few repeats off of the originally released acoustic "Hot Tuna" album that I grew up with. The classics seem to never get stale, so I certainly didn't mind hearing "Death Don't Have No Mercy" and "Candyman" again, albeit played differently from the other release. Same tunes, freshly played with a new and different interplay between two musicians who seem to be able to read each other's minds.

I would be remiss to mention that I particularly like acoustic Tuna--as Jack and Jorma's unvarnished sound is unique and wonderful to listen to over and over. Don't get me wrong, I love Electric Hot Tuna, but as this compact disc clearly demonstrates, there is no other sound as unique as the music played by Jack and Jorma alone together. Give this disc a listen. If you haven't had the chance to hear this duo perform, you're in for a treat. After this there are other releases for your musical enjoyment.