Customer Reviews

Phosphorescent Rat

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jorma Kaukonen really comes into his own as a songwriter here, and his blend of acoustic picking and psychedelic lead electric guitar is absolutely engaging. 'I See the Light' and 'Easy Now' are both smoldering rockers, while 'Corners without Exits'(beautiful 'crying' leads), 'Soliloquoy for Two' and 'In the Kingdom' are on the gentler ,moodier side. 'In the Kingdom', with its immortal lines "I've been living blind in one-eyed lands",Casady's orchestrally phrased fuzz bass,and Kaukonen's silvery soloing around the lyrics, shape it up to be one of the best love songs of all time that you've never heard...! Speaking of Jack Casady, his bass
playing is magnificent here,ranging from ragtime counterpoint to foghorn -like distortion,and the newly-remastered disc fortunately pumps the bass up from its previously understated levels . Hot Tuna's 'Phosphorescent Rat' has a great balance of bluesy numbers, psychedelic raveups, and introspective musings, and they never again added so many colors to their songs,with some tunes accented with steel drums or string arrangements.
This cd wrestles with the 'Burgers' lp for my Tuna 'desert island' disc', but i'll stick up for this one as it it remains a much-overlooked masterpiece.

This record offers the best spectrum of Hot Tuna available;the folk-psych-blues rock best. Jorma Kaukonen's guitar is what made the Airplane what it was, and he shows you all of that here. "Corners Without Exits" is a theme that will always bring me back to that time.

Left off the "Tuna in a Can" set in favor of Hoppkorv [ewwww, BAD decision] this is the key bridge from "Hot Tuna the Blues band" to "Hot Tuna the Power Trio." Falling between the BRILLIANT Burgers and the very good America's Choice, this 10 song set is more powerful (ala Cream or Robin Trower or specifically BLT) than Burgers, but not full on electric like Choice.

Having let Papa John Creech and his funky violin go off with the newly formed Jefferson Starship freed them sonically to be more like Cream, though Jorma will NEVER be confused with Eric Clapton. But Jorma displays some of his best work on electric guitar since Jefferson Airplane's Volunteers. "Searing" is still the best word I have heard to describe what Jorma does on electric guitar. Paired with the under-rated Jack Cassidy and Sammy Piazza, the Tuna turned out a very good album that only hinted at what was to come on America's Choice.

The only clunker on the set (IMO) is the under realized "Solioquy for Two." The rest is a good solid dose of middle period Hot Tuna. I would still recommend Burgers over this album, but it is a good solid effort none the less.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. This album contains beautifully crafted songs with complex melodies that span a range of genres without pigeonholing into any one. The singing is heartfelt, and the arrangements are lush, interesting, and original. Coming out of this period, Hot Tuna became known for their blisteringly loud and unbelievably long concert performances (an uninterrupted six hour late show following a two or three hour early show was not an unusual night for them). This album shows that they were also masters of the studio. When I was in high school (emphasis on HIGH), I had stereo speakers on either side of my bed, like giant headphones. I'd put this on the record player (vinyl, of course) and listen to it VERY quietly... I'd get lost in the layers of guitars, strings, steel drums -- a fabulous musical experience. The arrangements are complex but never get muddy. HIGHLY recommended, but don't expect either straight blues or aggressive rock and roll. It's something all together different and wonderful.

Jorma Kaukonen really comes into his own as a songwriter here, and his blend of acoustic picking and psychedelic lead electric guitar is absolutely engaging. 'I See the Light' and 'Easy Now' are both smoldering rockers, while 'Corners without Exits'(beautiful 'crying' leads), 'Soliloquoy for Two' and 'In the Kingdom' are on the gentler ,moodier side. 'In the Kingdom', with its immortal lines "I've been living blind in one-eyed lands",Casady's orchestrally phrased fuzz bass,and Kaukonen's silvery soloing around the lyrics, shape it up to be one of the best love songs of all time that you've never heard...! Speaking of Jack Casady, his bass
playing is magnificent here,ranging from ragtime counterpoint to foghorn -like distortion,and the newly-remastered disc fortunately pumps the bass up from its previously understated levels . Hot Tuna's 'Phosphorescent Rat' has a great balance of bluesy numbers, psychedelic raveups, and introspective musings, and they never again added so many colors to their songs,with some tunes accented with steel drums or string arrangements.
This cd wrestles with the 'Burgers' lp for my Tuna 'desert island' disc', but i'll stick up for this one as it it remains a much-overlooked masterpiece.

Sort of Hot Tuna's transition album between playing acoustic blues and electric rock. I love the sound Hot Tuna created here. Jorma's electric guitar is more rounded and solid than ever and Jack Casady's bass is well executed and steady. Jorma throws in some fine acoustic material in here as well. A powerful effort by two of rock's psychedelic veterans. Great music for old hippies (like me!).

Totally agree with the praise already given by earlier reviewers for The Phosphorescent Rat. There's a charm of Jorma's electrified folky songs.

The early Hot Tuna with fiddle/harmonica never captured my attention, so I had dismissed the band as a jam band. But Phosphorescent Rat is a different animal altogether, tight performances, great songs etc. Thankfully, no fiddle or harmonica.

Then 30 years later, thanks to mp3 sharing, I discovered "I See The Light" and just had to buy this CD for this sound. The album is absolutely great. Love the string sections added to a couple of songs.

Again, thanks to mp3 sharing, I just ordered HoppKorv too. Hope that proves as sharp as this record when it arrives. Tried to buy these CDs and a new copy of Quah from the Hot Tuna site, but alas, it didn't seem to be working, so turned to the reliable Amazon.com.

I owned this album on vinyl when it came out and though MANY Cd's in my shrinking collection have gone by the wayside (did not stand the test of time) this one remains a perennial favorite. It really is a hybrid record with both electric and acoustic elements with some odd steel drum and stirngs that somehow work in my opinion.

I just bought both Americas Choice and Hoppkorv and much to my dismay they don't quite do it for me as much. The songs on those discs are less structured, some a bit lackluster and the melodies are not as memorable or well defined as on this one. Though all three show off some great guitar work and America's choice and Hoppkorv do bristle with Yourma's wha-wah and fuzzed leads. Jack Cassidy's bass work in general is so incredibly melodic, powerful and lyrical, (somewhat like Jack Bruce) and the sound of the record is more smooth than the later trio work.

This album and Jourma's QUAH are both wonderful with QUAH being virtually all acoustic with beautiful songs (Hobsons songs are a distraction IMHO). I have to say that this disc as odd as it may seem might actually fall into my top 20 favorite albums. It is a great record and continues to be a pleasure to listen to after many years.

On this album you can ear one of the greatest(or maybe The Greatest) guitarists of the '60 and '70.
What makes His Sound unique and beautiful is that he "put togheter" a psychedelic lead eletric guitar playing with a folk-blues fingerpicking acoustic guitar playing.
With this Sound He made absolutely unique two of the greastest band of all time: Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.

Jack and Jorma in some classic tunes for the fans. This CD is a classic and should be listened to loud..or low but, listen to these guys. A great CD !!!!