Customer Reviews

Red Octopus

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is really an excellent album: it is not heavy duty rock, nor heavy duty adult oriented rock à la Fleetwood Mac, nor is it the experimental stuff that the original Airplane produced. It is a very 70s album, somehow, up there when "The Rockford Files" and "Cannon" were big on TV. Leaving this aside though every song is different and (I hesitate to say it) a good tune (how unfashionable!). Marty Balin does his thing, Grace Slick does her thing, and so does Paul Kantner and they all have a different style. Then there are the instrumental numbers with Papa John Creach and David Frieberg. The playing is good - sometimes exquisite - Craig Chaquico's guitar solo on Al Garimasu comes to mind and the rhythm section are superb - always loved Pete Sears' John Entwistle-like bass lines! It has everything - lounge lizard songs (Miracles) rockers (I want to see another world) instrumentals (Sandalphon) and middle of the road numbers. As a result I think it has something for everyone. This may make this album uncool, but it makes it successful - and they can really play very nicely together. Well recorded too -- it deserved its success in 1975-76 and it stands up well today.

The Jefferson Starship enjoyed their first and only number one album with Red Octopus. While this album doesn't have the rebellious bite of their Airplane recordings, it is a pleasing collection of songs. "Miracles" is probably the band's best song and Marty Balin has never sounded smoother with Grace Slick providing powerful backup and "There Will Be Love" contains a classic Balin-Kanter-Slick vocal interplay. The album has some good rockers such as Slick's "Fast Buck Freddie" & "Play On Love" and the scorching "Sweeter Than Honey" which contains fiery fiddle playing from Papa John Creach. Red Octopus is often overlooked, especially stacked up against Airplane recordings, but is it is a superb collection of rock songs by a veteran rock group that never sounded tighter or more well-oiled in their career. The newly remastered version greatly improves on the sound and the four live tracks are welcome bonus.

It fascinates this reviewer that the second release of Jefferson Airplane, SURREALISTIC PILLOW, was their greatest commercial success, just as RED OCTOPUS, the second release of Jefferson Starship was theirs. It was all downhill from there and here.

RED OCTOPUS was a mainstay of the mid-1970s AOR playlist. Unlike the Airplane, whose politically-minded, drug-fueled, and musically daring discography made them a pure Counterculture band between 1966 and 1972, Jefferson Starship stayed largely within the bounds of convention on 1975's RED OCTOPUS. Virtually all the songs are pure love songs, and the vast majority of them will someday make the Vegas lounge jump with no problem at all. RED OCTOPUS is a musical departure from the band's usual formula. RED OCTOPUS showcases the talents of Craig Chaquico, Pete Sears, and Papa John Creach, each of whom contributes a unique signature that carries this album in the direction of Fusion Jazz. Even the rockers, such as "Fast Buck Freddie" have an agreeable AM slant, while Paul Kantner's obligatory Oriental/Sci-Fi contribution, "I Want To See Another World" is a three-part harmonized love song shared by Kantner, Grace Slick and Marty Balin.

Thirty years on, the incessant romancing on RED OCTOPUS sounds more than a little sappy, but it WAS the album for it's time and place, a lush, laid back, and well-crafted production, perfectly geared to the tiffany glass fern bar crowd.

Jefferson Starship could and would never replicate the success of RED OCTOPUS. On subsequent albums the band retreated into it's habitually overproduced electric anthem sound even where the largely RED OCTOPUS-like material didn't warrant it. It's no wonder they fell to the nadir of "We Built This City On Rock And Roll," a piece of utter pop trash that is painful to contrast with SURREALISTIC PILLOW's "Somebody To Love," the title track of CROWN OF CREATION, or even the signature RED OCTOPUS number, "Miracles."

In it's forty year lifespan this protean band perfectly mirrored the rise and fall of Rock.

I don't know if I'd call myself a big Jefferson Starship fan, because most of their music besides this album hasn't really caught my attention, but Red Octopus RULES. I LOVE this album. Every song.

Maybe it's the meaningful vocal melodies with lots of emotion, or maybe it's the guitar playing. Whatever it is, I love this baby.

"fast buck freddie" seems like a song that goes all OVER the place the first time you listen to it, without any of the vocal melodies really catching on. However, listen to it a few more times, and find out that it really IS a good song. Of course "miracles" is a classic, especially the longer version. Great song. A great way to blend female and male vocals, too. I won't argue with anyone who says it's the best song on the album.

"git fiddler" is another highlight. I love instrumentals and this is a really good one. "tumblin" is a typical 70's ballad, but who cares? "I want to see another world" is a strange one. A song that really stands out from the rest of the album. It's loud, sounds important, and you won't forget how the chorus goes. The chorus is great. "saldalphon" sounds SO MUCH like a Procol Harum song. It must be the slow-building keyboards that help me come to this conclusion. Very soft, beautiful, memorable song. "there will be love" is the song that carefully blends great emotional singing with emotional guitar playing. What a song this one is.

But do you want to know which song makes the whole thing near perfect? It's "Al Garimasu (there is love)" POWERFUL, slow-building, flawless female vocals. BEST SONG EVER. I'm serious. PLEASE listen to Red Octopus. "AHHHHHHH, I want to FE-EL YOUR LO-O-OVE" You don't realize how good this song is.

All you have to do is read through the other reviews to see what a Great album this is. It was their finest moment. I have one thing to add to all the reviews. Only one or two of the reviews written make any mention of the stellar, THERE WILL BE LOVE. The finest moment of this finest moment album by Jefferson (Whatever?). What's with these legal battles. Jefferson, Creedence and Yes (ABWH) to name a few anyway?

My husband and I will be married 35 years this fall and we listened to Red Octopus when we were dating.
It is one of my favorite albums and definitely one of Starship's best.

Red Octopus is an enjoyable listen. The best thing to ever happen to Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship was the four-year span when Marty Balin took over the reins and started making hits that would lead to great album sales.

Though it may be over a quarter of a century since its release, Red Octopus still sounds great. No traces of the tired, drugged-out, past-its-prime incarnation of Jefferson Airplane are present. It was time for a new sound and a new phase.

Unfortunately, change would once again come about, for the combination of Balin's vocals and Craig Chaquico's guitar solos provided quite a few golden moments that would never be, nor could ever be, followed up by the 1980's lineup of Starship.

Wow!
This CD takes me back to high school. Excellent mastering and packaging. Bonus tracks are nice, but they don't necessary add anything to the original tracklisting other than offer single edits and nicely recorded live versions of a couple of studio tracks contained within.
Since I normally focus on the mastering of the recording rather than the songs themselves, already this has earned its 5-star.
Jefferson Starship, in their classic form, pre-Micky Thomas, put together a solid album from start to finish. The follow ups, Earth and Spitfire, can't match the writing and musicianship of this record.
Highly recommended!

My first Starship album, and I only wore out 3 tapes and 2 vinyl discs. Lots of solid rockin and sweetness too!! This is undoubtedly Jefferson Starships most musically sophisticated recording, Papa John Creech adds a dimension to the sound that is a phenomenon much as violin virtuoso Papa John is himself (Git Fiddler,Fast Buck Freddie). Ballads that everyone identifies with, they cut right to the heart.(Miracles, Tumblin)and instrumentals that propel you along beautiful soundscapes (Sandalphon, Git Fiddler). Great writing contributions by Pete Sears, Craig Chaquico, Marty Balin and the unparalleled Grace Slick. If your into Starship this a recording that is a "MUST" for your collection.

There's no denying that Red Octopus is one of the most successful commercial albums ever produced by a previously counterculture band. On this second official release of Jefferson Starship, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin and company boldly toss off the last vestiges of the Jefferson Airplane era and stride boldly into the world of mid-70s corporate rock. And as much as I truly despise that genre, I'd have to say that Red Octopus manages to achieve that rare intersection of broad commercial appeal and quality.
What song is more symbolic of an era than Miracles? Perhaps only the reconstituted Fleetwood Mac of the early Buckingham-Nicks era comes as close to commercially evoking the mid-70s spirit of album oriented rock radio. As blatantly commercial the appeal of Miracles is, I still like it. The line "I had a taste of the real world (just a drop of it), when I went down on you girl" was one of the most daringly suggestive lines of the day and also one of the most pointedly passionate. It still sounds that way today and the full version of Miracles is a song of which I never tire.
By and large, the rest of Red Octopus is a very enjoyable album. Never has Grace Slick's voice rang out with more confidence and authority. In addition to Miracles, my favorites are Fast Buck Freddy, Al Garimasu, Play On Love, I Want To See Another World, and the instrumental Sandalphon which is briefly evocative of Procol Harum. I enjoy the bonus tracks as well, although the shortened version of Miracles just doesn't do it for me. The play of Papa John Creech and the musicality of Pete Sears add much to the aural appeal of Red Octopus.
I agree with the reviewer from Florida who feels that Red Octopus constitutes the apex of creativity for Jefferson Starship as a band. It was all downhill from here and it was especially painful to hear the depths to which they ultimately sunk with the execrable "We Built This City".
If I had to recommend one album by Jefferson Starship, Red Octopus is the only one to which I give an enthusiastic recommendation. Not only is it good, but it is at a bargain price as well. Now that I've rediscovered it, it will never gather dust.