Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Was There!, June 10, 2007
When I saw the November 28 & 29th dates on the back of the CD for this Fillmore East live show I realized I was in the audience for at least one of these nights. My friend Selena & I took the R train from Queens to 8th Street & walked the two blocks to the Fillmore. Somehow we had two extra tickets, which we elected to give away to two out of towners, who repaid our kindness with party favors. As a result, other than remembering the band infront of the moving blobs of light show color, my memory is a little hazy.
Considering this concert was recorded back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the sound quality is outstanding. Also, this is NOT the Airplane at the end. This is them a couple of months after Woodstock, smack dab in the middle of their reign.
This will be considered sacrilege but I think I may like this live disc even better than Pointed Head. It is at least on par with it. Pointed Head is essence relaxed San Francisco jam music. This show is New York City battering ram. The Airplane is on fire. For once everybody in the band is on the same page - the vocalists are in tune, weaving in & out & inbetween one another. Everywhere there is a spare opening, Jorma sends out lightning bolts of guitar fire like a Norse god. Spencer Dryden was the band's secret weapon, even though shortly after this performance the band showed him the door. His inventive and authoritive backbeat kept the band on track during the guitar and vocal acrobatics. The Airplane suffered when they switched him out & went with the drummer-of-the-month club.
And then there is Jack. His bass-as-lead solo in the middle of Pooneil is jaw-droppingly brilliant. He just won't behave. I can still remember a free gig in Central Park where the vibrations from his bass rumbled up from the ground & thru my feet into my body. There never has been another bass player in rock that could touch him, probably never will. This concert lets him rock out and strut his stuff.
Nearly all the versions of classic Airplane songs are better represented here than previous incarnations - blasting off with the best version of Volunteers I've ever heard, thru a ripping version of Good Shepard that lays waste the acoustic version, a better organized Pooneil than usual, a sensuous & powerful White Rabbit, Crown of Creation on steroids, and core staple Other Side of This Life ripped & gutted by Jorma's blistering solos. Young & strong doesn't even begin to come close to describing the performances on this CD.
The only out and out cringer (and all live Airplane gigs always had a couple)is Marty Balin's excruciating vocals on You Wear Your Dresses Too Short. I wish somebody had turned his mic off. Great jam, embarrassing vocals.
If you love the Airplane, you need to own this. 40 years later, this CD documents that on a good night nobody could touch them. They tear the roof off.
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43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"We were strong...", May 16, 2007
A wonderful, ESSENTIAL archive release with liner notes by...drum roll...JORMA! YES! First, let it be known that "Good Shepherd" and "Plastic Fantastic Lover" appeared on the expanded CD release of "Volunteers." However, that disc ALSO included "Somebody To Love," "Wooden Ships," and a different take of "Volunteers" from the November 28th & 29th concerts, all of which are NOT included on "Live 1969." Jorma states "The lineup on this disc is the classic one. Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, Spencer Dryden, Jack Casady and myself were together in that year and we were strong." How true. When Spencer Dryden left (soon followed by Marty Balin), the heart of the band went with him. "Bark" and "Long John Silver" became "Hot Tuna plus Paul & Grace plus a bunch of other guys trying to fill the gaps." On this album, Jefferson Airplane was still DANGEROUS. They were like the "Skull & Roses" Grateful Dead, or the "Happy Trails" Quicksilver...a San Francisco band living up to every single word of press testifying to their greatness. If you're a fan, you already own the expanded version of "Volunteers." That means you know what awaits you here. It's another one of those rare times in which "5 stars" hardly seem like enough.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like Mike Said.....Blistering!!!, May 17, 2007
Wow!! This is one HOT show!! The Airplane tend to get maligned at this point in r&r history, probably because nobody can wash the taste of Jefferson Starship out of their mouths. This release proves that the classic JA were one of the 2 or 3 top bands on the planet in the 60's. As soon as they lost Spencer and Marty, the fire went out. Play the opening Volunteers LOUD for your neighbors! And the sound quality blows the earlier Fillmore East release out of the water. Thank you for releasing this one, Legacy.......
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~ Jefferson Airplane
~ Jefferson Airplane
~ Jefferson Airplane
~ Stephen Stills
~ Quicksilver Messenger Service
by Jefferson Airplane 
