... CD

Underrated later Airplane – issued at the time on their own Grunt label! Bark came out in '71, after the departure of co-founder Marty Balin, but despite that obviously important loss, there are some pretty cool positive changes in approach, even if it wasn't enough to keep the group flying for too much longer! For one, it's got some excellent violin by Papa John Creach on several tunes – and Slick and Kantor's vocals and songwriting are still in solid shape here. Titles include "When The Earth Moves Again", "Feel So Good", "Crazy Miranda", "Wild Turkey", "Law Man", "Think", "War Movie" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Jefferson Airplane flying high in the late 60s – both a creative and commercial triumph for the band – balancing the tripped out adventurousness of their earlier work, with a more focused approach that brought them to bigger and bigger audiences! Front loaded with moodier, acoustic-based songs that build into heavier rock as the record plays on – with some really great use of sound effects for added drama on here and there! Titles include "Lather", "In Time", "Star Track", "Chushingura", "If You Feel", "Ice Cream Phoenix", "The House At Pooniel Corners" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Early genius from these Bay Area stalwarts – one of the greatest rock records of its time! Surrealistic Pillow is the second Jefferson Airplane album, but they took a number of huge creative leaps in the 8 months or so between their debut record and this one. This one is where they're joined by psych siren Grace Slick, but it's not just the line-up change that sets it apart. Surrealistic Pillow is a perfect title, as it's comforting and disorienting at the same time. It's also the magical confluence of wildly different spirits – with standout contributions by the entire band. Titles include the seminal "White Rabbit" – plus "Embryonic Journey", "3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds", "DCBA 25", "How Do You Feel", "Today", "She Has Funny Cars", and "Plastic Fantastic Lover". LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from these Bay Area stalwarts – one of the greatest rock records of its time! Surrealistic Pillow is the second Jefferson Airplane album, but they took a number of huge creative leaps in the 8 months or so between their debut record and this one. This one is where they're joined by psych siren Grace Slick, but it's not just the line-up change that sets it apart. Surrealistic Pillow is a perfect title, as it's comforting and disorienting at the same time. It's also the magical confluence of wildly different spirits – with standout contributions by the entire band. Titles include the seminal "White Rabbit" – plus "Embryonic Journey", "3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds", "DCBA 25", "How Do You Feel", "Today", "She Has Funny Cars", and "Plastic Fantastic Lover". CD

Early genius from these Bay Area stalwarts – one of the greatest rock records of its time! Surrealistic Pillow is the second Jefferson Airplane album, but they took a number of huge creative leaps in the 8 months or so between their debut record and this one. This one is where they're joined by psych siren Grace Slick, but it's not just the line-up change that sets it apart. Surrealistic Pillow is a perfect title, as it's comforting and disorienting at the same time. It's also the magical confluence of wildly different spirits – with standout contributions by the entire band. Titles include the seminal "White Rabbit" – plus "Embryonic Journey", "3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds", "DCBA 25", "How Do You Feel", "Today", "She Has Funny Cars", and "Plastic Fantastic Lover". CD

Seminal late 60s work from Jefferson Airplane – done with an all-star roster of fellow counterculture heroes and late 60s icons in the studio – including David Crosby, Jerry Garcia, Steven Stills, and Nicky Hopkins! The whole thing is an incredible mix of breezy harmonies and killer melodies, but tuned to more political lyrics – a brilliant approach – full of disarmingly tuneful, yet lyrically defiant songs. Amazing stuff – and a heck of a way to cap off the 60s for this legendary band. Titles include "Wooden Ships", "Eskimo Blue Day", "We Can Be Together", "A Song For All Seasons", and "Volunteers". CD

Underrated later Airplane – issued at the time on their own Grunt label! Bark came out in '71, after the departure of co-founder Marty Balin, but despite that obviously important loss, there are some pretty cool positive changes in approach, even if it wasn't enough to keep the group flying for too much longer! For one, it's got some excellent violin by Papa John Creach on several tunes – and Slick and Kantor's vocals and songwriting are still in solid shape here. Titles include "When The Earth Moves Again", "Feel So Good", "Crazy Miranda", "Wild Turkey", "Law Man", "Think", "War Movie" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Jefferson Airplane's first live album – capturing them at a late 60s peak, at the Fillmores East and West – stretching things out nicely onstage and featuring a bunch of cool covers! Even though Jefferson Airplane has always been a symbol for freewheeling hippie excess, the album versions of so many of their benchmark tunes are pretty concise – but they get a nice workout in the live setting, without it ever getting too far out – and with those killer group harmonies in place. Includes "3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds", "Fat Angel", "Somebody To Love", "It's No Secret", "Plastic Fantastic Lover", "Bear Melt" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic final studio album from Jefferson Airplane – a set that's definitely different than their early work, and which shows the new directions that members would soon take on their own – but done with a vibe that's also a fantastic evolution of the core group's famous sound! The guitar work is even more complex than before – Jorma Kaukonen really blowing us away with his skills, but never in a show-offy way, as the whole thing is wrapped around these honest core rhythms that are almost a rootsier take on psyche elements – with Grace Slick's lead vocals almost coming off with a Sandy Denny quality at times. Titles include "Long John Silver", "Aerie (Gang Of Eagles)", "Twilight Double Leader", "Milk Train", "The Son Of Jesus", "Easter", "Trial By Fire", and "East Starch Mom". LP, Vinyl record album

The late live album from Jefferson Airplane – who were at the end of their journey, but whatever their personal differences may have been at the time, they still put on a helluva great rock and roll show! Thirty Seconds Over Winterland was recorded at that legendary San Francisco venue, and at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, with the post-Marty Balin line-up of Grace Slick, Paul Kanter, Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukomen – plus violinist Papa John Creach, drummer John Barbata and vocalist David Freiberg from Quicksilver Messenger Service. Titles include "Have You Seen The Saucers", "Feel So Good", "Crown Of Creation", "When The Earth Moves Again", "Milk Train", "Trial By Fire" and "Twilight Double Leader". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal late 60s work from Jefferson Airplane – done with an all-star roster of fellow counterculture heroes and late 60s icons in the studio – including David Crosby, Jerry Garcia, Steven Stills, and Nicky Hopkins! The whole thing is an incredible mix of breezy harmonies and killer melodies, but tuned to more political lyrics – a brilliant approach – full of disarmingly tuneful, yet lyrically defiant songs. Amazing stuff – and a heck of a way to cap off the 60s for this legendary band. Titles include "Wooden Ships", "Eskimo Blue Day", "We Can Be Together", "A Song For All Seasons", and "Volunteers". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Jefferson Airplane flying high in the late 60s – and Crown Of Creation was both a creative and commercial triumph for the band – balancing the tripped out adventurousness of their earlier work, with a more focused approach! Front loaded with moodier, acoustic-based songs that build into heavier rock as the record plays on – with some really great use of sound effects for added drama here and there! Titles include "Lather", "In Time", "Star Track", "Chushingura", "If You Feel", "Ice Cream Phoenix", "The House At Pooniel Corners" and more. CD

... CD

Early genius from these Bay Area stalwarts – one of the greatest rock records of its time! Surrealistic Pillow is the second Jefferson Airplane album, but they took a number of huge creative leaps in the 8 months or so between their debut record and this one. This one is where they're joined by psych siren Grace Slick, but it's not just the line-up change that sets it apart. Surrealistic Pillow is a perfect title, as it's comforting and disorienting at the same time. It's also the magical confluence of wildly different spirits – with standout contributions by the entire band. Titles include the seminal "White Rabbit" – plus "Embryonic Journey", "3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds", "DCBA 25", "How Do You Feel", "Today", "She Has Funny Cars", and "Plastic Fantastic Lover". CD

Includes members of Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, David Crosby and Graham Nash, among others. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the headier groups in the Mainstream Records psychedelic scene of the late 60s – and that's saying a lot, considering the company the act were keeping on the label! December's Children features both a male and female vocalist, each of whom sing a bit solo, but also come together in occasionally majestic ways – a bit like the mode of Jefferson Airplane at times, but with a lot more complexity. Styles range from funky blues rock to gentler, folksier modes – and although the instrumentation is conventional for a rock combo, the group manage to get a lot of unusual sounds out of what they have on hand. Titles include "Afternoon", "Hide The Water", "Sweet Talkin Woman", "Slow It Down", "Livin Way Too Fast", and "Back Road Rider". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the headier groups in the Mainstream Records psychedelic scene of the late 60s – and that's saying a lot, considering the company the act were keeping on the label! December's Children features both a male and female vocalist, each of whom sing a bit solo, but also come together in occasionally majestic ways – a bit like the mode of Jefferson Airplane at times, but with a lot more complexity. Styles range from funky blues rock to gentler, folksier modes – and although the instrumentation is conventional for a rock combo, the group manage to get a lot of unusual sounds out of what they have on hand. Titles include "Afternoon", "Hide The Water", "Sweet Talkin Woman", "Slow It Down", "Livin Way Too Fast", and "Back Road Rider". LP, Vinyl record album

Ralph J Gleason might just be one of the coolest cats to ever write about music – a key part of the San Francisco scene during the postwar years – where his talents helped illuminate both the worlds of art and music during the beat generation – then really helped shine a spotlight on all the cultural changes in the city during the 60s – which even led to Gleason's role in the founding of Rolling Stone magazine! Gleason always had a great eye (and ear) for things that were new and special, but never in a way that was slavish to the moment – or to its creator – and the book features an initial section on his writings on jazz and blues – with essays on John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Carmen McRae, BB King, John Handy, Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete, Cal Tjader, Ben Webster, the San Francisco Jazz scene, and other diverse topics. The second section features Gleason on folk and rock – with bits on Jefferson Airplane, Hank Williams, Lenny Bruce, Odetta, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and others – and the final section features articles on politics and culture – covering topics that include Richard Nixon, radio payola, Law & Order, flower children, and other slices of society, seen from the Gleason viewpoint. Book is hardcover, and 309 pages. Book

From Jefferson Airplane with many JA guest members. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from that second chapter on the California scene – that moment when the big initial wave of successful groups had rose and broke, leaving behind all sorts of new creative partnerships! This set's a great example of one of those – as Jefferson Airplane members Paul Kantner and Grace Slick come together with David Freiberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service – then open the door to a whole host of guests who really help make the whole thing an all-star Bay Area affair! You can definitely hear some echoes of Quicksilver, especially some of the more down to earth modes of the later records by that group – which fit perfectly with the vocals – and the lineup features work by Jerry Garcia on guitar on most tracks, plus Mickey Hart on percussion, Papa John Creach on violin, Jorma Kaukonen on guitar, Jack Casady on bass, The Pointer Sisters on backup vocals, and even David Crosby on guest vocals on one track. Titles include "White Boy", "Fishman", "Sketches Of China", "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun", "Flowers Of The Night", and "Across The Board". LP, Vinyl record album

A really heady set from this Jefferson Airplane duo – and a record that's maybe even more sinister than some of the best contributions they made to that famous group! Both Kantner and Slick handle vocals – sometimes soloing in the lead, often pairing together at a level that really gives the album a heck of a lot of power – as do the instrumental contributions from so many of their key contemporaries – both members of the Airplane, and beyond – in a lineup that includes work from Jerry Garcia, Papa John Creach, Jack Casady, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jorma Kaukonen, and many others. Yet somehow the sound is never overwhelming – as there's almost a more personal, electrified folk approach here – nicely moody in all the best ways, almost as if Paul and Grace woke up with a hangover after the 60s, and were probing the darker sides of their psyches. Titles include "China", "Earth Mother", "Titanic", "Sunfighter", "Look At The Wood", "Silver Spoon", "Holding Together", and "Diana (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great lost psych albums of the late 60s – a record recorded at a moment when once-staid labels like RCA were willing to try something new – but not really able to do anything with the music they helped to create! That's definitely the case here, as The Id is one that you're almost more likely to see with a cutout hole than listed on any radio playlists or charts at the time – a real shame, as these guys have a freak-flying quality that's nicely unbridled, and mixed with a few more up-close tuneful moments that really create a record with a great sense of depth. There's plenty of cuts here that resonate with some of the best of the Bay Area scene – including the work of labelmates Jefferson Airplane 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of those great lost psych albums of the late 60s – a record recorded at a moment when once-staid labels like RCA were willing to try something new – but not really able to do anything with the music they helped to create! That's definitely the case here, as The Id is one that you're almost more likely to see with a cutout hole than listed on any radio playlists or charts at the time – a real shame, as these guys have a freak-flying quality that's nicely unbridled, and mixed with a few more up-close tuneful moments that really create a record with a great sense of depth. There's plenty of cuts here that resonate with some of the best of the Bay Area scene – including the work of labelmates Jefferson Airplane 7-inch, Vinyl record

A set that's a bit more tuneful and well-written than the first album by Reign Ghost – but a record that still has all the raw power and spooky feel of that debut! As before, the vocals are by male singer Bob Bryden and female singer Lynda Squires – who each take the lead at times, along with another male member of the band – but who often seem to occupy a different space, both lyrically and spiritually. This contrast gives the record a very weird sort of energy – like Grace Slick trying to break away from Jefferson Airplane, or those weird Velvet Underground moments when Lou Reed and John Cale sing in contrast. Titles include "Pudsy's Parable", "Mother's Got Troubles", "Long Day Journey", "Enola Gay", "Solar Nice", and "Breast Stroke Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool early work from the young Grace Slick – material done with her own Great Society group in the years before she joined Jefferson Airplane – but already sounding pretty darn trippy overall! That shocking, thrilling quality of Grace's voice is already firmly in place – some weird extrapolation from folk modes a few years before, infused with acid trip anxiety, and served up in a way that makes even familiar songs sound very weird and wonderful! The approach here is somewhere between acid folk and Jefferson Airplane – and it's clear that Grace and the group are already very much in the San Francisco mode, even before the Summer Of Love. Titles include early versions of "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love" – plus "Sally Go Round The Roses", "Didn't Think So", "Grimly Forming", "Outlaw Blues", "Arbitration", and "Often As I May". CD

A seminal album from the end of the 60s – the triple-length soundtrack to the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969 – pulled from all the many hours of material recorded for the film of the event! The set list reads not just like a "who's who" of hipness at the time – but also expands to show just how wide the range of sounds was in the underground – strands that move past the obvious rock material that you might expect, and which have the record standing as a great memory to the time – with maybe more diversity than some of the more monolithic memories! Features work by Canned Heat, Arlo Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Richie Havens, Santana, Ten Years After, The Who, Country Joe & The Fish, Sly & The Family Stone, Joan Baez, Butterfield Blues Band, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, John B Sebastian – and yes, Sha Na Na. LP, Vinyl record album

The mighty Rascals get some great coverage here – in a deep feature that looks at their "Young" years on Atlantic Records! There's also a great look at Margo Guryan, timed perfectly for her great box set from Numero – and the issue also has a great feature on the way that the Isley Brothers reinvented themselves in the 70s! There's plenty more too – a look at the J Jazz book, and other features on Q65, Alessandro Alessandroni, Bruce Langhorne, and others – plus a look at the Volunteers album by Jefferson Airplane, 20 questions with Chris Charlesworth, and a huge amount of reviews and record news too! Magazine

Music from Scott McKenzie, the Turtles, the Mamas & the Papas, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Harpers Bizarre, the Box Tops, the Beach Boys, the Lovin' Spoonful, Stevie Wonder, the Hollies, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, The Byrds, Van Morrison and more. CD

A really heady set from this Jefferson Airplane duo – and a record that's maybe even more sinister than some of the best contributions they made to that famous group! Both Kantner and Slick handle vocals – sometimes soloing in the lead, often pairing together at a level that really gives the album a heck of a lot of power – as do the instrumental contributions from so many of their key contemporaries – both members of the Airplane, and beyond – in a lineup that includes work from Jerry Garcia, Papa John Creach, Jack Casady, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jorma Kaukonen, and many others. Yet somehow the sound is never overwhelming – as there's almost a more personal, electrified folk approach here – nicely moody in all the best ways, almost as if Paul and Grace woke up with a hangover after the 60s, and were probing the darker sides of their psyches. Titles include "China", "Earth Mother", "Titanic", "Sunfighter", "Look At The Wood", "Silver Spoon", "Holding Together", and "Diana (parts 1 & 2)". CD

Jorma Kaukonen may not have the catchiest name in rock music, but his guitar playing is the stuff of legend – first a driving force in the young Jefferson Airplane, then getting even great showcase in his own Hot Tuna – both the kind of groups from which classic rock record collections of risen! Jorma tells the tale of his life and music here – at a level that's longer than you might expect, given that he's still out there playing and touring – after years of famously being part of the San Francisco scene from the mid 60s onwards! All that long story is here, told in Jorma's own words – in a paperback edition of 354 pages, with a section of images in the middle. Book