Jefferson Airplane's weirder follow-up to Surrealistic Pillow – and a pretty incredible record – concentrating their sprawling psychedelic impulses into fairly succinct 3 to 4 minute songs, for the most part! It's a creative approach, and it's a brave record. If Surrealistic Pillow lured the mainstream into the rabbit hole, this one is the tripped out tea party inside! Only a couple of tunes roll past the 5 minute mark, so it never gets too far out, and it's got plenty of chugging, bluesy rock to keep it neat. Includes "The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil", "Young Girl Sunday Blues", "Martha", "Wild Tyme", "Two Heads", "Watch Her Ride", "Won't You Try/Sunday Afternoon"and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

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

... 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". LP, Vinyl record album

Jefferson Airplane's weirder follow-up to Surrealistic Pillow – and a pretty incredible record – concentrating their sprawling psychedelic impulses into fairly succinct 3 to 4 minute songs, for the most part! It's a creative approach,and it's a brave record. If Surrealistic Pillow lured the mainstream into the rabbit hole, this one is the tripped out tea party inside! Only a couple of tunes roll past the 5 minute mark, so it never gets too far out, and it's got plenty of chugging, bluesy rock to keep it neat. Includes "The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil", "Young Girl Sunday Blues", "Martha", "Wild Tyme", "Two Heads", "Watch Her Ride", "Won't You Try/Sunday Afternoon"and more. 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". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

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

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

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 this album from 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 – and titles include "Boil The Kettle Mother", "Butterfly Kiss", "Wild Times", "The Rake", "Stone & Steel", "Just Who", and "Baby Eyes". Great package – features all new remastering, and a full album of never-heard instrumental tracks! 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

A nice bit of hippy-dippy rock/pop from late 60s California – a male and female vocal team, with a sound that's somewhere between The Mamas & The Papas and Ian & Sylvia and Jefferson Airplane. The overall sound of the record is very nice – thanks to production by Steve Barri, arrangements by Tom Brown, and a backup combo that includes Hal Blaine on drums and percussion, and Larry Knechtel on piano and organ. Songs are short and catchy, and titles include "November Snow", "Establishment Blues", "Sonora", "Golden Gate Park", "Sausalito Sunrise", "Gardens of Chelsea", and "Quick Draw Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane and Hot tuna, plus vocals from Brother John Kattke. 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

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

The mid 70s solo record by Jorma Kaukonen – the legendary guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna – and a really great, sort of back to basics acoustic set! In direct contrast to some of the more bombastic rock coming out of the Jefferson Airplane camp in the early 70s, those one has a rootsier psych folk vibe. Holds up well decades later, too – with titles that include "Genesis", "I'll Be All Right", "Song For The North Star", "Anotehr Man Done Gone" and more. 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 this album from 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 – and titles include "Boil The Kettle Mother", "Butterfly Kiss", "Wild Times", "The Rake", "Stone & Steel", "Just Who", and "Baby Eyes". Great package – features all new remastering, and a full album of never-heard instrumental tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

The mid 70s solo record by Jorma Kaukonen – the legendary guitarist for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna – and a really great, sort of back to basics acoustic set! In direct contrast to some of the more bombastic rock coming out of the Jefferson Airplane camp in the early 70s, those one has a rootsier psych folk vibe. Holds up well decades later, too – with titles that include "Genesis", "I'll Be All Right", "Song For The North Star", "Anotehr Man Done Gone" and more. 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