Label: RCA Records (US), 82876 50352 2
Style: Psychedelic Rock
Country: San Francisco, California, U.S.
Time: 71:57
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 349 Mb
Almost
masterpiece by some other Jefferson Airplane. Forgotten treasure before
revolution, studio experiments and too many drugs.
For a couple of
years I've been trying to read something about CD before purchase.
Usually I get reliable and valuable information. But in case of
"Jefferson Airplane Takes Off" I read... well... bluffs. I read it is
unsuccessful and very different from other Airplane albums, that I
should beware of it, it is not on par with albums made at the end of
sixties and so on.
First, this is not the same band who recorded
"After Bathing At Baxters", "Crown Of Creation" or "Volunteers" and it
is easy to see. The singer here is not Grace Slick but Signe Anderson,
and drummer's name is Skip Spence (later known as a guitar player in
Moby Grape). The main composer is Marty Balin. Music is not so
psychedelic but honest and romantic electric folk rock. All the stuff
that made, say, "Baxter" so "uncompromising" are luckily absent. So
anyone searching for studio pyrotechnics, weird and revolutionary sounds
will be disappointed.
Second, Signe Anderson is less dominant than
Grace Slick on the later albums but she did a nice job on her lead
"Chauffeur Blues" and harmonizing is very good. Marty Balin shines both
as lead vocalist and songwriter with a little help from band.
Third,
it is said that if you want to break some rule, first you've got to
learn it. And here is evident that Marty and company have learned all
the rules how to make a good folk rock song. In fact they sound so good
so I must ask why they went "up against the wall" at all. And in my
honest opinion "Surrealistic Pillow" was so good because the Airplane
perfected craft they had already presented here, not because they went
experimenting. So, all the differences I mentioned before are pretty
much refreshing.
"Takes Off" is album made by bunch of smart young
men and the reason why I like it so much is because it is not so
overblown or intended to be a great artistic statement. "Takes off" is
inspired collection of often beautiful folk rock songs played on
electric guitars and sang in three part harmonies. And that's it. It is
not "Rubber Soul" or "Pet Sounds", to be sure, but it is okay played,
beautifully sung, and most of all, it has a big heart. Almost every song
has some killer hook that other band would have killed for. I can hear
that every song on the album (including couple of bonuses) is played
inside out before going to studio, so the band sounds better than sum of
its parts. And that is big thing, although some band members were still
in process of learning (by joining Airplane Spence didn't have any
drumming experience), it is all part of album's unique charm.
CD
reissue comes with a couple of very good outtakes, so this album is
highly recommended for anybody interested in Sixties folk rock. For
those who want to hear early days of the one of most popular psychedelic
group, this album can be really refreshing.
(sputnikmusic.com/review/13070/Jefferson-Airplane-Jefferson-Airplane-Takes-Off/)
01. Blues From An Airplane (02:13)
02. Let Me In (02:59)
03. Bringing Me Down (02:23)
04. It's No Secret (02:39)
05. Tobacco Road (03:30)
06. Come Up The Years (02:32)
07. Run Around (02:40)
08. Let's Get Together (03:35)
09. Don't Slip Away (02:34)
10. Chauffeur Blues (02:28)
11. And I Like It (03:20)
12. Runnin' 'Round This World (Mono, Uncensored Single Version) (02:25)
13. High Flying Bird (Bonus Track) (02:35)
14. It's Alright (Bonus Track) (02:17)
15. Go To Her (Early Version, 7/21/66) (04:09)
16. Let Me In (Original Uncensored Version) (03:31)
17. Run Around (Mono, Original Uncensored Version) (02:35)
18. Chauffeur Blues (Alternate Version, Previously Unissued) (02:49)
19. And I Like It (Alternate Version, Previously Unissued) (10:36)
Download: TurboBit KatFile FreeDlink FikPer UpLoady DailyUploads
No comments:
Post a Comment