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Jefferson Airplane - Long John Silver Audio CD

A fair review of the Jefferson Airplane "Long John Silver" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jefferson Airplane reviews here, or go back to the Jefferson Airplane tabs.

Jefferson Airplane Band: Jefferson Airplane
Title: Long John Silver
Rating:
Release Date: 2001-04-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Long John Silver 2: Aerie (Gang of Eagles) 3: Twilight Double Leader 4: Milk Train 5: Son of Jesus 6: Easter? 7: Trial by Fire 8: Alexander the Medium 9: Eat Starch Mom

setting the record straight
You know it's funny- while hearing those early Jefferson Starship albums, I would say to myself "The only thing that'd make these albums even better would be MORE of that melodic and emotional guitar playing" and guess what? Long John Silver gives me exactly THAT. Long John Silver is certainly NOT a bad Jefferson Airplane album.

All I had to do was turn to THIS album all these years. If only I had ignored all the negative reviews I would have found out about this album much sooner.

This is a really good album as far as songwriting goes too. Oh sure, a song like "Easter" sounds a bit weak because Grace Slick kind of drags her vocal style in the background, making it hard to understand the words she's singing, but other than that, the rest of the album is just pure brilliance. THE best guitar playing ever laid down on a Jefferson Airplane album, and yes, I've heard them all.

As I said, the songwriting is quite a treat as well. The album takes a few listens to remember how the songs go, I'll admit that. But that's hardly a reason to put down this masterpiece. Pick it up soon. Yes, even if you have to pay more than usual, it's worth every penny.


The weakest Jefferson Airplane album
Unfortunately, in Jefferson Airplane's case, I can't say that. In many band's cases, the band's final album is usually said to be one of the band's finest albums. 'Long John Silver' is weak under Jefferson Airplane's standards.

It's 1972. Marty Balin has since departed from the group, leaving only Paul Kantner, Grace Slick and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen left to handle the vocal duties. Jefferson Airplane's previous album, 1971's 'Bark,' wasn't strong as far as Airplane records go, and it didn't help that Balin had left the band.

So, the group issues 'Long John Silver. ' This record is good as far as albums from the time go, but one would have a hard time telling this was the same Jefferson Airplane that released 'Surrealistic Pillow' a couple years earlier.

But it's not all that bad. 'Eat Starch Mom' and the title track are very strong, and are actually really good. I have always considered the title track to be early '70s punk, just because of the drumming and Kaukonen's guitar.

Overall, if you are a casual Airplane, definitely skip this in favor of some of their earlier studio albums and/or their compilation albums. This isn't a terrible album, but one would expect better from a band like Jefferson Airplane.

Recommended, but only for Jefferson Airplane collectors.


Classic, and Great
Eat Starch Mom!

Old 60's Hippie

. Come on, folks, this is a righteous album! Slick sings her lungs out, the band is tight, and every song is a blunt stone winner.


Bland, tired effort from a band in need of a break
Grace is especially grouchy, complaining about "stupid Christians" (Easter?) and natural food (Eat Starch Mom). There isn't much to recommend this, the Airplane's final fist-shake before it switched into adult-contemporary hit-making mode.

The sole highlight is "Alexander the Medium", in which Kantner attempts to scale the stoner heights he achieved in BLOWS AGAINST THE EMPIRE, and nearly succeeds. Grace joins in for some of her most righteous wailing on disc. Sadly, it all sort of fizzles out at the end, with a completely inappropriate fade-out.

This CD version confirms that the album was shabbily mixed, much like its predecessor BARK. Vocals tend to be buried, and everything sounds flat and congested, with limited bass.

Get this only if you must have absolutely everything by the Airplane.






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Blistering Rock'n' Roll
LONG JOHN SILVER is probably not the best intro to the Airplane's recorded work. I have to say that the reviewers below are pretty much on target with this one. But it has a kind of fury to it that is just short of punk rage. I can't count the number of times I've come home from a long hard day at work and reached for this record and blasted Grace's "Eat Starch Mom"-- a masterpiece of unfocused rage (who's the target: vegetarians? uptight parents? anybody that Grace doesn't like at the moment?). It's as furious as anything by the Stooges, the Dolls or the Velvets--and that's high praise indeed.
Grace DOES sound strained on this one--at least a good deal of the time. "Milk Train" proves that she could still pull off a smooth, snaking vocal, simultaneously earthy and ethereal, and as good as her best 60s work. But elsewhere she sounds, at best, like she was in the in the next room.

I found out years later that many of the tracks were originally recorded as instrumentals, with the lyrics written and the vocals inserted only later. Grace Slick as an afterthought is a somewhat difficult concept to accept, but there you have it. So I'm guessing that "Aerie," "Starch," probably "Easter" and certainly the title track were really pretty much Hot Tuna pieces with Grace jumping in after the fact. If you listen to LJS with this in mind, the buried, sometimes strained vocals start to make sense. You may also realize that the problem is less Grace's voice (she's doing bang-up work on "Aerie" for instance--unfortuantely it's a bit buried in the production) than with the production itself.

Yes, this is a fiery, edgy album, but let's not forget that JA were never just a docile, peaceful hippie band. The irony about the band was that the sweet voice belonged to the male singer (Marty) and that the angrier, edgier voice belonged to the female lead. It's not so surprising then, that once Marty departed, the furies were unleashed.

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You can see a complete list of all Jefferson Airplane discography, or go back to the Jefferson Airplane tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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