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Red Octopus

Jefferson Starship - Red Octopus Audio CD

A fair review of the Jefferson Starship "Red Octopus" 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 Starship reviews here, or go back to the Jefferson Starship tabs.

Band: Jefferson Starship
Title: Red Octopus
Rating:

Release Date: 2005-09-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Fast Buck Freddie 2: Miracles 3: Git Fiddler [Instrumental] 4: Al Garimasu (There Is Love) 5: Sweeter Than Honey 6: Play on Love 7: Tumblin' 8: I Want to See Another World 9: Sandalphon [Instrumental] 10: There Will Be Love 11: Miracles [Single Version][*] 12: Band Introduction [Live][#][*] 13: Fast Buck Freddie [Live][#][*] 14: There Will Be Love [Live][#][*] 15: You're Driving Me Crazy [Live][#][*]

Massive U.S. Seller
Their first ablum "Dragonfly" was a an improvement over the last few Airplane albums. After the disintegration of San Frncisco's Jefferson Airplane (they didn't really make a successful transision into the 70's from being a prime 60's psychedlic band), some of the latter day members (particularly Grace Slick and Paul Kantner) regrouped as Jefferson Starship. For this, the second album, original Airplane founder member Marty Balin rejoined and his song "Miracles" gave the Starship a massive hit with both the song and this album. In many ways the high point of Jefferson Starship's career (before they became known as simple "Starship following Paul Kantner's departure), in many otherways just classy MOR. More exciting songs are to befound on the aforementioned "Dragonfly" (and the follow up "Spitfire"), but here there is a greater sophistication (whether or not this is a good thing is open to debate).

From Red to Blue to Red Again.....
For the most part he behaves. As most of you know, the moat outside my castle has a sea serpent. However, every so often he becomes very revolutionary, shouts anti-conventional epithets with youthful rebellion. Refuses to cut his hair and follows heros like Che. Yes, it's disturbing. What's worse is trying to pick out cuisine for him at the fish market. I've never seen so many lobster claws thrown back at me!

Anyway, I figured a good way to temper his mood was to get a playmate for him. So I went down to the local pet store and saw a sale - Octopus 50% Off. Never one to pass up a bargain, your Metamorpho investigated this. Sure enough, there they were; blue ones, yellow ones, orange ones, red ones. But a very coy red one caught my eye by batting her lashes (does an octopus have eyelashes? who cares?), so I bought that one and brought it home. The sea serpent was thrilled and they played badmitton almost immediately. I was most happy. But that leads to this review of "Red Octopus".

I remember the Jefferson Airplane and the chemistry they had. What a band. And it wasn't so much that the music was precise, which, at times, it wasn't. It was the fact that they exhibited creative freedom. It was chaos that jelled. It was whatever they felt it should be. And that spark is what drove the music into a special arena.

What happened eventually was that they were all not on the same page. Members left and the Airplane material had less spice. Unfortunately they crash landed. But, certain members still got along and decided to reconstruct- only this time they built a starship. Sleek, sturdy, ready to take off towards a new century. However, new, in this case, doesn't mean better. We shall see why.

Well, we still had Grace, Paul and Marty from the old band, but they filled in the line-up with Craig Chaquico (a young, ace guitarist), Pete Sears (keyboardist/bass extraordinaire as well as David Freiberg), John Barbata (drums) and Papa John Creach (who plays wicked violin). They were then set to take on the world. Mind you, all of these musicians were outstanding in their expertise, but there is just something, oh, I don't know, that doesn't sit right in my complicated mind. Let's see if I can figure it out.

We have the miraculous "Miracles", Marty Balin's smooth love ode that is vying for the honor of world's most overplayed song. Still, it is a calling card for the music contained herein. Grace's "Fast Buck Freddie" is still a great tune with vast musical runs. "Hold a dollar bill up to the mirroir"-oh yeah. Her "Al Garimaso" is a nice pop ballad done in her inimitable way. Even Grace can be calmed down ---sometimes. He co-written tune, pop-friendly "Play On Love" contains one of my favorite lines by her; "Who's been telling you about perfection? And how did he get in here, that's the question". And, that is the question.

Aside from this, we have the bubbling fiddle instrumental "Git Fiddler",the obligatory Marty Balin tunes "Sweeter than Honey" (rocker) and "Tumblin" (saccharin love ballad). Also, a space rocker, "I Want to See Another World" (the reason for building a spaceship, I suppose), the pleasant, varying moods in the instrumental "Sandalphon", and the pleasant groove of "There Will Be Love" (whereby Marty, Grace and Paul actually sing in unison!).

The rest of the c. d. gives you live extras of most of the tunes. While mostly well done - Grace goes flat in quite a few places. That is not a complaint. That is just Grace. In all, a nice respectable pop album. I suppose what was so difficult for me was the fact that Airplane changed and went to a more glossy, contemporary sound. It was a nice winning formula as history has proved. However, I still wonder if this went against the grain of their true nature? From revolutionaries to capitalists. Or, maybe the RCA executives finally got wise and made some demands. Who knows? But, it is a good c. d. after all.

In any event, the red octopus I bought had a hard time surviving in the turbulent water in my moat. The sea serpent did not mix well with her either. He is a picky one. Anyway, I finally took the red octopus out and brought her to a river. She hugged me with her tentacles and was happy to be released into the main stream. After all- that's where she belongs.

squidding on thin ice - as always --Metamorpho ;)

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Red Octopus- Jefferson Starship
The best!! Great to hear the classics again, so glad I got it!!!

Blessings to All
Deb.

fantastic
I LOVE this album. I don't know if I'd call myself a big Jefferson Starship fan, because most of their music besides this album hasn't really caught my attention, but Red Octopus RULES. Every song.

Maybe it's the meaningful vocal melodies with lots of emotion, or maybe it's the guitar playing. Whatever it is, I love this baby.

"fast buck freddie" seems like a song that goes all OVER the place the first time you listen to it, without any of the vocal melodies really catching on. However, listen to it a few more times, and find out that it really IS a good song. Of course "miracles" is a classic, especially the longer version. Great song. A great way to blend female and male vocals, too. I won't argue with anyone who says it's the best song on the album.

"git fiddler" is another highlight. I love instrumentals and this is a really good one. "tumblin" is a typical 70's ballad, but who cares? "I want to see another world" is a strange one. A song that really stands out from the rest of the album. It's loud, sounds important, and you won't forget how the chorus goes. The chorus is great. "saldalphon" sounds SO MUCH like a Procol Harum song. It must be the slow-building keyboards that help me come to this conclusion. Very soft, beautiful, memorable song. "there will be love" is the song that carefully blends great emotional singing with emotional guitar playing. What a song this one is.

But do you want to know which song makes the whole thing near perfect? It's "Al Garimasu (there is love)" POWERFUL, slow-building, flawless female vocals. BEST SONG EVER. I'm serious. PLEASE listen to Red Octopus. "AHHHHHHH, I want to FE-EL YOUR LO-O-OVE" You don't realize how good this song is. .

Rare Intersection of Commercialism and Quality
On this second official release of Jefferson Starship, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin and company boldly toss off the last vestiges of the Jefferson Airplane era and stride boldly into the world of mid-70s corporate rock. There's no denying that Red Octopus is one of the most successful commercial albums ever produced by a previously counterculture band. And as much as I truly despise that genre, I'd have to say that Red Octopus manages to achieve that rare intersection of broad commercial appeal and quality.
What song is more symbolic of an era than Miracles? Perhaps only the reconstituted Fleetwood Mac of the early Buckingham-Nicks era comes as close to commercially evoking the mid-70s spirit of album oriented rock radio. As blatantly commercial the appeal of Miracles is, I still like it. The line "I had a taste of the real world (just a drop of it), when I went down on you girl" was one of the most daringly suggestive lines of the day and also one of the most pointedly passionate. It still sounds that way today and the full version of Miracles is a song of which I never tire.
By and large, the rest of Red Octopus is a very enjoyable album. Never has Grace Slick's voice rang out with more confidence and authority. In addition to Miracles, my favorites are Fast Buck Freddy, Al Garimasu, Play On Love, I Want To See Another World, and the instrumental Sandalphon which is briefly evocative of Procol Harum. I enjoy the bonus tracks as well, although the shortened version of Miracles just doesn't do it for me. The play of Papa John Creech and the musicality of Pete Sears add much to the aural appeal of Red Octopus.
I agree with the reviewer from Florida who feels that Red Octopus constitutes the apex of creativity for Jefferson Starship as a band. It was all downhill from here and it was especially painful to hear the depths to which they ultimately sunk with the execrable "We Built This City".
If I had to recommend one album by Jefferson Starship, Red Octopus is the only one to which I give an enthusiastic recommendation. Not only is it good, but it is at a bargain price as well. Now that I've rediscovered it, it will never gather dust. .

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