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Dragon Fly

Jefferson Starship - Dragon Fly Audio CD

A fair review of the Jefferson Starship "Dragon Fly" 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: Dragon Fly
Rating:

Release Date: 2007-06-26
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Ride The Tiger 2: That's For Sure 3: Be Young You 4: Caroline 5: Devil's Den 6: Come To Life 7: All Fly Away 8: Hyperdrive

Jefferson Starship
By this time in the evolution of the band, the members seem compelled to record more Top 40 potential songs, perhaps because the money was dwindling. "Ride the Tiger" and "Caroline" flagship this Starship album.
Powerful vocals by Balin and Slick yet again.

Better than last two Airplane albums.

5 of of the 7 members of the last incarnation of Airplane were participants on Dragon Fly plus original Airplane member Marty Balin makes a return for one song on this album. Jefferson Airplane may have officially disbanded in 1973, but the Jefferson Starship is just a slight name change for the Jefferson Airplane. Balin would rejoin the band full time during the tour of this album. Only the Hot Tuna guys (Jorma Kaukonian and Jack Cassidy) are missing on this album.

Now on to the songs. A few highlights.

Ride the Tiger - One of the hardest rocking songs of any Marty Balin era in Jefferson Airplane/Starship. As with many songs on this album, it's rather lengthy (5 of 8 tracks are 5 minutes or more. Very likeable song and underrated song of the Jefferson A/S career.

Caroline - Song the only way Marty Balin can sing them with a silky smooth voice. There is a reason why Jefferson Airplane/Starship sold less albums when Balin wasn't in the band.

Devil's Den - A politically charged song written by Grace/Slick and Papa John Creach. Creach's fiddle blends well with Slick's vocals in an up temple song.

Come to Life: One of the rare Starship songs with David Freiburg on vocals. An up temple pop song with a little blues/ Motown flavor in it.

All Fly Away - Song by Paul Kantner. Sounds alot like Kantner's song "In Time" on Airplane's Crown of Creation. Chaquico's guitar bring back memories of Jormas with the Wah-wah sound here.

Hyperdrive - A little long, but a good closer. Unlike what was previous stated in other post, this song was written by Pete Sear's wife, Jeanette with Grace Slick, not Pete Sears.

Their first was the best

Although JS developed a bad reputation later, this first proper band release by them ranks with the very best Airplane material. When vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Kantner and vocalist/pianist Grace Slick finally figured out (after two years!) that Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady weren't coming back to the Jefferson Airplane, they recruited a couple of players that had played on sessions for their outside projects (lead guitarist Craiq Chaquico and Pete Sears on bass and keyboards) and the rest of the final incarnation of the Airplane (violinist Papa John Creach, drummer John Barbata, and David Freiberg on vocals, keyboards and bass) to form Jefferson Starship. It's far better than the final two Airplane studio albums (the disastrous "Bark" and "Long John Silver"), and less self-indulgent than outside projects like "Sunfighter" or "Manhole". Kantner, Slick and Freiberg had begun moving towards this sound on their "Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun" album. Short on lengthy instrumental jamming, weird sound effects or experimentation, which made some JA fans unhappy. But we have a cohesive yet diverse collection of catchy idiosyncratic pop/rock songs, played well and tightly. New producer Larry Cox imposed more discipline on the group, without having them descend into the sappier commercial sounds which they would indulge in later.

Like all of the JS/JA albums, this is a democratic affair. Everyone except Barbata gets at least one songwriting credit. There's a lot of variety, but everyone is on the same page. Freiberg writes and sings a collaboration with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter called "Come to Life", driven by a funky Pete Sears bassline. I think he also sings lead on Chaquico's "That's for Sure", with lyrical musings by one Jerry Gallup on birth and death. The lead vocal is a bit flat, but the playing and harmonies lift the song up.

Slick writes the lyrics and sings lead on three songs. Her solo song, "Be Young You" (the title a play on the name of her tennis instructor, Byung Yu), is the first of a series of piano ballads that she would contribute to the next few Starship albums. But none of the others would have such inscrutable lyrics. "Devils' Den", music by Creach, seems to be about political corruption, and features another cool bass line from Pete. Sears also provided the music for the lovely "Hyperdrive", a long ballad with nice keyboard textures from him and Freiberg. Slick's vocals, as they are throughout the album are very effective, but her sci-fi metaphors for aging are delivered in her most moving performance.

Paul Kantner brought in some of his best songs ever. He sings lead on the one totally outside composition, "All Fly Away", by folkie Tom Pacheco. The childlike fantasy visions fit well with Paul's own songwriting style. Paul got some lyrical help from Slick and Byung Yu for "Ride the Tiger", the album's first single. A strong rock track, Paul's second song dealing with his fascination with China ended up being one of the band's most popular songs. Finally, JA founder and vocalist Marty Balin returns after several years to write and sing the lyrics to Paul's "Caroline". This, not "Miracles", is Marty's classic rock ballad. Twelve string guitar, harpsichord, piano, mellotron, alternate with Chaquico's dynamic rock guitar, Marty's soaring lead vocal, terrific harmonies and great lyrics. Marty would never top it.

Although the album had a more commercial sound than those from the Airplane, the band's individuality was still intact, without the corny pop pandering that was coming up. Your intelligence won't be insulted if you pick this one up, but you'll still be entertained. Get it! .

Jefferson Starship's second album is pretty good
It features an early Jefferson Starship at their finest. 'Dragon Fly' is a pretty interesting album. For all I know, this could easily be a Jefferson Airplane album. It is also significant because it reunites Paul Kantner and Grace Slick with former Jefferson Airplane vocalist and founding member, Marty Balin.

At the time this was released, in 1974, Balin wasn't an official member. He wasn't even considered a member at all. Although he did sing lead on the brilliant 'Caroline,' he would not become an official member of Jefferson Starship until early 1975.

The rest of the album is pretty good as well, although I will say now that 'Caroline' is the standout. 'Ride The Tiger' features a heavier side of Jefferson Starship, and also contains a solo from the legendary fiddler, Papa John Creach.

'Devil's Den' is the other great song here. It's not one of Jefferson Starship's best songs, but it's definitely a highlight on this album, no doubt.

Overall, if you are die-hard Jefferson Starship fan or a collector, or you are a Jefferson Airplane fan trying to start a Jefferson Starship collection, I strongly recommend this album. For casual fans, however, stick to buying the compilations, or if you want a studio album, buy 'Earth' or 'Red Octopus. '

Recommended for the Jefferson Starship collector.

The music remains a solid 4 stars, just DON'T BUY THIS! (or any other SONY/BMG "Custom Marketing Group" CD...)
So, what makes this bargain not a bargain? Read on. . the mastering/re-mastering is EXACTLY the same as the 1997 version (I compared both versions several times to verify the sound quality). The 1997 CD has a beautiful variation of the original inner sleeve art on the disc itself, in 2008 we get plain blue with album/group name and song titles/lengths. The 2008 case does have a clear jewel tray, but the picture underneath artistic squiggles, in variations of blue. Last, but unfortunately THE LEAST is the travesty done to the 1997 art and booklet. The 1997 version has a faithful reproduction of the original album jacket on both sides of the enclosed booklet. The back tray liner features a color reproduction of the original inner sleeve art. The booklet itself is 8 pages, 3 of which contain a helpful and informative summary of the groups origins and the album itself written by David Cohen. Song information and further well-reproduced artwork variations round out the rest. Not only does the 2008 version only have a 4 page booklet with 2 blank inside, the back of the booklet and the back liner tray only contains song tiles, times and credits. I've saved the worst for last, which is the shody reproduction of the original front cover artwork. Not only is it blurry and lacking detail compared to the 1997 version, they don't even use the original font! All in all not even worth the lower price. Sony/BMG has recently re-released what seems to be at least a hundred different older or out-of-print titles under the "Custom Marketing Group" imprinture, many that in the past had excellent booklets chock-full of informative information and photos. I can only STRONGLY recommend that if given the choice between a 2008 lower price "Custom Marketing Group CD", or the actual original it is meant to replace, don't think twice. As more and more music lovers catch on to this latest "major label" scam, the prices wanted for the superior originals are bound to skyrocket. Don't say I didn't warn you.

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.