Best JA related studio-albums after/at 1970

[babson]

Thanks, I was thinking of getting "Bark", for no other reason than it was released in September 1971, the month/year my wife and I were married. Doesn't look like I should buy that one.

I was wondering in these whos/who discussions how you account for taste. Everybody's different, different situations, different health, financial situations, time lines, peace, war, etc.

[plasticfantastic]

On the contrary, you really should buy it.

I may not be the best judge, but I LOVE Bark. Lawman, Pretty As You Feel, War Movie, and When The Earth Moves again are all fantastic songs. There are some great vocals on Bark as well as some great musicianship, and it is definitely worth buying.

[babson]

Thanks, I think I will buy it.

[starfire II]

'Blows' is definitely my favourite. I have an original vinyl copy with the booklet, but I also bought the CD version for the sleevenotes/interviews and the extra tracks. There's a fantastic 10-minute live version of Starship on there that I absolutely love. The only downside of the CD version is that the booklet illustrations/lyrics just seem so ridiculously small to my middle-aged eyes, which is why I'm probably buying more vinyl these days.
Hell, maybe I should just buy some reading glasses.
Anyway, regarding those other records - I also love Sunfighter, which runs Blows a close second (Silver Spoon, Diana and When I Was A Boy... are fantastic songs), and I've also got a soft spot for Grace's Manhole LP.
Incidentally, I haven't seen the Papa John Creach album mentioned in any of these posts. Is this because it's not a particularly good record, or just that it's difficult to get hold of a copy? My wife got me a copy as a gift today, but I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.
I'll let you know.

[TakeMeOnYourFlight]

Blows Against the Empire
Bark
Slick/ Kantner - Sunfighter
Jefferson Starship - Dragonfly
Jefferson Starship - Red Octopus
Hot Tuna - Burgers
Hot Tuna - Yellow Fever
Hot Tuna - Double Dose
Hot Tuna - America's Choice
Grace Slick - Dreams
Grace Slick - Software (if you can get past the dated 80's keyboards and just concentrate on the songs.)

You could make one decent 45 minute album out of Jefferson Starship's post 1975 material. Take Your Time is my favorite post Red Octopus track.

[oldblue]

Blows Against the Empire was, with Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name, the ultimate community albums. I sensed that it really mattered to all the players that they were playing with (not for)their friends.

Nice contribution....I agree with what you say.
Those albums feel and sound like they are made by a bunch of friends, more then a group of artists.
I can't say the same about Tollbooth and Sunfighter, because I just ordered them and haven't heard them yet.
Well, I recently heard some bits of the debut album of Jerry Garcia (sounds like the same artists are present).
Short after the beginning of the 70s those artists went in different directions and they didn't release more material.
The question is; why?
Did something happen or was the feeling gone away?

touring, recording and other obligations.

[Nipper]

“Papa John Creah” (1971) is a surprising album! I love it so much! This is an excellent album that is worth listening.
And there is a surprise on the first track… Grace duets with Papa John! What a wonderful song! (It was written by Joey Covington. Many people dislike his songs… But as for me , I like…).
And the rest of the album is great too. Jack & Jorma at their best… Hot Tuna fans will fall in love with this album, I think. This album can also interest all Bay Area fans because of the participation of the whole of 'Airplane, plus Jerry Garcia, John Cipollina, Pete Sears, Carlos Santana...

What are your opinions on this album guys?

[starfire II]

Sorry I didn't comment on this earlier, as promised, but yes it is a good record, though it seems pretty scarce here in the UK. The only copy I've seen is the one that I have. I don't think it was ever reissued either - unless someone out there knows different...

[Nipper]

I’d like to say some words about Peter Kaukonen’s “BLACK KANGAROO” (1972) that is an excellent album, too! I love it!
It is a very convincing attempt at producing a Hendrix style album, a bit like Randy California's Kaptain Kopter… “Up Or Down”, “ Prisoner or Dynamo”, “ Snackbar” are filled with very good electric guitar solos while “Barking Dog Blues” is a country blues track with funny lyrics…Peter wrote all the songs and produced the album.
Definitely worth a spin!

[Nipper]

Sorry I didn't comment on this earlier, as promised, but yes it is a good record, though it seems pretty scarce here in the UK. The only copy I've seen is the one that I have. I don't think it was ever reissued either - unless someone out there knows different...

I collect JA and JA related LPs... I have no any info about reissues of this album...
I think you are right - it wasn't reissued...

[Nipper]

I collect JA and JA related LPs... I have no any info about reissues of this album...
I think you are right - it wasn't reissued...

starfire II, I was wrong. I found the info that Papa John Creach’s debut album WAS REISSUED under the catalog number BXL1-1003. I think it was in 1977…

[starfire II]

Really? I didn't know that. Do you know if it was a US only release, or if it reached the UK?

[Nipper]

Really? I didn't know that. Do you know if it was a US only release, or if it reached the UK?

Unfortunately, I don’t have info on UK reissues of this album. But I think that Grunt Records reissues of Jefferson’s albums which have the prefix BXL were released both in the USA and the UK. But I’m not sure… If I find more info about it, I’ll let you know…

[PrayForPlagues]

Hmmm, here's what i think of them!

Manhole- never heard it, actually. I've read a lot about it but have never had the chance to hear it.

Bark- it actually took several listens for me to get into. While it's a shame Marty's out of the picture, that doesn't condemn the album for me. I think the energies are pretty mixed on it, a good equilibrium of Kantner-Slick-Kaukonen for the most part. I wish Creach had a bigger role on many of the songs! My initial feeling towards Bark was mainly that it was just boring- nothing stood out too much to me. The sound on many of the songs feel very airy and loose to me, like jam sessions. My favorite thing about Bark is how AWESOME Jorma does on it! He's awesome on everything else Airplane too, but his songs really tear on this album! I think 'Pretty as You Feel' is interesting, and as far as I know, the deep vocals are provided by Joey. 'Wild Turkey' is really amazing! It's like something from Tuna's 'First Pull Up...' album. 'Law Man' is a good one by Grace- her vocals are wonderful and Jorma's searing lead mix perfectly. I enjoyed 'Rock and Roll Island' (the intro reminded me of Eskimo Blue Day oddly) because it was a bit similar to a BLOWS concept, but it's definitely one of Paul's weaker contributions. 'Third Week' of course, is simply too warm and beautiful to be described accurately. I thought 'never argue with a german' was really bizarre, but a perfect example of Grace's sense of humor (making fun of Paul? Making fun of Amon Duul 2?) and it has a neat almost hip-hop sounding section at about 1:30 or so I think, and Grace's use of the Mellotron is really understated. 'Thunk' of course is not a normal song, but hey, Joey's vocals are neato and it's catchy. 'War movie' is another weak Kantner song in my opinion, although interesting, not comparable to Blows. In all, I think it's a good, atmospheric album, lead by Jorma and Grace mostly, with some weak Kantner material. But hell, at least the packaging was kick-ass!

Blows Against the Empire- I had heard a lot about it for awhile before I heard it. The concept sounded really groovy, and I've always really like Kantner's songs. The first piece I heard was actually the performance of 'Starship' in the middle of Pooneil on their Woodstock performance, and I got into reading the lyrics on the internet and I thought they were really neat. I finally got it, and wow, I couldn't stop listening! The contributions by various musicians definitely rock, and the lyrics and vocals are superb. My favorite of any of Paul's non Airplane work.

Baron von Tollbooth- Sorry guys, but I really don't like this one. It's not that I really dislike Freiberg, I just think the atmosphere and the style of the music is really unappealing and not nearly as creative as the other stuff. I liked Freiberg on 30 Seconds, and his Quicksilver stuff, but this album is just incredibly boring to me. The only thing I listen to regularly off of this Jack Traylor's 'Flowers of the Night'. Everything else is easily forgettable to me.

Sunfighter- almost a tie to Blows. I was skeptical about this after hearing Baron, but this album is filled to the brim with tasty musicianship, lyrics, vocals and messages. 'Silver Spoon' is so awesome! Both 'Dianas' are wonderful, and my favorite track has to be 'Holding Together'. Very Blows-like to me. and Jorma is on 'Look at the Wood'! i highly recommend this over Baron (although, I think this was a few years before Baron).

LJS- I liked it a lot more than Bark.To me it sounded surprisingly fresh and pulsating with sincere, existent energy. The guitar work is really crazy awesome to me, and 'Aerie' HAS to be one of the best, most beautiful songs of all time. (Well, to me...) The Airplane has a very punk attitude, especially on 'Easter?' which sounded like something John Lydon or Malcolm McLaren could come up with. 'Twilight Double Leader' (nowadays, I don't think a band would ever put the word 'twilight' in a song title ) might be really silly and possibly nonsensical as claimed by Grace, but it's one of my favorite off the album. Jorma of course has a great song, Trial By Fire, which sounds like a follow up to 'Third Week' to me. Why the hell has there been no grandiose rerelease of this? I would love to hear demos and other tidbits that have been locked away for years.

[EmbryonicRabbit68]

I have to agree with you there on just about everything, although my favourite track off Baron is Sketches of China, maybe White Boy. I love those. And my favourites off Sunfighter are Silver Spoon and When I Was A Boy, those are two of my favourite tracks by any incarnation of Airplane/Starship/Solo or whatever. My favourite is still Blows Against the Empire though, that's become one of my all time favourite albums. If it were credited as an Airplane album, I just might say it's my fav Airplane album.