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J PageContents: The Jam, Jars of Clay, Jefferson Airplane, Billy Joel, Janis Joplin, Joy DivisionThe Jam have their own pageJars of Clay have their own pageJefferson AirplaneJourney...Best Of(1996)In retrospect it seems apparent that the Jefferson Airplane are legendary for their hedonistic lifestyle far more than for their music legacy. Writing in 1969, Ben Fong-Torres reports that "the door opens and Grace's [Slick] head pops out. She steps into full view, her right arm holding the heavy door open. She nods at Thompson with a short, perfunctory smile. "The doctor will see you next, sir." She disappears..."Ah yes, Mr. Casady," she says..."The doctor will be with you in a moment."" Under these circumstances of perpetual illness within the group (and I was previously unaware that Grace Slick was a trained medical professional) it's surprising that they ever got round to making music. For a compilation of an apparently influential group, there's an awful lot of generic crap on Journey; too many boring folk songs like 'It's No Secret' or 'High Flying Bird', and uninteresting, languid covers of 'Triad' and 'Wooden Ships' Additionally, Jefferson Airplane's work carries a strong and objectionable underlying ideology that makes me understand how other people feel about DC Talk or Matt Redman. Just because 'Come Up The Years' is delivered in a lilting fashion, it doesn't make the lyrics "Cause you're so much younger than I am/Come up the years, come up the years/And love me, love me love me" charming rather than repugnant. And, contradictorily, while David Crosby was responsible for writing the menage-trois celebration 'Triad', his version with The Byrds is less aggressive and far more charming than the Airplane's. Crosby sounds hopeful, while Slick sounds like she's been there and done that many times. It's no coincidence that my favourite songs on Journey...Best Of are slightly outside the scope of Jefferson Airplane's warped reality, either based on politics or fantasy. Naturally for a band of their stature Jefferson Airplane do have some assets; I enjoy the instrumental taste and abilities of guitarist Jorma Kakounen and bassist Jack Casady, while their decent songs sound like no other group on earth. 'White Rabbit', based on Lewis Carroll's 'Alice In Wonderland' and 'Through The Looking Glass', is Jefferson Airplane's finest achievement, capturing an amazing sense of drug induced paranoia and enlivening the otherwise dull movie 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas'. Elsewhere 'Embryonic Journey' is a lovely instrumental, which I naturally have no ideological objections against. 'Plastic Fantastic Lover' is amusing in its sheer ridiculousness ("The electrical dust is starting to rust/Her trapezoid thermometer taste"), and is catchy to boot, while Kakounen's 'Last Wall Of The Castle' is an interesting experimental piece. 'Volunteers' is an absolutely fantastic and invigorating political rocker, while 'We Can Be Together' marries an upbeat groove to a catchy melody. The latter seems initially incongrous, but created controversy by including a gratuitous F-bomb that's phrased so subtly that you can't hear it unless you're listening out for it. If nothing else, Jefferson Airplane capture an interesting flavour of the Haight-Asbury in the 1960s; a haphazard mixture of optimistic innocence and destructiveness. In contrast, the two live songs at the end of Journey...Best Of have lost that uniqueness, instead giving some clues to the AOR beast that became Jefferson Starship then Starship in the 1980s. There are so many dull, and even twee, moments on Journey...Best Of that it's impossible to award it a high rating, but the good songs here are thoroughly recommended. As a budget-price compilation, it's worth considering. 
Billy Joel has his own pageJanis JoplinPearl(1971)Assembled posthumously after Joplin's 1970 overdose (she was found dead with a dozen fresh needle marks on her left arm, clutching $4.50 in change), Pearl was Joplin's only album with her newly formed band Full Tilt Boogie. The instrumental 'Buried Alive In The Blues' is evidence of the album's tragic interruption; Joplin planned to lay down the vocal track the day after she died. Joplin's point of distinction was unquestionably her hypercharged vocal technique; inspired by legendary blues woman Bessie Smith, her voice rarely betrayed that she was white and not particularly large. She was once asked to sing a gospel song named 'Quiet About It', but refused on the grounds that she couldn't talk to her God quietly; Joplin rarely did anything by half measures. Meanwhile, Full Tilt Boogie provide her with an ideal backing, earthy and driving, although Joplin's vocals naturally take centre stage. The album's name is taken from Joplin's nickname: "Pearl" is credited with acoustic guitar on 'Me & Bobby McGee'. Pearl is often cited as a classic of its genre; I'm not a particular fan of straight blues, so it's not surprising that my favourite tracks are the two which deviate furthest from the formula. Kris Kristofferson's 'Me & Bobby McGee' is something of a standard, and Joplin's version is definitive; she can't resist shredding her voice on this relatively mild country ballad, and the end result is powerful. 'Half Moon' breaks the musical mould the furthest, with a funky arrangement. Meanwhile, the entertainingly throwaway a capella 'Mercedes Benz' ("My friends all own porsches/I must make amends") is the other song that stands out among Joplin's energetic blues workouts and dramatic ballads. It's all well done, but doesn't hold my attention particularly well. If you're a fan of the blues, buy this album by all means; personally I'd rather listen to the elegant angst of Joni Mitchell's contemporaneous Blue than Joplin's enthusiastic but less cultured approach.
Joy Division have their own page |
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Written 2001-2009, Graham Fyfe
