When I was first exposed to Miles Davis in the late sixties although I was in awe of his reputation and fascinated I heard only disjointed giberish.It was only through some live improvisation of JA that I started to hear . After going back many years later I,arguably, finally"got electric Miles". Some never do and probably hear that same JA as shit.Maybe they're right.
I love what you wrote about live performance. It is magic when a live version of a song is radically different from it's studio counterpart and fantastic nonetheless. paulmack wrote:
I don't agree with either one of you - just for the record. There are many, me included, who felt that the true brilliance of this band was when they were live - and that the magic was somewhat lost in the studio. Depends on what you want out of your art but if you want the same thing over and over again every single time - then go with the recorded version. If you want something magical and new (again, my opinion, of course) then take your chances with the live show. Of course, it doesn't always work, but there are those times when lightning strikes. All of the most transcendent experiences I've had musically were at live concerts that brought me to my emotional knees.
And, too, think of it from the artist's perspective - if they can take a song and change it up to keep it fresh for them - instead of playing the same version hundreds of times, then both audience and performer benefit. Frankly, as much as I love the studio version of 'STL', I'd listen to this one over it first. I love the charge, the way Cassidy's bass ramrods the song, piles over a lyric, like a halfback flying over the top of the opposing lines at the goal line. And, to me, Grace was wildly creative, moreso in the moment of a live show in many cases.
And I have loved this entire album since the day I bought it in 1970 - after also buying all previous JA studio albums and loving them. Since then I have obtained numerous live JA shows from that era which I also treasure. I could go on but I won't. Sorry, brevity is not one of my strengths.
And, as always, I present these views as opinion, not fact, as it should be.
PS: Ultimately, I, too, felt that the Airplane lost their way. But it was a great ride for quite awhile. They had something. It was good to be alive in the '60's.
I don't agree with either one of you - just for the record. There are many, me included, who felt that the true brilliance of this band was when they were live - and that the magic was somewhat lost in the studio. Depends on what you want out of your art but if you want the same thing over and over again every single time - then go with the recorded version. If you want something magical and new (again, my opinion, of course) then take your chances with the live show. Of course, it doesn't always work, but there are those times when lightning strikes. All of the most transcendent experiences I've had musically were at live concerts that brought me to my emotional knees.
I'll second that, mainly because a live gig is a 'full-body' 'surround sound' immersive experience. The sound, the lights, the people, the drugs (legal and not), the place, the occasion - when it comes together (as it did for me at a recent Peatbog Faeries gig in Beverley) it is literally transcendental, taking you out of your body into another realm of experience. Not that this comes across on recordings of live gigs, mind, because you only hear them from your own speakers or phones, not from stacked amps - you don't get the 'surround sound' you do live. However, some live gigs are so great that their recordings are really special. On the flipside, some are absolutely damn awful, but like you say sometimes lightning strikes.
I wish I'd seen Grace Slick in her youth, though I'm not quite old enough for that to have been the case. Even in recordings she comes across as a sexy, sensual and powerful woman, and of course with one hell of a voice and presence.
"Somebody to Love" is a rock song that was written by Darby Slick and originally recorded by 1960s folk rock band The Great Society and later by the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane. First performed by The Great Society, which included Grace Slick on vocals.
Yes I somewhat agree with you there, I was in another room and had to come to the computer to check it out, her voice was so much better during this period. But she has left a permanent memory with me.
I don't agree with either one of you - just for the record. There are many, me included, who felt that the true brilliance of this band was when they were live - and that the magic was somewhat lost in the studio. Depends on what you want out of your art but if you want the same thing over and over again every single time - then go with the recorded version. If you want something magical and new (again, my opinion, of course) then take your chances with the live show. Of course, it doesn't always work, but there are those times when lightning strikes. All of the most transcendent experiences I've had musically were at live concerts that brought me to my emotional knees.
And, too, think of it from the artist's perspective - if they can take a song and change it up to keep it fresh for them - instead of playing the same version hundreds of times, then both audience and performer benefit. Frankly, as much as I love the studio version of 'STL', I'd listen to this one over it first. I love the charge, the way Cassidy's bass ramrods the song, piles over a lyric, like a halfback flying over the top of the opposing lines at the goal line. And, to me, Grace was wildly creative, moreso in the moment of a live show in many cases.
And I have loved this entire album since the day I bought it in 1970 - after also buying all previous JA studio albums and loving them. Since then I have obtained numerous live JA shows from that era which I also treasure. I could go on but I won't. Sorry, brevity is not one of my strengths.
And, as always, I present these views as opinion, not fact, as it should be.
PS: Ultimately, I, too, felt that the Airplane lost their way. But it was a great ride for quite awhile. They had something. It was good to be alive in the '60's.
Grace is/was much better in the studio. Live music loses something in translation. She's still young here....But the whiskey and pills are starting to take hold... Sad... She had it all...once upon a long time ago...
Yes I somewhat agree with you there, I was in another room and had to come to the computer to check it out, her voice was so much better during this period. But she has left a permanent memory with me.
Grace is/was much better in the studio. Live music loses something in translation. She's still young here....But the whiskey and pills are starting to take hold... Sad... She had it all...once upon a long time ago...
Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane performaing at a free concert in Golden Gate Park.
"One of Grace's oddest and most famous incidents occurred shortly before her pregnancy. In April 1970, the former Finch College student was invited to a reception hosted by President Richard Nixon's daughter, Tricia, at the White House. The organizers of the affair apparently had little idea who Grace was, or of her opinion of Nixon. (Her song, Mexico, a scathing critique of Nixon's anti-drug policy, had only just been released as a single.) Upon arrival, however, Grace was barred from entering when she brought a "bodyguard" — '60s radical Abbie Hoffman! Grace later said that, had they been allowed in, they had planned to spike Nixon's tea with LSD."
... and this is a fine live performance! I had never heard this one before.
Canlistener, please tell me one of your favorite bands, ok? Then I can go trash them (just as baselessly as you did JA) and then you can see how much I've just added to your life. Yes, that's right - a big, fat, fucking nothing. Thanks, as always, for completely valueless input.
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