Thirty Seconds Over Winterland [Bonus Tracks] [PA]

Performer: Jefferson Airplane
Engineer: Don Grooch; Don Gooch
Producer: Jefferson Airplane; Frank Ursoleo (Reissue); Frank Ursoleo (Reissue)
Distributor: Infinity Entertainment Gr

Notes: Jefferson Airplane: Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen (vocals, guitar); Grace Slick, David Freiberg (vocals); Papa John Creach (violin); Jack Casady (bass); John Barbata (drums). Recorded by Wally Heider's remote unit. This live set was Jefferson Airplane's last release (until the band reformed in 1989) and was recorded at the group's final two concerts, which were at Chicago's Auditorium Theater and San Francisco's Winterland. Personnel: Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Kantner (vocals, guitar); David Freiberg, Grace Slick (vocals); Papa John Creach (violin); John Barbata (drums). Audio Mixer: Mallory Earl. Liner Note Author: Jeff Tamarkin. Recording information: Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL; Winterland, San Francisco, CA. Illustrator: Bruce Steinberg. Photographers: Bruce Tuten; Bruce Steinberg. Arranger: Jefferson Airplane. By the summer of 1972, the Jefferson Airplane were on their final approach to the eventual evolution that would produce Jefferson Starship, arguably the most drastic difference being the absence of Jorma Kaukonen (guitar, vocals) and Jack Casady (bass), both of whom were several years into Hot Tuna, a project that began as a musical diversion for the pair and rapidly developed into a permanent roots rock unit. Released in 1973, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland (cleverly named after the Mervyn LeRoy-directed 1944 film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo) would become the Airplane's swansong. Included were seven tracks taken from the band's last tour of the 1970s, specifically, August 24 and 25 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago and the last two gigs the Bay Area combo played in its native San Francisco on September 21 and 22, fittingly held at the band's longtime stomping grounds of the Winterland Arena. Only Kaukonen, Casady, and Paul Kantner (guitar, vocals) remained from the first lineup. They are joined by Grace Slick -- who took over from Signe Anderson just prior to the recording of 1967's landmark Surrealistic Pillow -- and violinist Papa John Creach. Former Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young drummer Johnny Barbata had come aboard in the previous year, and the latest addition was Quicksilver Messenger Service co-founder David Freiberg, whose contributions at the time were primarily vocal. The bulk of the effort was drawn from 1971's Bark and 1972's Long John Silver. Although they were still performing "Somebody to Love," "Volunteers," and "Wooden Ships" in concert, a cursory stab at "Crown of Creation" is the earliest cut on this package that harks back to their acid rock persona. Despite some questionable intonations from Kaukonen on "Have You Seen the Saucers," the opener quickly establishes the Jefferson Airplane's harder edge. Kaukonen's "Feel So Good" is the jewel in this otherwise thorny rock & roll tiara. The tune stretches over ten minutes, spotlighting Casady's quake-inducing contributions and Creach's unmistakable fiddle. Speaking of Papa John, he shines on the propelling "Milk Train," featuring a seminal lead from Slick. An outtake of note from the September 22 show made its way onto the 1992 Jefferson Airplane Loves You box set. Marty Balin returned for the one-off, albeit incendiary, "You Wear Your Dresses Too Short." ~ Lindsay Planer The Airplane's second official live album necessarily suffers in comparison with the first, BLESS ITS POINTED LITTLE HEAD, which is one of the genuinely great artifacts of the '60s. Still, considering that the band was in the process of breaking up as THIRTY SECONDS OVER WINTERLAND was being recorded, it's rather amazing that it's as good as it is. Despite the absence of founding member Marty Balin, the group's trademark dueling harmonies soar as high as ever (former Quicksilver Messenger Service bassist David Freiberg is the designated vocalist), and the addition of jazz and blues violinist Papa John Creach provides an interesting counterpoint to the roiling psychedelic guitar of Jorma Kaukonnen and the rumbling, volcanic bass of Jack Cassady. High point: An impassioned run-through of "Have You Seen the Saucers" that pretty much renders the studio version irrelevant. When Jefferson Airplane's second live collection, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland, was released in 1973, no indication was given that it was the band's final LP (until the self-titled one-off 1989 reunion album, that is). But even if fans had known that this was the end of the road for Jefferson Airplane, the disc would have represented more of a stop than a finish. The group toured to support its 1972 studio album, Long John Silver, during the late summer and early fall of the year in a configuration including only two of the original members who had been part of the lineup at their first gig seven years earlier. Those two, singer/songwriter/guitarists Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen, were also the dominant forces in the band on its final tour. Kantner's science fiction anthems, starting with leadoff track "Have You Seen the Saucers," provided one pole, and Kaukonen's blues-rock jams, the major one being the 11-and-a-half-minute "Feel So Good," the other. In between, singer Grace Slick added vocal decoration and Papa John Creach musical decoration with his keening violin, notably on "Milk Train," which they co-wrote. Although erstwhile Quicksilver Messenger Service member David Freiberg was along as a vocalist, he was not a true replacement for the departed Marty Balin, and there was no attempt made to perform a show that summed up Jefferson Airplane. Rather, the show represented the group as it was in 1972, with most of the tracks drawn from the last two albums. The 2009 reissue on the Iconoclassic imprint adds five tracks, expanding the original 36-minute LP into a 66-minute CD. Reissue producer Frank Ursoleo has remained true to the album's initial format by including more material that was contemporary for its time, such as "Diana," a song from the 1971 Kantner/Slick album Sunfighter, and the blues "Come Back Baby," which had appeared on the 1971 album First Pull Up, Then Pull Down by Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady's spinoff group Hot Tuna (although it also had been in the Jefferson Airplane repertoire for a while, having been played, for example, at Woodstock in 1969). Slick's "Lawman" gives her another showcase, and "Wooden Ships" even allows an opportunity to hear Freiberg (in the third verse) singing solo. So, in this version, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland is a more complete statement of the Jefferson Airplane of 1972, even if it remains a final statement only by happenstance rather than intention. ~ William Ruhlmann

One of the quintessential San Francisco psychedelic bands, the Jefferson Airplane brought together interests in acoustic blues, folk, and rock music. Add political topicality and modal improvisations, and you have an inspired, mind-bending sound that could have only sprung forth from the late '60s. In their initial, most beloved phase, they were powered by the powerful dual lead vocals of Grace Slick and Marty Balin and the serpentine guitar of Jorma Kaukonen. They went through a traumatic series of personnel and name changes over the decades (they ventured into commercial AOR in the late '70s and early '80s) but their early work retains its seminal power.

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