1968 Return To The Matrix

In contrast to the three 1966 releases in this collection (Signe's Farewell, Grace's Debut and We Have Ignition), this 1968 set finds the Airplane a great deal farther along. By 1968 the classic six-piece Airplane formation had released Surrealistic Pillow and After Bathing at Baxter's in 1967, and were about to embark on recording Crown of Creation. Their performance includes tracks from all three of their released albums (including "It's No Secret" and a rare performance of "Blues from an Airplane" from Takes Off), a pair of tracks from the upcoming sessions ("Share a Little Joke" and "Ice Cream Phoenix," the latter still a jam at this point, and each their only known live performance), two covers that had long been in their live set (Fred Neil's "The Other Side of Life" and Donovan's "Fat Angel"), and their last known live performance of Leiber & Stoller "Kansas City," turned into a superb blues jam by Jorma Kaukonen.

The show was something of a homecoming as the Airplane returned to the club where they'd debuted (albeit with a somewhat different lineup) in 1965. By this point the group was internationally famous, with two albums that had cracked the Top 10 and two hit singles, each of of which are played here. They'd become international representatives of the San Francisco scene. The band remained remarkably fresh, even on material that had been in their set for years. Marty Balin sings a wonderfully emotional version of "Today," the band plays an energetic version of "The Other Side of Life," and the groove running through "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" pushes the vocalists to terrific heights. The latter is propelled by Jack Casady's imaginative bass line, and features terrific 12-string figures and a blistering solo. Slick's show piece, "White Rabbit," is more fully formed on stage than it as two years earlier, and "Plastic Fanstastic Lover" has a memorable terrific guitar opening.

The chemistry between Balin and Slick, evident immediately in the weeks after she joined the band, is even stronger here, with Slick adding terrific wails behind Balin on his signature "It's No Secret." The newer material offers fertile territory for exploration on stage, particularly the multi-part "Won't You Try / Saturday Afternoon." Though the tapes are mono, the instruments are more prominent than in the recordings used for We Have Ignition. There's some tape hiss, the sound system occasionally evidences a buzz, the rhythm guitar is mixed too hot in a few spots, and the vocals can get a bit edgy, but overall this is a dynamic recording of a key performance in the Airplane's flight. The set closes with a mesmerizing 10-minute version of "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil," complete with a raging guitar solo that briefly quotes "Spoonful."

Airplane fans haven't ever really been wanting for live material, with Bless Its Pointed Little Head and Thirty Seconds Over Winterland released during the years of the group's ascension, and archival recordings Sweeping up the Spotlight Live at the Fillmore East, At Golden Gate Park, Last Flight released over the past few years, and numerous bootlegs circulating among collectors. This 1968 performance shows just how well the Airplane had matured with Slick on board, particularly as live performers. Their catalog of original material had grown deeper, and the freedom they found on stage set the stage for their triumphant performance the following year at Woodstock. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

This performance is the first of several live shows from 1968, now released on disc. The fist one to come out was "Bless Its Pointed Little Head" which featured songs recorded on both coasts, in Nov of 68 (released in 1969.) The May performances at the Fillmore East came out several years ago and now the February show at the Matrix. This one is my favorite of all 3, even with its limitations. The venue is small and the casual feel of being at home in a familiar hangout (Balin originally ran the Matrix) really makes this a unique snapshot. It has the relaxed quality of a musical performance for friends, more than a concert show. But they are not laid back musically, they are focused. Jorma is on fire, the vocals are soaring and the dynamic combo of Cassidy and Dryden are solid as usual. The songs from Surrealistic Pillow still sound fresh, the version here of "White Rabbit" is far and away the best live version I've heard, for instance. Grace sounds genuinely happy, with little of the condescending attitude she projected increasingly as the year progressed. Creatively, they had finished their most experimental album, "After Bathing At Baxters" and we have a generous bunch of those songs included, in addition to the more frequently performed "Try/Saturday Afternoon" and "You Me and Poohneil." A great version of Balin's "Share A Little Joke" and an instrumental version of "Ice Cream Phoenix", from my favorite of all their studio albums, "Crown Of Creation", make this a unique set list. As commented on, the sound and mix is very good, with a few glitches, better than I had hoped for.

This is a sort of bookend for the year, beginning with the commercial triumph of Pillow and the newly found creative expression of Baxters. The glow would dim as the year unfolded, culturally and politically the psychedelic dream confronted some harsh realities with riots and assassinations. A jaded attitude became the survival mode for many of the groups, the Airplane included. Their music remained brilliant in late 68 and 69, just different. Captured here is what the band could do in fully glory, inspired, inventive and still basking in a flower powered groove. I think all 3 of the 1968 performances mentioned are worth having for any Airplane fan. This one is the most joyous of them all.

Man, I sure wish the sound was better!

This is a GREAT show, full of all kinds of rarities--besides what the description and the other reviewers have mentioned, I don't know of another commercially available live version of Martha. And they play everything wonderfully, with the kind of relaxed improvisational fire you sometimes get when a band is playing for a friendly hometown crowd in a place they're comfortable in. It's why they feel able to pull out Blues from an Airplane from their first album--which I gather they didn't even do that often back in the day--or workshop an unfinished new song (Ice Cream Phoenix), or try a new approach to what was already an old warhorse (Somebody to Love, played kinda slow and bluesy). Actually, they do that with a lot of these songs--I'm listening to Other Side of this Life as I type and they end with a little almost-acapella bit. They sound like they're having a lot of fun, and it's a lot of fun to listen to.

On the other hand...it has to be admitted, the sound is not so good. Not unlistenable by any means, you get used to it, but...it's not optimal. I knocked two stars off because of it--otherwise this'd be an easy five stars for me. The vocals in particular get a little distorted when anyone sings particularly loud, and when all three of them are singing it can get shrill. There's also, I don't know how to put it, a "microphony" quality to all the vocals. There's an intermittent buzz (it does go away--I'm listening to Today now and about halfway through somebody figured out how to get rid of it). And at times the guitar can be a little cutting, especially if you're listening on headphones. It's a damn shame, but apparently the Matrix wasn't the Filmore. There's a reason so many bands recorded live albums at the Filmores: Bill Graham had good sound systems. This is a small club.

Still, this is the most unique and interesting live set of any Airplane recording I know of.

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