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Crown of Creation appeared ten months after their last album, After Bathing at Baxter's, and it doesn't take the same kind of leap forward that Baxter's did from Surrealistic Pillow. Indeed, in many ways, Crown of Creation is a more conservative album stylistically, opening with "Lather," a Grace Slick original that was one of the group's very last forays (and certainly their last prominent one) into a folk idiom. Much of what follows is a lot more based in electric rock, as well as steeped in elements of science fiction (specifically author John Wyndham's book The Chrysalids) in several places, but Crown of Creation was still deliberately more accessible musically than its predecessor, even as the playing became more bold and daring within more traditional song structures. Jack Casady by this time had developed one of the most prominent and distinctive bass sounds in American rock, as identifiable (if not quite as bracing) as John Entwistle's was with the Who, as demonstrated on "In Time," "Star Track," "Share a Little Joke," "If You Feel" (where he's practically a second lead instrument), and the title song, and Jorma Kaukonen's slashing, angular guitar attack was continually surprising as his snaking lead guitar parts wended their way through "Star Track" and "Share a Little Joke." The album also reflected the shifting landscape of West Coast music with its inclusion of "Triad," a David Crosby song that Crosby's own group, the Byrds, had refused to release -- its presence (the only extant version of the song for a number of years) was a forerunner of the sound that would later be heard on Crosby's own debut solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name (on which Slick, Paul Kantner, and Casady would appear). The overall album captured the group's rapidly evolving, very heavy live sound within the confines of some fairly traditional song structures, and left ample room for Slick and Marty Balin to express themselves vocally, with Balin turning in one of his most heartfelt and moving performances on "If You Feel." "Ice Cream Phoenix" pulses with energy and "Greasy Heart" became a concert standard for the group -- the studio original of the latter is notable for Slick's most powerful vocal performance since "Somebody to Love." And the album's big finish, "The House at Pooneil Corners," seemed to fire on all cylinders, their amps cranked up to ten (maybe 11 for Casady), and Balin, Slick, and Kantner stretching out on the disjointed yet oddly compelling tune and lyrics. It didn't work 100 percent of the time, but it made for a shattering finish to the album.
© Bruce Eder & Al Campbell /TiVo
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Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Grace Slick, Composer - Grace Slick, Lyricist - Al Schmitt, Producer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Paul Kantner, Composer - Paul Kantner, Lyricist - Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer - Marty Balin, Lyricist - Marty Balin, Composer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - David Crosby, Composer - David Crosby, Lyricist - Al Schmitt, Producer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer - Jorma Kaukonen, Composer - Jorma Kaukonen, Lyricist
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer - Marty Balin, Lyricist - Marty Balin, Composer
(P) Recorded prior to 1972. All rights reserved by BMG Music.
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Spencer Dryden, Composer - Spencer Dryden, Lyricist - Al Schmitt, Producer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer - Gary Blackman, Composer - Gary Blackman, Lyricist - Marty Balin, Lyricist - Marty Balin, Composer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Paul Kantner, Composer - Paul Kantner, Lyricist - Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Charles Cockey, Composer - Charles Cockey, Lyricist - Al Schmitt, Producer - Jorma Kaukonen, Composer - Jorma Kaukonen, Lyricist
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Grace Slick, Composer - Grace Slick, Lyricist - Al Schmitt, Producer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Paul Kantner, Composer - Paul Kantner, Lyricist - Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer - Marty Balin, Lyricist - Marty Balin, Composer
Originally Recorded 1968. All rights reserved by BMG Music
William Goodwin, Composer - William Goodwin, Lyricist - William Goodwin, Drums - Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Danny Woody, Drums - Spencer Dryden, Composer - Spencer Dryden, Lyricist - Timothy Davis, Drums - Al Schmitt, Producer
(P) 1992 BMG Music
Donald Preston, Performer - Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Grace Slick, Composer - Grace Slick, Lyricist - Arthur Tripp, III, Performer - Ian Underwood, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer - Frank Zappa, Composer - Frank Zappa, Lyricist - Frank Zappa, Performer
(P) 1992 BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Al Schmitt, Producer - Marty Balin, Lyricist - Marty Balin, Composer
(P) Recorded prior to 1972. All rights reserved by BMG Music
Jefferson Airplane, Performer - Spencer Dryden, Composer - Spencer Dryden, Lyricist - Al Schmitt, Producer
(P) 2003 BMG Music
Album review
Crown of Creation appeared ten months after their last album, After Bathing at Baxter's, and it doesn't take the same kind of leap forward that Baxter's did from Surrealistic Pillow. Indeed, in many ways, Crown of Creation is a more conservative album stylistically, opening with "Lather," a Grace Slick original that was one of the group's very last forays (and certainly their last prominent one) into a folk idiom. Much of what follows is a lot more based in electric rock, as well as steeped in elements of science fiction (specifically author John Wyndham's book The Chrysalids) in several places, but Crown of Creation was still deliberately more accessible musically than its predecessor, even as the playing became more bold and daring within more traditional song structures. Jack Casady by this time had developed one of the most prominent and distinctive bass sounds in American rock, as identifiable (if not quite as bracing) as John Entwistle's was with the Who, as demonstrated on "In Time," "Star Track," "Share a Little Joke," "If You Feel" (where he's practically a second lead instrument), and the title song, and Jorma Kaukonen's slashing, angular guitar attack was continually surprising as his snaking lead guitar parts wended their way through "Star Track" and "Share a Little Joke." The album also reflected the shifting landscape of West Coast music with its inclusion of "Triad," a David Crosby song that Crosby's own group, the Byrds, had refused to release -- its presence (the only extant version of the song for a number of years) was a forerunner of the sound that would later be heard on Crosby's own debut solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name (on which Slick, Paul Kantner, and Casady would appear). The overall album captured the group's rapidly evolving, very heavy live sound within the confines of some fairly traditional song structures, and left ample room for Slick and Marty Balin to express themselves vocally, with Balin turning in one of his most heartfelt and moving performances on "If You Feel." "Ice Cream Phoenix" pulses with energy and "Greasy Heart" became a concert standard for the group -- the studio original of the latter is notable for Slick's most powerful vocal performance since "Somebody to Love." And the album's big finish, "The House at Pooneil Corners," seemed to fire on all cylinders, their amps cranked up to ten (maybe 11 for Casady), and Balin, Slick, and Kantner stretching out on the disjointed yet oddly compelling tune and lyrics. It didn't work 100 percent of the time, but it made for a shattering finish to the album.
© Bruce Eder & Al Campbell /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:55:44
- Main artists: Jefferson Airplane
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: RCA - BMG Heritage
- Genre: Pop/Rock
(P) 2003 BMG Heritage
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