It's lush, ornate, and most of all, a literal showcase of a record, but I never can shake the feeling it's a restate of the debut. Which isn't a bad thing, but not the sort of thing you want to revisit on a regular basis, unless you're in the mood for that sort of thing.

This live album from the last vestiges of the Airplane should be an easy dismissal, but it's actually not bad. And most of the material comes from the last 2 records. The Balin-less version rips through it no problem, even throwing in some nice extended solo sections during "Feels So Good". There's only seven tracks on the original LP and this is one case where I'd love to hear the re-issue. Otherwise, I might have had this rated higher. Kantner and Slick formed the more arena-rock focused Jefferson Starship not long afterward.

By this time, the Airplane was crashing hard, in more ways than one. This was their last studio album of the 70's (as the "Jefferson Airplane") and at best, it's a perplexing listen. Slick is more out front than on earlier releases which gives it a more histrionic feel, and the backing music is just as disconcerting. The addition of Papa John Creach doesn't even bring out the old-timey Hot Tuna vibes; it just makes the record sound more pointlessly weird than before. A real puzzler which probably deserves further consideration. But don't go out of your way or anything....

The aftermath of the previous record divvied up the Airplane in more ways than one, which really becomes apparent on this rather mercurial record. The highlight is a wild electrified duel between fiddle player Papa John Creach and Jorma Kaukonen on "Wild Turkey". I won't get into the what the low point could be, but here's the main point – it's a late-period Airplane record. Best to take it with a moderate-sized grain of salt.

A veritable who's who of the San Fran acid-rock scene plays on this, aggregated by radical-in-chief Paul Kantner, and it's no accident much of this resembles the material from the Volunteers record. There's even a "Wooden Ships" part 2 called "Starship". It ends up sounding like an all-star cast paying tribute to the group that created the previous record. Grace Slick faithfully tags along on piano and would team with Kantner for two more records in the next three years. Another intriguing if erratic JA-related release.