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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
 Posted - 25/02/2011 : 17:32:33
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Collectors Choice made 2010 a truly wonderful year for Airplane fans. Not only did we get four live albums from the classic era, we were also blessed with the amazing Hot Tuna Live At New Orleans House, Berkeley, CA 09/69. Inspired by this little renaissance, I took delivery last week of the two most famous books on the legendary Haight-Ashbury combo.
Take Me To A Circus Tent by Craig Fenton gathers together a bewildering collection of set lists, recording session details, and interviews. Some reviewers have suggested that the work should have been edited much more carefully - but it is fascinating just to dip into. I especially loved the 2006 interview with magnificent Signe Anderson.
In contast, Jeff Tamarkin's Got A Revolution is a work of very well written and continuous prose which perhaps concentrates on the band politics rather than the music. I suppose that it could be argued that he had already done a good job on the latter with his excellent track by track liner notes for the RCA remastered CDs in the late 90s. Tamarkin narrates the key event's in the Airplane's history very well - but I don't feel that his writing extends to the kind of analysis and evaluation that we have seen in the work of say, Johnny Rogan or John Einarson.
Whilst I have enjoyed and would recommend both books, I am left with the feeling that the truly definitive biography of Jefferson Airplane is yet to be written. |
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Writing Up The Airplane
