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Jefferson Airplane
Volunteers: The Woodstock Experience
(RCA/Legacy)
First Appeared in The Music Box, September 2009, Volume 16, #9
Written by John Metzger
Fri September 25, 2009, 06:30 AM CDT
Many of the artists that performed at Woodstock were just beginning to
establish themselves, but Jefferson Airplane was on the verge of imploding.
Within the span of just a few months, Paul Kantner and Grace Slick would be left
to forge ahead on their own. Even so, the group poured everything it had into
its fifth studio set Volunteers. Issued in November 1969, the collection
not only served as Jefferson Airplane’s final hurrah, but it also delivered a
potent message about the state of America.
As a veteran outfit as well as one of the biggest names in Woodstock’s
line-up, Jefferson Airplane originally was slated to take the stage as a
headlining act on Saturday. Nothing ran as planned, however, and the free-form
atmosphere of the event combined with inclement weather as well as a slew of
technical issues to push the band’s set to the crack of dawn on Sunday morning.
If the members of Jefferson Airplane were exhausted, they didn’t show it — at
least not immediately. The benefit of being up all night meant that the group
was warmed up and ready to go. Consequently, the outfit wasted no time as it
tore into The Other Side of This Life with a vengeance.
Over the course of its 13-song set, Jefferson Airplane barely came up for
air. The effect of its rampaging, propulsive attack was to deliver a rush of
caffeine to the masses that had gathered throughout the weekend. Songs like 3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds and Plastic Fantastic Lover were tackled
at breakneck speed, as guitars stabbed and voices soared over a thrashing
cadence of bass and drums. More often than not, the music assumed an air of
violent intensity — never more so than during an epic rendition of Wooden
Ships, which conjured images of post-apocalyptic mayhem. Not only was The
Ballad of Me & You & Pooneil nearly as potent, but when it plunged headfirst
into Starship, it also seemed to offer a possible solution to the
madness.
Jefferson Airplane’s performances always seemed to lurk on the border of
anarchy. If anything, its all-night vigil made it difficult for the band to
maintain any kind of control over its output. As a result, its moodier material — Eskimo Blue Day, in particular — suffered considerably. Elsewhere, White Rabbit was turned into an afterthought, and although Somebody to
Love, with its punk-rock growl, initially sounded gritty and dangerous, it
ultimately lost its edge when it became bogged down in tribal beats.
As Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Live at the Fillmore East demonstrated,
Jefferson Airplane was capable of using its chaotic tendencies to paint
reflections of the turbulent American landscape. At Woodstock, however, the
band’s performance simply assumed a certain ramshackle aura that, in retrospect,
can be difficult to digest. Regardless, Volunteers remains one of several
classic outings in Jefferson Airplane’s considerable canon. In addition,
although the outfit’s appearance at Woodstock was far from perfect, it also
undeniably was an important moment in rock ’n‘ roll history. 
Of Further Interest...
Jimi Hendrix - Live at Woodstock / Live at the Fillmore East
Santana - Santana: The Woodstock Experience
Sly and the Family Stone - Stand!: The Woodstock Experience
Volunteers: The Woodstock Experience is available from
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2009 The Music Box
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