Audio CD (11 May 1998)
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: RCA
In the great tradition of the Byrds' "Pre-Flyte" and THE KINK KRONIKLES, this collection of B-sides and outtakes isn't simply an anthology of throwaways; a lot of the stuff is as good as anything the Airplane released officially. For starters, there's Jorma Kaukonnen's blues workout "In the Morning", a jam with a real late-night, smoke-filled club feel in which you can also detect the genesis of the Airplane spin-off Hot Tuna. For fans of legendary San Francisco psychedelic burnout/genius Skip Spence, there's his lovely and structurally inventive "J.P.P. McStep B. Blues", a gentle folk-rockercut at the same time as "My Best Friend" (for SURREALISTIC PILLOW). Spence himself turns up as drummer on a first albumouttake, "High Flying Bird"; a longtime staple of the band's live set (see the video for MONTEREY POP), it's sung here by Signe Toly Anderson, the band's original frontwoman.
Jefferson Airplane - Early Flight (1965 - 1970)
A beguiling collection of bluesy, druggy, idealistic leftovers from the Airplane's 1965-70 history, this nine-song album was one of the first instances of a major American rock band plundering its vaults for rarities—it's also as good a record as any of their official original albums. Some of it has now been supplanted by 2400 Fulton Street double disc set and the Jefferson Airplane Loves You box, as well as the newly remastered reissues (circa 1996) of the group's individual albums, but this is still handy to have around. Musically, it's full of superb material, including the six-and-a-half minute Jorma Kaukonen-authored blues workout "In The Morning"—an after-hours jam from the Surrealistic Pillow sessions (with Jerry Garcia on one of the guitars and John Hammond blowing the harp) that's as fine a piece of music as anything that made it onto the album—the Signe Anderson vocal blow-out "High Flyin' Bird," and the Grace Slick-Paul Kantner sung version of "Go To Her" off of Surrealistic Pillow. The CD was remastered in 1997 (catalog number 67419-2), from the original vault tapes in rich, thunderous, and crunchy (check out the guitars on "Have You Seen The Saucers") state-of-the-art sound.
1. High Flyin' Bird
2. Runnin' 'Round This World
3. That's Alright
4. In The Morning
5. J.P.P. Mc Step B. Blues
6. Go To Her
7. Up Or Down
8. Mexico
9. Have You Seen The Saucers
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