Jefferson Airplane - The Woodstock Experience (1969)

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1965. A pioneer of counterculture-era psychedelic rock, the group was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve international mainstream success. The "classic" line-up of Jefferson Airplane remained stable from 1967 to early 1970. The group broke up in 1972, and essentially split into the two bands Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship.

Jefferson Airplane: The Woodstock Experience contains 24 tracks (10 from album Volunteers, 14 from Woodstock). In 1969, Jefferson Airplane was the band to book at a major festival. The first act to be confirmed for Woodstock, they set the precedent for all that followed.
Their performance early Sunday morning was the perfect greeting to a rising sun, and the material from their forthcoming album, Volunteers, awakened the Woodstock generation to a new day.
Sony/BMG's Legacy imprint decided to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock by issuing a slew of double-disc deluxe packages by catalog artists who played the festival. Each slipcase contains the featured artist's entire performance at Woodstock and as a bonus, an LP sleeve reproduction of a classic album issued near the time the festival occurred, as well as fine, individually designed 16" X 24" double-sided posters.
Of the five volumes in the Woodstock Experience series, the Jefferson Airplane's volumes is simultaneously one of the most compelling and frustrating. Musically, this is one of, if not the greatest live performances we have on tape of the band at the peak of their ability and creativity, prefacing the release of their Volunteers album (included here as well) three months after this gig. There are five previously unissued tracks in this set six if you include the introduction.
They include Fred Neil's "The Other Side of This Life,"(that kicks off the set), "3/5 of A Mile in 10 Seconds" "Wooden Ships," "The Ballad of You, Me & Pooneil," the traditional blues "Come Back Baby," and the Airplane's set closer "The House at Pooneil Corners." The Airplane's set is a long one, the longest in the Woodstock Experience series, clocking in at over 90 minutes, but it's enthralling throughout. Whether it's the electrified versions of the tunes from Surrealistic Pillow -- "Plastic Fantastic Lover," "White Rabbit," and "Somebody to Love," or the 14-minute space rock in "The Ballad of You, Me & Pooneil," from After Bathing at Baxter's with its massive bass solo by Jack Casady, or the ragged but righteous "House at Pooneil Corners" from Crown of Creation, the Airplane prove here that they could rock with the best of them.
Their set as a whole is explosive and full of surprises, with excellent vocal work from Grace Slick and Marty Balin, and very sophisticated interplay between Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Kantner, Casady, guest pianist Nicky Hopkins, and drummer Spencer Dryden. That's the good news. The bad news is the package itself: Sony Legacy blew it by following a format rather than considering the music first.
The other volumes in the series also include a catalog album. And it's always the first disc. This presented a problem because the Airplane's set was so long. The label's design department chose to follow format rather than serve the music properly. They sequenced the band's concert performance to begin after the last track of Volunteers on disc one it can be a complete buzzkill unless you just begin disc one at track 11. What would have made more sense would have been to either issue these CDs by themselves, or to begin Volunteers after the last song of the Woodstock gig to better preserve the integrity of the gig itself.
It's true that the concert would still have been broken up on two discs, but the break would have come at the beginning of the long encore.

Disc One - Volunteers  
01.  We Can Be Together - 5:47
02.  Good Shepherd - 4:22
03.  The Farm - 3:12
04.  Hey Frederick - 8:34
05.  Turn My Life Down - 2:56
06.  Wooden Ships - 6:25
07.  Eskimo Blue Day - 6:34
08.  A Song for All Seasons - 3:29
09.  Meadowlands - 1:04
10.  Volunteers - 2:03

Recorded Live at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, Sunday, August 17, 1969 - Part One
11.  Introduction - 0:23
12.  The Other Side of This Life - 8:18
13.  Somebody to Love - 4:32
14.  3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds - 5:31
15.  Won't You Try / Saturday Afternoon - 5:07
16.  Eskimo Blue Day - 6:55

Disc Two: Recorded Live at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, Sunday, August 17, 1969 - Part Two
01.  Plastic Fantastic Lover - 4:35
02.  Wooden Ships - 21:26
03.  Uncle Sam Blues - 6:12
04.  Volunteers - 3:16
05.  The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil - 15:30
06.  Come Back Baby - 6:05
07.  White Rabbit - 2:27
08.  The House at Pooneil Corners - 9:17

Credits
Ace of Cups - Vocals
Marty Balin - Singer
Grace Slick - Arranger, Singer
Jack Casady - Bass, Arranger
Joey Covington - Percussion
Spencer Dryden - Drums
Jerry Garcia - Pedal Steel
Nicky Hopkins - Piano
Marilyn Hunt - Vocals
Diane Hursh - Vocals
Bob Irwin - Producer, Reissue Producer, Mastering
Denise Jewkes - Vocals
Paul Kantner - Guitar, Arranger, Singer
Jorma Kaukonen - Guitar, Arranger
Edwin H. Kramer - Location Recording
Stephen Stills - Organ (Hammond)

Production
Mastered By [Live At Woodstock] – Vic Anesini
Mastered By, Producer [Volunteers Reissue] – Bob Irwin
Art Direction [Live At Woodstock] – Adam Farber
Art Direction, Design [Live At Woodstock] – Mark Larson
Artwork [Woodstock Inner Sleeve] – Elliott Landy
Engineer [Original 1969 Studio Album Volunteers] – Rich Schmitt
Producer [For Legacy Recordings - Live At Woodstock] – Bob Irwin
Producer [For Release - Live At Woodstock] – Andy Zax
Producer [Original 1969 Studio Album Volunteers] – Al Schmitt
Notes
The Complete Jefferson Airplane Woodstock Performance & The Original 1969 Studio Album VOLUNTEERS in LP Replica Packaging
Release: 1969
Recorded At – Woodstock Festival
Genre:  Psychedelic Rock
Length:  144:31

Label - RCA / Legacy