I'll be alright (Jorma Kaukonen) (LP 1014 - 1017)

Hot Tuna  The Last Interview? (Vinyl, Grunt Records, 1978) *  

Jorma Kaukonen with Tom Hobson  Quah (Vinyl, Grunt Records, 1974) *****  

Jorma Kaukonen  Jorma (Vinyl, Grunt Records, 1979) *** 

Jorma Kaukonen and Vital Parts  Barbecue King (Vinyl, Grunt Records, 1981) *** 

Genre: San Franciscan rock, Grunt Records 

Places I remember: Hot Tuna and Jorma - bought recently in Amoeba Music (LA); Quah from Marbecks Records; Barbecue King from Real Groovy.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Genesis

Gear costume: I Am The Light Of This World

Active compensatory factors: I was very very excited to continue my Hot Tuna collection recently with this album, which was released on Grunt Records in conjunction with the Double Dose live album (reviewed here).

Never mind that it's a pretty standard radio station promo for the live album with Jorma, Jack and Bob Steeler interviews. It's on Grunt - so I had to have it! And now I do! Wahoo!!

Quah, Jorma's first solo album, is amazing. A solid gold 5 star classic. He plays unplugged and sings while Tom Hobson sings on two tracks. Originally it was planned to have Jorma on one side and Tom on the other but this morphed into Jorma completing most of side 2 as well. Weirdly, the co-billing lingered on for the actual release.

Jorma in acoustic mode is an unrivalled proposition, and he is amazingly present throughout this album: brilliant guitar work, seemingly effortless singing and great production from simpatico - Jack Casady.

Second solo album, Jorma, is just Jorma singing and playing, this time in more electric mode. It's good, but not as good as Quah.

Barbecue King is Jorma in short haired, eighties mode. It's not as bad as that sounds, but, in common with  many sixties musicians, the eighties was not a good time especially.

Where do they all belong? Much more Jorma to come when we return to CD mode.