2/3 of a mile in 10 seconds (Jefferson Airplane) (LP 2750 - 2756)

BLɅϽKPIИK  Born Pink (Vinyl, YG Entertainment, 2023) ****  

Jefferson Airplane  Live at the Fillmore Auditorium 10/15/66 (CD, Sony Music, 2010) **** 

Jefferson Starship  Vinoy Park (CD, Elleu Multimedia, 2003) ***  

Jefferson Starship  Performing Jefferson Airplane @ Woodstock June 12 2009 (CD, Bear Records, 2009) **

Tony Williams Lifetime  (turn it over) (CD, Verve Records, 1970/ reissue 1997) ****  

Jimmy Buffett  Living and Dying in 3/4 Time (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1974) ****

Jimmy Buffett  You Had To Be There (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1978) *** 

Genre: K-Pop, rock, jazz fusion. easy going Americana (a.k.a. country rock)

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi, Slow Boat Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pink Venom (Black Pink)

Gear costume: Big Nick (Tony Williams Lifetime), Come Monday (Jimmy Buffett), Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett)

Active compensatory factors: A round up of new purchases for this post, thanks to recent visits to Slow Boat Records in Wellington and JB Hi Fi in Palmy.

Again, the eclectic nature of my interests is the main take away! From K-pop to country rock to sixties psychedelia and on to jazz fusion. I love 'em all.

Blackpink is a South Korean all girl pop group that have become huge outside of South Korea thanks to the hit song Pink Venom. It even was number one in Australia!

Recently, I was researching songs with pink in the title when I stumbled upon this song on Spotify. It's instantly infectious, so when I saw the album in the sale bins at JB Hi Fi it was a no brainer.

Pink Venom dominates the album but only just. There are plenty of other perfect pop songs on there. The Madonna, Lady Gaga influence is noticeable, but this is 2020's pop music with a shiny new sheen.

Next - it's back into the dim past for Jefferson Airplane's late show in October 1966 - the last show with Signe Anderson as part of the band.

It's pretty damn stunning! The sound is pristine and the performance is bang on. Marty and Paul are in great voice and although the band is in transition, they are tight! Incredible that they'd only been together for a year. Jack is forever cool - his bass lines drive the plane, even then.

Sound wise, these sound board recordings of the post 2000 versions of Jefferson Starship (Kantner and Balin plus others on Vinoy Park; Kantner and Frieberg on the 2009 version) are mostly* good as gold (a little bass heavy) and the performances are fine, but Kantner and Balin/ Kantner and Frieberg are far from their peak but still recognisably them.

The stand ins for Grace Slick - Diana Mangano and Cathy Richardson, are okay but there ain't nobody like Grace!

*Deal on the 2009 one cuts out vocals which is unfortunate as Know You Rider displays some fine harmonies.

Tony Williams Lifetime's Turn It Over, their second album, is from 1970 and features Larry Young on organ, Jack Bruce on bass and John McLaughlin on guitar. Phew! What a line-up. 

Those guys couldn't make a dud record if they tried! Intense sheets of sound rule the day as Tony Williams pounds the drums throughout with purpose and the John McLaughlin/Jack Bruce combo pin their ears back and go for it. Vital!

The opposite extreme is Jimmy Buffett and his easy-going laid-back dude routine that I also love! I picked up two of his seventies albums from Slow Boat (how appropriate is that?!).

Living and Dying in 3/4 Time was his fourth studio album, and You Had To Be There was his first live album (a double at that).

There is something extremely appealing about his country rock style. It's taken me a while to appreciate him, though. 

I was of course aware of Margaritaville back in the seventies, and Roger Marbeck was a big fan. For some reason I ignored the appeal until Jimmy's passing last September. Should have listened to Roger a long time ago. He's always right!

Nevermind, I'm making up for lost time now. These are both great for different reasons. And I'll even accept the yodeling at the end of Brand New Country Star.

Where do they all belong? Still keen to track down a copy of Emergency! by Tony Williams' Lifetime.