Yes, I have an inordinate love of the Jefferson Airplane, and yes, I’m going to buy up pretty much everything new that gets released by this iconic band. When my friend Shawn’s Forever Changes record store was able to participate in his first Record Store Day, at first I didn’t think there was anything much on the list I needed to have – and then I spotted this, and was begging for a chance to get at it. Luckily, since his shop was new to RSD madness, the line was short and the other people there weren’t hip to the amazingness of the Airplane, so I didn’t have to kneecap anybody to get my copy. I expect that next time around, area collectors who’ve been waiting in overnight lines will have figured out Forever Changes is in the mix – so I’m not gonna be counting on being able to show up so close to opening and still getting what I want.
The thing is, I have this music already, but it’s on DVD – I bought copies of the big Monterey release a few years back, but DVD isn’t usually how I look for music. We’re deep in vinyl these days, so this was an obvious must-have. And it was a great performance, beginning to end. I love their Woodstock performance, too – and, given how long they waited to play and how many drugs they ingested, that should have been an epic disaster — but Monterey was a different kind of energy all around. Plus, this has what I think is their only “official” recording of “High Flying Bird,” which my grownkid thinks is the saddest song ever recorded, and I’m always here for sad songs.
