Fly Jefferson Airplane [DVD] [2009]

I purchased this DVD just before hearing of the death of Spencer Dryden, which only served to underline what a timely release this is before the demise of any group members.And what a great release it is taking in chronolgical order the history of the group with all members of the great JA (plus a few others notably Joey Covington & "Marvellous" Maurice Ieracci) telling it how it really was, in various recently recorded snippets. The development of the band's music from initial powerful electric folk to on the edge improvising and political stances is well captured (the live performance of "The Ballad of you & Me & Pooneil" at the Family Dogg being the standout). But what makes this more than just a video of live historical TV and movie performances is that it gives a snapshot of the SF late 1960s era plus documents the JA's many different and powerful personalities. Balin comes across as simple songwriter and effective singer; Kantner complicated songwriter and sci-fi freak both being well matched by the dominant Grace Slick (chosen to give them an edge locally against Big Brother with Janis Joplin) who clearly was then the spark to all the others, including getting rid of Bill Graham as their manager and pushing on the three great musicians of Dryden (getting the drum seat after Skip Spence started being unreliant, despite being jazz orinetated, from LA and older than the others as Slick gleefully covers in her lyrical inspiration for "Lather"), and the guitar powerhouse of Kaukonen and Cassady, the latter two coming across in joint interviews as being much more attuned and closer than subsequent events might have indicated.The best San Francisco 1960s music related video releases I have seen to date.

Anyone who likes the Airplane should definitely watch this - it is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen about a band.I recently read the 'Got a Revolution' book, which was terrific, and watching this film is the perfect way to follow that.All of the main members of the band appear in the film, and they each give their own personal take on various aspects of the band's story. This makes it more interesting, and it is quite rare to find a band where all the members can still speak in the same forum after so long, without the personal antipathies that tend to arise in bands. The Airplane's members are all very interesting people, and the film covers a lot of ground. All the band members were alive when the film was made, though Spencer and Joey have sadly passed away since the film was made.Most importantly, there is a great deal of good music in the film, featuring a number of live performances and TV appearances. The Dvd menu also gives you the option of just playing the musical parts of the film if you want to.Having watched the film last night, I can't get the line out of my head about 'Life is change - how it differs from the rocks' - they wrote some good lines.I heard the sad news about Paul Kantner's death shortly after writing this review. He was truly one of the greats! R.I.P. Paul

At last an excellent DVD tribute to one of the greatest, but most under-rated, bands of the 60's.Their story is told through entertaining and informative interviews with all the main participants, but the main strength of the DVD lies in the music.The performance of "It's No Secret" at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium powerfully evokes the entity that was the San Francisco scene in the 1960's. Various TV guest spots provide classic moments too, but things move on to an even higher level with the band's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival and a New York rooftop number which preceded the Beatles' London version by some months. The playing of Casady and Kaukonen in particular is stellar, while the vocal talents of Slick, Balin and Kantner add to this and complete that magical and unique Airplane sound.This is essential for any fan, and also a great introduction for anyone who may be curious about a band who've never quite received the level of acclaim they deserve.

If you're an Airplane fan, you'll love this. The film doesn't patronise by trying to tell the 'story of the band' or waffle on about the 'Summer of Love' - interviews are intelligent and incisive, and its great to see all the band members still on such great form. But the meat is (as it should be) the Music. Mouthwatering performances and TV slots from the Golden Age. As others have stated, the great thing is that these are full performances.No voiceovers or 30 second clips. No overused stock footage. Nothing from the sad decline into Bark / Long John Silver period. Colours and sound are spot-on, and the packed 80 minute length doesn't leave you feeling shortchanged. A worthy memento of a great band at thier peak. Probably for fans only - but that's how it should be.

This is great "if you were there", so to speak. I saw the Jefferson Airplane play at the Isle of Wight and then in London a couple of weeks later and the whole thing was great. I think that was in 1968 but then one of my sons picked up on a track in the 1990s that one of my brothers had played a lot at the time. Then of course I grew up, and that was a great time in my life.As always, Amazon delivered promptly and perfectly, stuff that would otherwise have been difficult to source.

This DVD is GOLD ! For someone wanting to know Jefferson Airplane's music and facts about their career , this is THE DVD to buy . Believe me .Superb sound , very good interviews , good colours , and COMPLETE SONG PERFORMANCES !Thank You Guys !

so Jefferson Airplane were the first to do the roof concert, a year before the beatles,they didn't get mucg credit though, maybe because they didn't play many songs, i think just one! a part from that i enjoyed the dvd, grace slick is a legend

Been wanting a definitive biography of this group and this is it good quality nice art work.