Jefferson Starship – "Dragonfly" (1974)

One of music history's most strange transformations is the 60's Jefferson Airplane becoming the 80’s Starship. From songs like White Rabbit and Rejoyce to pop songs like We Built This City and Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now. What happened? How was it possible?
The time in between, the 70's, they went under the name Jefferson Starship and released a number of albums. Since I dislike their 80’s music as much as I love their 60's songs, I have always been extremely suspicious of their 70s incarnation. So suspicious that I’ve never bothered to listen to a single song. The similarity in the names Jefferson Starship and Starship was enough to convince me that the garbage can was the right place for their albums.

But one day I thought I should investigate this. What if I was wrong. One of the reasons was that I have some of the singer Grace Slick’s solo albums from the 70's and they are pretty interesting creations. Not at all like We Built This City. Far from it. So when I found a pair of Jefferson Starship albums for a very reasonable price, it was time. Now the question would be investigated in depth.

I must admit that I’ve been unnecessarily harsh and negative against Jefferson Starship. The music on Dragonfly is much closer to the 60s Airplane’s tunes and Paul Kantner’s and Grace Slick’s solo albums than commercial radio hits. It’s somewhat like the dark psychedelia Jefferson Airplane brought the world, the harmonies of the songs are recognizable and Grace Slick’s texts are as special as always. And like before a lot of different people help out with the music and lyrics. For the eight songs there are 12 composers, half of whom were members of the band. What is missing on Dragonfly are the more experimental songs that can be heard on the 60's albums and the solo records that were made. Here all the songs are relatively "normal" which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s also a difference in the sound. It feels a bit more like a 70's production, especially the guitar riffs have a different sound than before. Perhaps a sound a little closer to the mainstream music, although it was still far from a 80’s pop production. The album is more accessible than their previously creations, but they were still loyal to their heritage. I think a Jefferson Airplane fan would like this album.
The science fiction cover isn’t the greatest of covers, and doesn’t represent the music och the album very well. Put it aside, in other words.

Paul Kantner

At the time the band consisted of Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico, David Freiberg, Johnny Barbata, Papa John Creach, and Pete Sears. Additionally, the old Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin showed up and sang on the song Caroline, which he also wrote the text to. I don’t particularly like that song, as usual, the songs on which Grace Slick sings are the ones I like best. The finishing number Hyperdrive is probably my favorite.

Since so many songwriters have contributed to the music, the album somewhat lacks a wholeness to it. But I still think it's more cohesive than albums they had previously done. From what I understand, the album was recorded after a tour instead before one, which may have contributed positively.

Grace Slick

In conclusion, maybe not a must have in your record shelf, but still an OK album. Much better than I previously had thought of Jefferson Starship. If you like Jefferson Airplane I probably dare to recommend a purchase.
　
Tracklist

Side A
1. Ride The Tiger 5:11
2. That’s For Sure 4:58
3. Be Young You 3:49
4. Caroline 7:29

Side B
1. Devil’s Den 4:03
2. Come To Life 3:46
3. All Fly Away 5:25
4. Hyperdrive 7:44