Track Listing

1. Silver Spoon
2. Diana, Pt. 1
3. Sunfighter
4. Titanic
5. Look at the Wood
6. When I Was a Boy I Watched the Wolves
7. Million
8. China
9. Earth Mother
10. Diana, Pt. 2
11. Universal Copernican Mumbles
12. Holding Together

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74842 in Music
• Released on: 1999-12-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

between Airplane and Starship, one of the West coast's highest achievements
While this is a Grace Slick, Paul Kantner album (chronologically 2nd album from the transition period between Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship), it is also an expression of a communal exploration by half of San Francisco's greatest talents at the height of their powers. It draws on the same fluctuating pool of talents that show up on "Blows against the Empire" and "Baron von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun". And this pool of talent also appear on David Crosby's "If I could only remember my own name". I've never read any accounts of how these albums were made but it's obvious that the great bands were hanging out and jamming a lot during this period. And jamming at what a level! This is a soaring of talent and imagination that makes most that's come since sound laughable. Don't expect unstructured, boring blues jams, though - it's structured and song orientated, with some big arrangements, but with the feel of musicians who play together a lot. Jerry Garcia features heavily on all these albums and they contain some of his best-ever guitar playing.
But this is my favourite. 30 years on there are tracks that I still have to turn up the volume on for a pick-me-up. "when I was a boy I watched the wolves" is my standout - maybe Jerry Garcia's finest ever guitar solo. And "Sunfighter" itself with Paul and Grace backed by the gospel group the Edwin Hawkins singers. Jorma(airplane guitarist) puts in an appearance on "Look at the Wood" and you'd know it's him from the first note. There are some long floaty, dreamy bits like on Blows against the Empire, but this has more highlights. Brilliant production too. Words don't suffice!

Just Wonderful
'Sunfighter',the Grace Slick/Paul Kantner album of 1971(sans Jefferson Airplane) is a golden nugget of 70's brilliance. Imaginative themes pervade, from mind-bending cannabalism to songs of hope for the ravaged earth mother, there is something of the perverse within these songs. 'Look at the Wood' and 'When I watched the Wolves' are imbued with a Brothers Grimm spooky rusticm, and 'Diana'/'Sunfighter/'Earth Mother' are proclaimations of 70's eco concern and idealism. The gem of this album has to be 'China', a song full of love and wonder about Slick and Kantner's baby daughter, Slick's incredible and bewitching voice, rising, falling and crashing like sonic waves.
Slightly bizarre? Yes, and brilliant with it!
Also features contributions from David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jerry Garcia.

Transition Time
I bought this lp over 30 years ago in the wake of being blown away by Grace, Paul & friends' "Blows Against The Empire", and was disappointed, initially. But, I have always had favorite tracks ("Harp Tree Lament", "When I Was A Boy I Watched the Wolves", "Diana 1" & "Diana 2", "Titanic"). The biggest problem with this album is that it doesn't flow well. It seems more a pastiche, as if Kantner & Slick had many disparate ideas that they were constrained to put one album, rather than several. However, it is just about the last gasp of the group mind that gave us 'Surrealistic Pillow', 'After Bathing At Baxters', 'Crown Of Creation', 'Volunteers', 'Bark' and the aforementioned 'Blows'. Not the place to start with the Jefferson mutations, but definitely has a proper place in the collection. If Amazon let me award half stars, I'd give it a 3.5