REVIEWS:
Hot Tuna is a spin-off group from the Jefferson Airplane, formed by childhood friends Jorma Kaukonen (guitar, vocals) and Jack Casady (bass). The two were getting disillusioned with the direction the Airplane was going in and had become tired of the craziness surrounding the group. Kaukonen and Casady found a haven in their mutual blues interest and started practising as an acoustic duo on their spare time.
Jorma Kaukonen is a skilled acoustic finger-picker, particularly fond of the so-called Piedmont style and influenced by folk-blues artists such as Blind Blake, Lightnin' Hopkins and, most significantly, Rev. Gary Davis. This area of expertise was something Kaukonen never had an outlet for in the Airplane's acid-rock, aside from token acoustic showcases like "Embryonic Journey" and "Good Shepherd". You could say that Kaukonen was artistically suppressed in the Airplane - he didn’t get a chance to evolve as an acoustic picker, song-writer or vocalist. However, he did learn to play the electric guitar with the Airplane - having virtually no experience of professionally playing electric when he was asked by Paul Kantner to join the group in 1965.
Mr. Jack Casady obviously needs no introduction – he is one of the all-time greatest bass players and his influence can be heard in players like Chris Squire and Noel Redding. With his thick, ominous bass-lines, Casady was very vital to the Airplane's dark, brooding sound. Personally, I feel his best work was with the Airplane, even if he undoubtedly is an integral part of the Hot Tuna sound as well.
Hot Tuna began as a band within the Airplane. Kaukonen and Casady would play acoustic sets between the hectic electric sets of the Airplane - which apparently was well-received by the audience. Kaukonen and Casady started devoting increasingly more time to Hot Tuna and released their live, self-titled acoustic debut in 1970, featuring harpist Will Scarlett. Eventually, Kaukonen and Casady picked up drummer Sammy Piazza, borrowed violinist Papa John Creach from the Airplane and went electric. This line-up recorded 1971's live First Pull Up, Then Pull Down. Scarlett was dropped for the band's 1972 studio debut, Burgers.
The Airplane had finally broken up when Hot Tuna in 1974 released their fourth album, The Phosphorescent Rat - which saw the departure of Creach. The same year, Kaukonen released his first solo album, Quah - which was produced by Casady. With 1975's America's Choice, Hot Tuna took a heavier approach - replacing Piazza with power drummer Bob Steeler. Yellow Fever, released the same year, was in the same style. Hoppkorv followed the next year. In 1978, the group disbanded - releasing the live album Double Dose as a farewell. Kaukonen went off for a solo career, while Casady formed the new-wave group SVT. However, Kaukonen and Casady got back together in the mid-Eighties and released the studio album Pair Of Dice Found in 1990. They were active during the whole Nineties, releasing a couple of live albums in the process.
Kaukonen and Casady continue to tour as Hot Tuna to this day, either as an acoustic duo or as an electric five-piece band. You can check out the official Hot Tuna site at http://www.hottuna.com for tour dates and other information. Kaukonen also has a personal homepage at http://www.jormakaukonen.com which he regularly updates himself.
To close this off, I would like to say that - ultimately - Hot Tuna's curse is their connection to the Jefferson Airplane. They have had - and still have - trouble with credibility in blues circles, because they used to play in a 'psychedelic band'. Once, following a co-headlined show by Johnny Winter and Hot Tuna, a bewildered Winter walked up to Jorma and said, "Gee, man, I thought you still played that psychedelic shit!" And this is still common - because of their past in the Airplane, many people believe that Hot Tuna plays their brand of psychedelic rock. Which is far from the truth, of course. The only Airplane songs which are evocative of Hot Tuna are, sure enough, the scattered ones that Jorma managed to get onto the Airplane albums. And, of course, with their links to the Airplane, it is unlikely that any non-Airplane fan will ever get into Hot Tuna - even though the two bands are vastly different in style and approach. Most Tuna fans are Airplane fans as well, and vice versa. Tunaheads who do not care for the Airplane are rare, even if they do exist. What am I saying here? Well, that a spin-off band does not necessarily have a lot to do with the band it originated in. And Hot Tuna is a perfect case in point. I am saying here that Hot Tuna are well worth a chance even if you don't like the Airplane. You are more likely to appreciate Hot Tuna if you like, say, Cream or Led Zeppelin than you are if you like the Airplane.
--Fredrik Tydal
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(reviewed by Fredrik Tydal)
This was Hot Tuna's first studio album, recorded in late 1971. By this time, Hot Tuna had established themselves as a good concert act, with their well-received live albums Hot Tuna and First Pull Up, Then Pull Down. They had nothing left to prove in that area. However, the first studio record was something all together different - not every good live band can make an equally good studio album. Thus, this is a carefully produced and tastefully arranged album - they were obviously anxious to make a good impression with their studio debut.
Indeed, the album appears to begin on a hesitant note - with Jorma finger-picking on the acoustic all by himself. However, after about thirty seconds, the others join in - Jack on bass, Piazza on drums, Papa John on violin and session player Nikki Buck on piano. What a fitting way to kick off the first Hot Tuna studio album! The song is "True Religion", which is one of Jorma's finest emulations of his spiritual folk-blues hero Rev. Gary Davis. Davis actually did a song called "Pure Religion", so there is a connection there as well. Jorma's composition is a good-timey, up-lifting shuffle, until the song slightly changes character in the solo section. The solo is my favourite part of the song, actually, when Jorma kicks it in on the electric guitar - wonderful.
David Crosby unexpectedly makes a guest appearance on the next number, "Highway Song". This was probably a return favour from Crosby, as both Jack and Jorma played on Crosby’s solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name. Crosby sort of shares the lead vocal with Jorma on this song, but it is not completely successful. As they both have such distinct voices, they do not really gel together - leaving the song sounding kind of muffled up. Solid composition, though.
Next is the odd Twenties song "99 Year Blues", written by little-known South Carolina bluesman Julius Daniels. A fellow named Richmond Talbott guests on slide guitar and vocals here. But, man, is this song weird. "Well, if the world's a drag, my friends, and you can't cope, go out and find a connection and smoke some dope and get high." Where did Jorma dig up this song? "Well, now, bring my pistol, I said, three round balls, I'm gonna shoot everybody I don't like at all." Could Twenties blues be aggressive, or what? Of course, the song is done in the usual Tuna country-blues shuffle, with Papa John's cheerful violin adding flavor. Jorma takes an unusual vocal tone, with this Talbott character adding eccentric back-up vocals. Really cool song.
There are two other covers here as well; the traditional "Keep On Truckin'" - popularised by Blind Boy Fuller - and Rev. Gary Davis' "Let Us Get Together Right Down Here". "Keep On Truckin'" is one of Hot Tuna's most well-known numbers and also the song which indirectly gave the group its name with its fish metaphors (and, no, they were not called "Hot Shit" originally, contrary to popular belief). Hot Tuna's version of this classic song is just irresistible and definitely one of the high-lights on the album. My favourite parts of the song are when Papa John takes a solo on the violin and when Jorma later mimics it on the electric guitar. But, really, as a whole, the song has an amazing groove. Though his presence and influence are felt throughout the whole record, there is only one Rev. Gary Davis cover here, namely the semi-acoustic rave-up "Let Us Get Together Right Down Here". It sounds as if they had a ball recording this one. If I am not mistaken, Casady, Piazza and Papa John all take back-up vocals on this one. Hearing Casady actually uttering a word on a record is extremely rare. Papa John also takes a great, lengthy violin solo on this one. Such a groove - you just cannot resist tapping your foot to this one.
Papa John Creach certainly is very vital to the sound of this album, his only studio album with Hot Tuna. His violin brings Tuna more into country-blues territory, as opposed to the folk-blues dominated efforts preceding and following this album. He also contributes to the kind of old-timey vibe over the album, which would be almost absent on subsequent Tuna albums. In that respect, this is quite a one-of-a-kind Tuna album. Later albums were much more dominated by Jorma - this one almost seems like a genuine band effort.
Jorma has two songs here which point to the future, namely "Sea Child" and "Ode For Billy Dean". "Sea Child" is a beautiful song with romantic vocals and extended guitar solos. Jorma would write many songs like these for the next couple of albums, most of them usually more developed, though. "Ode For Billy Dean" starts off with a lonely electric guitar riff, after which the band kicks in to great effect. It is a somber, world-weary song - Billy Dean was a friend of Jorma and Jack's who had recently died of a drug overdose. Papa John's violin here particularly contributes to the eerie mood, along with some intense soloing by Jorma.
There are also two instrumentals on the album, "Water Song" and "Sunny Day Strut". Jorma is fond of instrumentals, which usually are songs that he just never came up with any fitting words to. The magnificent "Water Song" is probably Jorma's most famous instrumental, possibly along with the Airplane's "Embryonic Journey". How do you describe "Water Song"? Well, it is amazingly soothing. Very evocative of water, actually. It has a beautiful and memorable main theme, it features excellent finger-picking from Jorma. Oh, and Casady's melodic bass, of course - this is probably his high-point on the album. Finally, closing off the album is another instrumental, "Sunny Day Strut", which is very far removed from "Water Song" in character. The main feature of "Sunny Day Strut" is aa recurring apocalyptic guitar line. I am not sure what effect Jorma is using on the guitar here, but it sounds like a scary cross between a violin and a sitar. This kind of guitar experimentation would crop up a lot later. In places, Piazza is playing some primal-sounding, booming percussion, which really suits the occasion.
All in all, this is the most cohesive, thoroughly enjoyable Hot Tuna album. There is honestly not one bad song here. However, Jorma was still honing his song-writing craft here, which leaves a few of the songs a bit underdeveloped. This cannot be the definitive Tuna album, as it lacks the heavier, guitar-oriented epics of the later albums - which is why I ultimately cannot give this album a ten. But, even so, this is a very tasteful and accessible album. With it, Hot Tuna gracefully took the transition from a live band into a studio band and ultimately proved that they had gone a long way musically from the Airplane. And what about that cool album cover, eh? After their turbulent flight with the Airplane, they had finally come down to Earth and intended to stay there.
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