By the summer of 1972,
the Jefferson Airplane
were on their final approach to the eventual evolution that would produce
Jefferson Starship
, arguably the most drastic difference being the absence of
Jorma Kaukonen
(guitar, vocals) and
Jack Casady
(bass), both of whom were several years into
Hot Tuna
, a project that began as a musical diversion for the pair and rapidly developed into a permanent
roots rock
unit. Released in 1973,
Thirty Seconds Over Winterland
(cleverly named after the
Mervyn LeRoy
-directed 1944 film
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
) would become
the Airplane
's swansong. Included were seven tracks taken from the band's last tour of the 1970s, specifically, August 24 and 25 at
the Auditorium Theatre
in Chicago and the last two gigs the Bay Area combo played in its native San Francisco on September 21 and 22, fittingly held at the band's longtime stomping grounds of
the Winterland Arena
. Only
Kaukonen
,
Casady
, and
Paul Kantner
(guitar, vocals) remained from the first lineup. They are joined by
Grace Slick
-- who took over from
Signe Anderson
just prior to the recording of 1967's landmark
Surrealistic Pillow
-- and violinist
Papa John Creach
. Former
Turtles
and
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
drummer
Johnny Barbata
had come aboard in the previous year, and the latest addition was
Quicksilver Messenger Service
co-founder
David Freiberg
, whose contributions at the time were primarily vocal. The bulk of the effort was drawn from 1971's
Bark
and 1972's
Long John Silver
. Although they were still performing
"Somebody to Love,"
"Volunteers,"
"Wooden Ships"
in concert, a cursory stab at
"Crown of Creation"
is the earliest cut on this package that harks back to their
acid rock
persona. Despite some questionable intonations from
on
"Have You Seen the Saucers,"
the opener quickly establishes
's harder edge.
's
"Feel So Good"
is the jewel in this otherwise thorny
rock & roll
tiara. The tune stretches over ten minutes, spotlighting
's quake-inducing contributions and
Creach
's unmistakable fiddle. Speaking of
Papa John
, he shines on the propelling
"Milk Train,"
featuring a seminal lead from
Slick
. An outtake of note from the September 22 show made its way onto the 1992
Jefferson Airplane Loves You
box set.
Marty Balin
returned for the one-off, albeit incendiary,
"You Wear Your Dresses Too Short."
~ Lindsay Planer