I recently acquired *cough, from Demonoid, cough* a quadraphonic version (i.e. 4-channel) of The Worst of Jefferson AIrplane and their Volunteers set in 4-channel audio as well. Originally released during the heyday of Quad (which was approximately 1974 to 1976) on 8-track and reel to reel tapes (for the more discerning audiophile) these rarely heard versions of some of the Airplane’s best-loved songs are phenomenal. As a very hardcore fan of the band since I was a kid, I really got off on hearing something new in the music I was already so very, very familiar with. On Volunteers, three—count ‘em—three songs are totally different from the album versions. Not different mixes, but substantially different versions which would have been lost to history due to the outdated format. (Although they were included on the excellent Jefferson Airplane Loves You box set, these tracks sound way better in their original quadraphonic glory, not bounced down to stereo. Hey Fredrick has a completely different lead vocal, Volunteers is totally different, I think it was even recorded on a different day from the original, and The Farm is also a lot different).

But the best song of all to hear in Quad was Lather. It sounds fantastic and there is an incredibly cool Philip Glass-style ostinato that Grace Slick is doing on the piano that has never been clear and audible in any version of this song I’ve ever heard before (and lord knows the JA catalog has been released in as many crappy permutations as their RCA label mate, Elvis’s catalog, has). It’s always been there, you just couldn’t hear it like this.

It’s fascinating for me to see the (rapid) flowering of an audiophile underground in Bit Torrent land. Anonymous professional and amateur audio engineers are buying up the original Quad tapes from the 70s on Ebay, restoring and refurbishing their old quadraphonic gear and then transferring these old tapes to Pro Tools, and then into DVD ISO files that you can burn with Toast. The ones made from the reel to reel tapes are by far the best, but even the ones made from 8-tracks are still pretty cool to hear, even in a lower fidelity.

Why doesn’t the music industry (specifically a label like Shout Factory, who would do the best job) look into what people are obviously quite interested in on the torrent trackers—especially the Russian ones— and get some ideas of what they still might actually purchase on disc (i.e. multi-channel versions of classic rock albums). A few of the original Quad mixes have actually been put out on DVD-A or SACD, such as Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells (amazing) as well as Black Sabbath’s Paranoid (also amazing). For the most part, however, they only see the light of day on torrent trackers via these inspired hobbyists.

But back to the Jefferson Airplane. Below is an odd lip-sync’d performance of Lather from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Who else would on television then would have let Grace Slick get away with this?!?!
 

Thank you, Richard.  Some day the kids may get hep that the most inventive band of the ‘60s besides The Beatles and The Band were the Airplane.  Another example of mastering the rules so you can demolish ‘em.

Thanks for the excellent post!

“lather” has been one of my favorite songs since I was a wee child.  apparently, i’ve got some torrenting to do…

Now….if I could only find a remastered “Bark”...always loved that one.

Thanks, as always, for the great posts.

Thank you for posting this!  This weekend “It’s No Secret” came up on the iPod shuffle and I was forcibly reminded what a great band JA were, though I hadn’t listened to them in years.  I’ll definitely try to track down these albums.

also:  early grace slick=hot as fuck.

Check out Marty Balin’s website for some kicks…he’s out front at 2400 Fulton talking to the present owner’s dogs.

I was always partial to She Has Funny Cars.

The embedded clip featuring JA’s performance of ‘Lather’ from the SBCH, was ripped from the DVD ‘Fly Jefferson Airplane’ that I directed + edited for Eagle Vision.  The article above states that it is lip-synced. That is inaccurate. In fact, the vocal is live, sang to a pre-recorded mix minus the vocal.  This was a practice often done for television appearances of rock bands in the sixties.
-Bob Sarles
Ravin’ Films
www.ravinfilms.com

Sorry Bob, but there’s no way Grace’s vocal is live in this video recording.  Play the vid and the studio track simultaneously and you’ll find they are identical. 

Great song, great post.

The Smothers Brothers grew up on Governors Island in NYC harbor it’s reported. Then President Clinton offered it back to the city for $1m US Congress wanted $500m at least. P. Reagan last met P. Gorbychev there. It’s comong along, some want Fort Williams, in the round, where a young Walt Disney was once held AWOL before ambulance duty I was told working archeology, as a Shakespeare Theatre. I think it’s a good idea and with the new multi-source computer audio a great idea, a friend has a quad Doors record I’d like to hear.

Sorry I meant $1 dollar! Finally P. Bush signed it over.

Michael simmons must be finishing the last of his purple micro from ‘67 and imagining this tripe is inventive . listen to their box set the majority of it will stay in your collection only because you want to keep the better stuff, of which there is less!

Rory,
My original post was accurate. Grace’s vocals are live. It is not the same vocal track as the studio version, although the backing music track is. She sang live to a pre recorded track.
Bob Sarles