Live At The Fillmore West, 3rd July 1971

For Jefferson Airplane fans andSan Francisco Bay Area musical styles grab it while you can

Cracking album from a band on top of their form.

Fantastic recording of Hot Tuna in full swing!

Wow, absolutely sensational find from the archives. I've never been totally enamoured of HT as an out-and-out blues duo, but in their full band lineup in the earlier part of their post-Airplane career, they were hard to beat and this live release more than makes up for the previous absence of widely-available live material involving Papa John Creach and drummer. Essential purchase for HT fans and anyone else into classic rock (with an electric fiddle twist !).

Having had many versions of this from the web - and seeing the comments about sound quality and mastering - I can confirm that this is the best sound quality version and it has been re-mastered to correct the slightly strange (although common for this era) mix with bass on one channel and guitar on the right, So I am going to buy it after all.

This period of Hot Tuna has always been my favourite version of the band from the "First pull up, then pull down" and "Burgers" LPs era and the material on this double CD largely reflects that. Recorded at the Fillmore in mid-1971 also made it a home base and home crowd session so all should have been good. The failing is however that the sound is not that great - listenable like a radio broadcast or mixing deck tape but lacking in the separation of the instruments and vocals. Others reviewers make comments that the sound is now a lot clearer than it has been but having just bought (and thus one assumes the latest release) that is not how it sounds to my ears on my audio system sadly. The energy in the playing is definitely there but after a few listens it all still sounds muddy in parts especially the longer improvised blues numbers. So probably best savoured by Hot Tuna diehards only - anyone wanting an introduction to the band would be better placed buying the recently remixed and improved quality sound of the double CD of "First pull up.." and "Burgers".

Hot Tuna in their Papa John Creach incarnation prime

This is not a review as such it's just that I saw that Amazon (at the time of writing) have not given us the tracks so here they are. The |Concert was recorded on the final Saturday night at the Fillmore West on the 3rd July 1971. This was the last ever concert at that venue and the band were in support of The Quicksilver Messenger Service. (In those days concerts often had 3 groups performining ) The band formed by Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady , the Lead and bass Guitars of Jefferson Airplane together with Papa John Creach on electric violin and Sammy Piazza on drums. Papa John Creach had performed on Jefferson Aiplanes 'Bark'. Kaukonen and Casady formed the group because they wanted to play live. Of interest is that they wanted to call the Group 'Hot S***' but the record company had a case of the 'fits' and the name Hot Tuna substituted. If you spot any typos etc just add a comment and before you can say 'Hot Rats!' I will adjust and correct the list and credit you with your sharp eyes and patience. For those in the know please ignore the last track on the CD ( I add this because all my listings seem to be copied and pasted along with mistakes and typos and printed elsewhere without giving me any credit for compiling the list in the first place. That all important essential Track listing: is Track Listing: Disc 1 - 1. That'll Never Happen No More 2. How Long 3. Candy Man 4. New Song For The Morning 5. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning 6. Uncle Sam Blues 7. John's Other 8. Rock Me Baby 9. Babe I Want You To Know 10. Know Your Rider Disc 2 - 1. Been So Long 2. Come Back Baby 3. Feel So Good 4. South Cave Man Blues.

My Hot Tuna collection had a glaring hole in it that has now been successfully plugged by getting this live concert CD. To say I'm pleased is a gross understatement. Yes the recording is old and yes it's far from a perfect recording, but I listened with glee and simply adjusted the bass, treble, and balance settings, sat deeper in my chair and let this great historical recording wash over and into me. In my opinion this is the greatest era for this band, and this is now one of my most treasured recordings... The set list and times are missing from the Amazon site. They are: CD 1 That'll Never Happen no more...6:17 How Long...5:35 Candy Man...5:46 New Song For The Morning....4:47 Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning...7:39 Uncle Sam Blues......5:38 John's Other....5:54 Rock Me Baby...8:51 Babe I Want You To Know....5:07 Know You Rider...8:02 CD2 Been So Long...3:48 Come Back Baby.....8:59 Feel So Good....21:52

Un disco en vinilo muy aconsejable para conocer una época de la música rock. Con reminiscencias de Jefferson Airplane y unos músicos que fueron unos auténticos virtuosos.

This is a live recording of Hot Tuna, originally conceived as a side project by Jefferson Airplane founding members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady. It was recorded during the closing week of the Fillmore West in San Francisco in early July of 1971. Some of the music from this show has been released through the years on the Last Days of the Fillmore box set, the Relix label as Historic Hot Tuna-Electric, and it has been bootlegged. This is the first time that the complete show has been released. The lineup is Jorma Kaukonen on electric guitar and vocals, "Papa John " Creach on electric violin, Jack Casady on bass guitar, and Sammy Piazza on drums. Harmonica player Will Scarlett had departed by this point, which is fine by me, since I always thought he fit the acoustic Hot Tuna format better. By the early 70s, and in the wake of the Cream and the Experience, the psychedelic blues rock trio had become a bit of a cliche. However, thanks to Kaukonen's background as a folk musician, Hot Tuna's take on the genre was quite unique. Most blues rock derived it's style from the urban Chicago electric style pioneered by Muddy Waters. However, Kaukonen's finger-picking guitar technique, influenced by the Rev. Gary Davis, was based on a more rural Piedmont blues style that combined blues, folk, and ragtime. The band blended this into the intense, improvisational acid rock that Kaukonen and Casady had pioneered with the Airplane. IMO, this was the peak period for Hot Tuna. In the mid 70s, the band veered toward a more conventional heavy rock sound and drummer Piazza was replaced by Bob Steeler, whose stiff, heavy handed drumming style was more suited to a 90s grunge band than a psychedelic jam band (sorry, Bob, nothing personal). Piazza was no Ginger Baker either, but at least he could execute the rhythmic gear-shifting required to keep things moving during the long jams. The concert performance here is arguably better than the Santa Cruz gig captured on the 1971 RCA set, First Pull Up, Then Pull Down. The playing is tighter and more cohesive. The numbers performed are a combination of Kaukonen originals like "Been So Long" and "New Song for the Morning" and coffehouse classics like "Candyman" and "I Know You Rider". The big treat that trumps previous legitimate issues of the concert, is the inclusion of a 22 minute performance of Kaukonen's "Feel So Good" , which also appeared on the 1972 live Jefferson Airplane album, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland. Casady's pile driving bass solo sets the platform for some really "sick" (as the young folks say) jamming. Kaukonen cuts loose with some wicked leads, but he was also a better rhythm guitarist than he's been given credit for. I've knocked off one star for the sound. It's actually not bad, being comparable to the Relix release. Had a bootleg of this quality been released 35 years ago, it would have been the Holy Grail of Hot Tuna fans. However, since I presume that the Fillmore West closing week was recorded on multi-track tape for release on the box set, it would have been really cool if it had been remastered from the original tape for a more dynamic sound. This band merits it.

great cd. fast delivery. sound gets better the more you listen especially "Know You Rider." Love "Feel So Good," main reason I bought cd. Wish there was more electric live stuff from the early to mid-seventies period.

Absolutely great live album with Hot Tuna in its prime. Some songs are improvs are like "First Pull Up Then Pull Down', the Grunt album, but this is classic Hot Tuna.