Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 High Flyin' Bird 2:30
-
vocals
-
drums
-
Matthew Katzproducer
-
producer
-
- A2 Runnin' 'Round This World 2:21
-
vocals
-
drums
-
Matthew Katzproducer
-
producer
-
- A3 It's Alright 2:15
-
vocals
-
drums
-
Matthew Katzproducer
-
producer
-
- A4 In the Morning 6:25
-
drums
-
guitar
-
harmonica
-
producer
-
- A5 J.P.P. McStep B. Blues 2:48
-
vocals
-
drums
-
drums
-
guitar
-
producer
-
- B1 Go to Her 3:58
-
vocals
-
drums
-
producer
-
- B2 Up or Down 6:18
-
drums
-
- B3 Mexico 2:05
-
vocals
-
drums
-
- B4 Have You Seen the Saucers 3:37
-
vocals
-
drums
-
conga, bells
-
- Total length: 32:17
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
7 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
-
Early Flight [p] 33 rpm, Gatefold, Outtakes
-
Early Flight 33 rpm
-
-
Early Flight 33 rpm, Gatefold
-
-
Early Flight Remastered
-
Early Flight Live, Remastered
5 Reviews
Two years after the breakup of Jefferson Airplane, this compilation of nine tracks that had not previously appeared on LP was released. As is often the case with such enterprises, a lot of it is primarily collector’s material, not bad but not quite up to the level of what had made it onto the LPs. There are, however, a couple of gems. One of them, “High Flyin' Bird”, kicks off Side A. This is one of three tracks that were recorded in late 1965 during the sessions for the group’s debut, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, and I find it kind of surprising that this didn’t make it onto the LP… maybe they thought it sounded too much like traditional folk. The other two tracks, “Runnin’ Round This World” and “It’s Alright”, are more what one might expect of outtakes from that album – rather heavy-handed attempts at being “hip”, before it all fell into place. (The former was actually originally included on the album, but was removed due to lyrics considered too suggestive by RCA, viz., “The nights I've spent with you have been fantastic trips”. It was released as the B-side to “It’s No Secret”.)
The next three tracks are outtakes from the second LP, Surrealistic Pillow; they were recorded in Nov. 1966. The first of these, “In the Morning”, credited to Jorma Kaukonen and sung by him, is pretty much a slow blues jam, featuring guest artists Jerry Garcia on guitar and John Hammond on harmonica. The second, “J. P. P. McStep B. Blues”, by Skip Spence, is not a blues but a pleasant tune based on an evocative alternating two-chord structure; Garcia also plays on this track. Finally, “Go to Her”, which opens Side B, is the other high point of the album; it has a powerful urgency that made it a concert favorite, but the group never felt they were able to do justice to it in the studio.
The final three tracks are from 1970. “Up or Down”, an outtake from Bark, is energetic but mostly just noisy, and at over 6 minutes in length, gets tiresome. “Mexico” and “Have You Seen the Saucers?” were the A- and B-sides of a single that was the group’s only recorded output in 1970, and were the last officially released studio recordings by the “classic” lineup. (Live versions of the songs appeared on Bark.) These are fairly typical of the Kantner-Slick sound of the period; Slick’s “Mexico” is a screed against Operation Intercept, and “Have You Seen the Saucers?” marks the start of Kantner’s futuristic-fantasy preoccupation that would come to fruition later that year on his solo LP (credited to “Jefferson Starship”), Blows Against the Empire.
The next three tracks are outtakes from the second LP, Surrealistic Pillow; they were recorded in Nov. 1966. The first of these, “In the Morning”, credited to Jorma Kaukonen and sung by him, is pretty much a slow blues jam, featuring guest artists Jerry Garcia on guitar and John Hammond on harmonica. The second, “J. P. P. McStep B. Blues”, by Skip Spence, is not a blues but a pleasant tune based on an evocative alternating two-chord structure; Garcia also plays on this track. Finally, “Go to Her”, which opens Side B, is the other high point of the album; it has a powerful urgency that made it a concert favorite, but the group never felt they were able to do justice to it in the studio.
The final three tracks are from 1970. “Up or Down”, an outtake from Bark, is energetic but mostly just noisy, and at over 6 minutes in length, gets tiresome. “Mexico” and “Have You Seen the Saucers?” were the A- and B-sides of a single that was the group’s only recorded output in 1970, and were the last officially released studio recordings by the “classic” lineup. (Live versions of the songs appeared on Bark.) These are fairly typical of the Kantner-Slick sound of the period; Slick’s “Mexico” is a screed against Operation Intercept, and “Have You Seen the Saucers?” marks the start of Kantner’s futuristic-fantasy preoccupation that would come to fruition later that year on his solo LP (credited to “Jefferson Starship”), Blows Against the Empire.
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
When songs of such high quality make it onto a rarities collection, you know there's gotta be something wrong with the band...
Published
Worth buying for "in the Morning'1966 Hot Tuna sound
Published
Votes are used to help determine the most interesting content on RYM.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Catalog
4 Apr 2024
6 Jan 2024
22 Nov 2023
21 Nov 2023
29 Oct 2023
25 Oct 2023
10 Oct 2023
20 Sep 2023
29 Jul 2023
5 Jul 2023
22 May 2023
19 May 2023
6 May 2023
2 May 2023
1 May 2023
Contributions
Log in to submit a correction or upload art for this release