‘Thirty Seconds Over Winterland’: an underrated Jefferson Airplane masterpiece
No band managed to define the counterculture of the 1960s in quite the same way as Jefferson Airplane. Titans of the San Francisco psychedelic scene, the group are all too often remembered solely for ‘White Rabbit’ or ‘Somebody to Love’. Perhaps that is the price you pay for writing some of the greatest songs of all time, but the Airplane have a wealth of other material that often goes overlooked.
During their heyday, Jefferson Airplane were often noted for their immense live performances. In fact, when the group briefly travelled to the UK for a run of shows in 1968, including a performance at the original Isle of Wight Festival and a few dates supporting The Doors, they were said to have brought with them five tons worth of equipment and a touring party of 15 to put on their signature light shows. Their sets were often characterised by their staunch anti-war stance, groundbreaking psychedelic tunes, and the unmistakably beautiful tones of Grace Slick.
Fittingly, for an outfit so tied to their live shows, Jefferson Airplane released some fantastic live albums during their initial eight-year run. They actually released more live projects than studio records, though following the group’s dissolution, record companies sought to cash in on the Jefferson Airplane name by continuing to put out repackaged and substandard recordings.
In contrast, the live records that the band released during their time together form some of the most exciting and overlooked parts of their discography. Their first live release, Bless Its Little Pointed Head, perfectly encapsulated the LSD-driven countercultural revolution of their early sound – featuring their defining track ‘White Rabbit’. It was their next effort, however, that became the group’s finest moment.
Released in 1973, as the peace and love of the 1960s was steadily falling out of fashion, Thirty Seconds Over Wonderland is the band’s masterpiece. Despite not making much of an impact on the charts, the brilliance of the album’s content is undeniable. Recorded live in Chicago and San Francisco across the summer of 1972, the project sees the group expand upon the youthful rebellion of their earlier work, featuring a more mature sound while retaining the fearlessness of their early days.
In addition to the ever-flawless vocals of Slick, the guitar stylings of Jorma Kaukonen are particularly notable on the record, elevating Thirty Seconds Over Winterland from a simple live album to a defiant psychedelic rock manifesto. The tracklisting features material from the band’s popular Crown of Creation, though it must be said that the studio album fails to feel as impactful once you have heard the live renditions. The sheer musical talent and raw power of the Airplane’s sound is laid bare on Winterland, and it is an almost spiritual listening experience.
Jefferson Airplane became Jefferson Starship in 1974, a year following the Thirty Seconds Over Winterland album. Although record companies would continue to put out live recordings of the group, including audio of legendary performances at Woodstock and Fillmore East, nothing else comes close to capturing the spirit of Thirty Seconds Over Winterland.