Go Ride the Music and West Pole

Most of the other reviewers have focused on "Go Ride the Music," which is mostly (though not entirely) a performance video of the Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service. But the film I was most interested in from this package is "West Pole," originally released in 1968 on the San Francisco public TV station KQED, narrated by co-producer Ralph J. Gleason and featuring music videos (they weren't called that yet, but that's basically what they were) by the Airplane, Quicksilver, the Grateful Dead and Steve Miller Band, and in-studio performances by the Sons of Champlin (an exciting jazz-rock band that shortly thereafter won a major record contract with Capitol) and the Ace of Cups, a remarkable all-woman band who tragically were never given the chance to make a studio record in their prime. The Ace of Cups' final song, which for years I assumed was called "Listen to Your Children" but whose "official" title is "Gospel Song," haunted me for 50 years and I was grateful for this DVD release to see and hear it again. "Go Ride the Music" features (with only one exception -- drummer Joey Covington replaced Spencer Dryden) the best-ever lineup of the Jefferson Airplane, including three songs from their "Volunteers" album ("We Can Be Together," "Volunteers" and "Wooden Ships," better known from the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young version but actually a co-composition of Stills, Young and the Airplane's Paul Kantner) and a faster, more soulful version of "Plastic Fantastic Lover" than the one Kantner recorded on the Airplane's "Surrealistic Pillow" album and the B-side of the "White Rabbit" single. Alas, this is NOT the best edition of Quicksilver Messenger Service; this was shot after singer Dino Valenti joined the band and the group is too much Dino and his back-up boys rather than the fascinating ensemble led by guitarist John Cipollina that made their first two albums -- and much of the movie is overdirected by Gleason's producing partner Robert Zagone. "Go Ride the Music" is an important, if flawed, performance document but "West Pole" is really a slice of musical history and deserves to be better known.

There were a number of reasons why I sought out this DVD. Firstly to have another record of performances by Bay area bands thatI have listened to for years. Secondly as a bit of a historical record of a time when a different set of rules applied, a sort of revolutionary era, which has since been reversed.As a musical journal, the version of the Airplane has different characteristics to what is considered by many as the classic lineup. Perhaps this may offend the sensibilities of the purists but things, and people, change. By the time of this recording, the Airplane's evolution was moving forward and would metamorphose again within a few years.I was very disappointed personally with the clips of Quicksilver and in particular with the focus on Dino Valente while John Cipollina was virtually invisible. Gary Duncan and David Friedberg got a reasonable share of the filming and it is rather cruel irony that Valente's version of the band would persist while Cipollina went on to attain virtuoso status. Again, it is an historical footnote to one of the best, but unluckiest, bands of the era.The second disc is rescued from mediocrity by the musical interludes of Dead, Airplane and QMS. It is a more historical semi-autobiographical documentary conducted by Ralph Gleason who distracts the viewer by his constant downward glances at his script. I am disinclined to crticise the attempts of Ace of Cups to make their mark in the company of even the Steve Miller band but they made a contribution to the scene as a whole and disappeared alongside hundreds of others.All in all, not the best collection of Bay Area music, but a reasonable addition to a growing collection. Something to share with our children and our children's children, if they do not laugh too much at our antics.As a sidenote, I have just learned of a Cheech and Chong reunion tour. Well I can tell you, Dave's not here.

It's nice to have the Airplane in its entirety, along with QMS, with a clean, clear picture. Although it's not my favorite Airplane performance, it's a fascinating look at when they were at the height of their power, as a band and individually. Each member holds a commanding presence, self-assured and comfortable of their role and collective sound. Marty and Jorma, in particular, are full of testosterone here, like a good rock star should be. Joey adds the new dynamic, the new energy, the power "rock" drummer who is now the focal point for the band, that Grace, Marty and particularly Jorma encircle around, feed off and respond to. Paul and Jack are on either side in the background, but one can't deny how crucial they are to the overall sound. Sound quality itself is still so-so. I can detect no difference in the extrapolated stereo to the mono. Still it's much superior to the horrid UATWMF vinyl that came out later. My only real complaint on this video is why they left out Eskimo Blue Day, which is on the vinyl record. Could it be because, since this was slated for TV, the FCC would not have allowed for a repeated profanity but OK'd the slightly discernible one in WCBT? Lastly, only Marty could have sung the chorus to the Delfonics 'La La Means I Love You' at the beginning and refrain of a counter-culture anthem like Wooden Ships and made it work. But that was the Airplane then, wildly diverse and creative as we all know and love them.

To clarify something from another review, the Jefferson Airplane song "Eskimo Blue Day" was never part of GO RIDE THE MUSIC. It was part of A NIGHT AT THE FAMILY DOG, and is included on the DVD release of that, along with the Airplane doing "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil." The old vinyl bootleg called UP AGAINST THE WALL MOTHER F... consisted of the 2 JA tracks from A NIGHT AT THE FAMILY DOG combined with the 7 JA tracks from GO RIDE THE MUSIC.

If you are a fan of San Francisco bands of the 60's you will dig it. I am and I do. You can smell the patchouli, smoke and incense.

It's a great shame that there is so little live footage of such great bands as Jefferson Airplane, who were one of the finest rock bands around in the late sixties/early seventies. Video recorders still hadn't arrived then, so nobody ever bothered to film any live performances, unless it was for some special purpose such as a film or TV show, as in this case. Hence, we are left with very little footage of the band playing live. 'Go Ride The Music' includes seven tracks performed by the Airplane, and this is as good as you are likely to find. They were an excellent bunch of musicians, and had some of the best vocalists ever. This session took place after Spencer Dryden had left the band but his replacement, Joey Covington, drove the band along vigorously, with his own very special way of playing the drums. Both drummers have now sadly passed away.This dvd is well worth getting just for the Airplane material, but it also includes some good tracks from Quicksilver Messenger Service. The second part of the dvd, 'West Pole' was not of very much interest to me.

Go Ride the Music provides an essential record of two of the top West Coast bands playing in live contexts.Quicksilver Messenger Service are caught, probably on a run-through at an outdoor festival. Many lost faith with the band when Dino Valente joined and dominated proceedings, but he gave the group their biggest hits and they remained hugely popular live. The clips here (complete with annoying 'clever' camera-work) show why. The band gave real Umph to Dino's numbers like the excellent Subway, and his guitar added to the mesmeric shuffle on earlier numbers like Mona (both seen here). Pianist Nicky Hopkins was still with the band at this stage, but he is visible for no more than a moment.Jefferson Airplane play live in the studio, and are simply incendiary. The material is largely from their Volunteers album, and the only negative is the lack of Grace Slick numbers.West Pole is much less interesting, being a collection of interviews, general footage over recorded tracks, and a few live fragments. The one real highlight is all-girl group Ace of Cups whose live-studio performances are excellent.

I can't in all honesty say that this is an essential purchase as the picture quality is that of an old video tape and the sound quality is at best passable. However if you love the bands featured on these 2 shows and value their historic importance, then I reckon you'll love it. Go Ride the Music is probably the better of the two, but the little known Ace Of Cups have a couple of excellent songs on West Pole.Ralph Gleason who presents West Pole is so well known now and indeed the first book I bought on the West Coast music was his original book  The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound  back about the same time as these shows were made. So in short this DVD is of real value for fans and collectors but it's not the place to start for newcomers. The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound

I am a long time fan of The Dead and The Airplane so I was looking forward to this dvd. What a disappointment! Because of its' age I wasn't expecting a brilliant visual experience but this is pretty much unwatchable. Soundwise it is ok, but the picture is so bad I gave up after five minutes. I now treat it as a cd and listen to it with the screen turned off.

As expected footage of some of my favourite bands of this era