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Volunteers

Jefferson Airplane

Initial release : February 1970

RCA LSP 4238

The sixth Jefferson Airplane LP. Jerry Garcia plays on one track. An remastered expanded CD with bonus tracks was released in 2004.

Tracks

  • We Can Be Together (Kantner)
  • Good Shepherd (Traditional arr. Kaukonen)
  • The Farm (Kantner / Blackman)
  • Hey Fredrick (Slick)
  • Turn My Life Down (Kaukonen)
  • Wooden Ships (Crosby / Kantner / Stills)
  • Eskimo Blue Day (Slick / Kantner)
  • A Song For All Seasons (Dryden)
  • Meadowlands (Traditional arr. Kaukonen)
  • Volunteers (Balin / Kantner)
Bonus tracks on 2004 expanded CD (live Fillmore East Nov 1969);
  • Good Shepherd (Traditional arr. Kaukonen)
  • Somebody to Love (live) (Slick)
  • Plastic Fantastic Lover (live) (Balin)
  • Wooden Ships (live) (Crosby / Kantner / Stills)
  • Volunteers (live) (Balin / Kantner)
Musicians

Jefferson Airplane;

  • Marty Balin - guitar, vocals
  • Jack Casady - bass
  • Spencer Dryden - drums
  • Paul Kantner - guitar, vocals
  • Jorma Kaukonen - guitar, vocals
  • Grace Slick - keyboards, vocals
Additional musicians;
  • Joey Covington - percussion
  • Ace of Cups - vocals
  • David Crosby - music/sailboat
  • Jerry Garcia - pedal steel (on The Farm)
  • Nicky Hopkins - piano
  • Steven Stills - organ
Credits

  • Producer - Al Schmitt
  • Engineer - Rich Schmitt
  • Maurice at the 16 track
  • Pat Ieraci Mauriceman
  • Produced at Wally Heider's Studio, SF
  • Album design - Gut, Milton Burke, Airplane
  • Cover photo - Jim Marshall
  • Back photo - Jim Smircich, photo alchemist
  • PB & J photo - Little Herbie Greene
  • PB & J - Eaten by Gut
Notes

It is likely that this was Garcia's first issued recording on pedal steel.

It was also the first recording made at Wally Heider's San Francisco Studios.

Volunteers was the sixth album to be released by Jefferson Airplane. It was the last album made by what many believe to be the classic Jefferson Airplane line-up. It reached 13th in the Billboard album charts.

The Volunteers didn't have political origins according to Balin;

One morning somebody was banging the garbage cans outside my window. I looked out and it said on the truck 'Volunteers Of America.' I leaned over and wrote, 'Hey, what's happening in the street. Da-Da-Da...' Paul put some music to it, and it became a kind of anthemic thing for us. I say it's about a truck picking up some garbage and people don't believe me.
Related releases

Reissued in quadrophonic by RCA in 1973. Tracks from this release were subsequently included on the Jefferson Airplane Loves You box set.

A remastered, expanded version was released on CD in 2004.

Volunteers was reissued together with another Airplane album, Crown Of Creation, as a double LP in the US in 1980;

Volunteers was reissued together with Crown Of Creation and most of a third Airplane album, Bless It's Pointed Little Head, as a double LP; in Germany in 1983; In Europe RCA released Volunteers together with Surrealistic Pillow as a two LP on one CD release; 		Buy expanded CD from amazon.com

Buy original CD from amazon.com

cover

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