AFTER BATHING AT BAXTER'S

JA's 3rd album and totally different from the previous 2. The songs are organised into suites but feel like they're sometimes stitched together to form a suite rather than because they are overly connected. For that reason, I'll review by song rather than by suite to be fair to each song.

This collection is more consistent than their first 2 which, to my ears contained a few songs off the (high) standard they set with their classic songs.

The album starts with sustained feedback that breaks into "Ballad of Me and You and Pooneil", a great opener containing some Casady fuzz bass to enjoy. The suite continues with the strange "A Small Package of Value" before "Young Girl Sunday Blues" lead sung by Balin (and very well too).

"Martha" is a lovely song to start the next suite. A Kantner song with good bass line and recorder? played by Grace when she isn't singing the chorus. Good guitar break from Jorma too. "Wild Thyme" follows and is the first item with Grace leading the choir on the album.

"The Last Wall of the Castle" opens the 3rd suite strongly with the choir now led by Jorma. In future Jorma would tend to sing his contributions sans choir but he sounds better on this track with the stronger voices behind him. Grace's "rejoyce" is a great side closer with the immortal line "I'd Rather Have My Country Die For Me". You tell 'em Grace!

Side 2 opened with the driving "Watch Her Ryde" with another great Casady bass line before the real gem on this record starts. "Spare Chaynge" is a long instrumental starting with Casady playing flamenco on his bass with Jorma contributing feedback and Dryden some cymbals before erupting into a full guitar/bass/drums frenzy. Dryden never drummed better than on the second half of this track. The Airplane always had some Spanish/Mexican influences but never more than here.

The final suite opens with "Two Heads", another Grace lead vocal before closing with the "double song" of "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon" written by Kantner.

My CD version also has a long excellent live version of "Pooneil" and altenative versions of "Martha" and "Two Heads" as bonus tracks with a Balin -penned rarity "Things Are Better in the East" finishing off the album.

Overall, much more consistent than their 1st 2 albums with a stronger presence of the instrumental side of the band. Casady's bass is superb throughout (I am an unashamed fan of his) and, noticeably, Balin seems to be less prominent than before, both as writer and lead singer. There was too much talent in this band!

A deserved 4 stars for the most proggy thing they did.