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Se con i loro precedenti album, in particolare con "After Bathing At Baxter's" i mitici Jefferson Airplane avevano proiettato un mondo di pace, di amore e di libertà su un' intera generazione di giovani, con la varietà e la psichedelia di "Volunteers" guardano con la mente lucida, pulita dagli acidi e fanno osservare ai giovani il mondo per come veramente è, duro e spietato, dove i tempi dell' amore libero, della libertà e della pace sono già passati.
Con questo lavoro i Jefferson affermando un mondo di pace, ma questa volta non professandola tranquillamente, ma marciando per le strade proclamando la rivoluzione, nel contempo il loro sound diventa più aggressivo cercando comunque di catturare nella loro musica un ritorno alla tradizione dipingendo luoghi di campagna.
L'album parte (We Can Be Together), il piano conduce la melodia, quando, dopo pochi secondi la chitarra distorta e rude di Kaukonen fa la sua entrata, il brano procede su un rock blueseggiante, ove il cantato dolce e melodico urla "We can be together", l'inno dei fuorilegge d'America, tutto questo per sei minuti incredibili. Subito dopo i Jefferson attaccano con il secondo brano (Good Sheperd), la chitarra acustica di Kantner e quella di Kaukonen ci accompagnano in una ballata rock con accenni folk, in cui la voce volutamente sottotono di Balin dona un'aria melodrammatica all'intero pezzo.
Si passa ad un country folk (The Farm), trascinato dal piano di Hopkins e da Jerry Garcia, nel cantanto in duetto Grace Slick riesce a mantenere la voce morbida e dura allo stesso tempo, ma non c'è un attimo da perdere, infatti giunge "Hey Friederick", di nuovo la regale voce della Slick si eleva, Hopkins e Kaukonen quasi ammaliati dalla sua voce la seguono, il brano prosegue scendendo in una mitica e improvvisata coda strumentale blues psichedelica, un volo come mai nessuno aveva fatto, qui l' aeroplano dei Jefferson vola più alto che mai.
Una breve staccata di misticismo e di magia con i 3 minuti di "Turns My Life Down" e si riparte in quarta con una canzone spettacolare, uno degli apici del disco, il meraviglioso, oscuro, ermetico, trasognante viaggio, un viaggio verso una terra migliore, dove l'uomo possa coesistere tranquillamente, un luogo senza guerre di "Wooden Ships", il clima leggero, delicato e fragile e le voci di Balin e della Slick, le quali accompagnano egregiamente il suono fondendosi magistralmente, rendono bellissimo questo brano.
Subito dopo arriva un' altra perla di tutta la psichedelia, "Eskimo Blue Day" incede e ci si fa avanti verso un' altro stupendo volo, la Slick firma di nuovo un'altro capolavoro ergendosi maestosa accompagnata dal piano, (che procede a ritmo marziale) e da un ipnotico flauto. Ora è tempo di un country corale e felice (A Song For All Seasons). La felicità viene immediatamente spezzata da una surreale e funerea tastiera (Meadowlands), la maliconia fatta musica. Chiude in bellezza questo grande capolavoro "Volunteers", un'incredibile sfogo verso tutto e tutti, gridando alla rivoluzione con tutto lo spirito e la forza che hanno in corpo.
Questo monumento o testamento se preferite, consacra i Jefferson Airplane nell'olimpo di tutto il rock.
STUPEFACENTE.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 We Can Be Together (05:47)
We can be together
Ah you and me
We should be together
We are all outlaws in the eyes of America
In order to survive we steal cheat lie forge fred hide and deal
We are obscene lawless hideous dangerous dirty violent and young
But we should be together
Come on all you people standing around
Our life's too fine to let it die and
We can be together
All your private property is
Target for your enemy
And your enemy is
We
We are forces of chaos and anarchy
Everything they say we are we are
And we are very
Proud of ourselves
Up against the wall
Up against the wall fred (motherfucker)
Tear down the walls
Tear down the walls
Come on now together
Get it on together
Everybody together
We should be together
We should be together my friends
We can be together
We will be
We must begin here and now
A new continent of earth and fire
Come on now gettin higher and higher
Tear down the walls
Tear down the walls
Tear down the walls
Won't you try
02 Good Shepherd (04:22)
If you want to get to heaven
Over on the other shore
Stay out of the way of the blood-stained bandit
Oh good shepherd
Feed my sheep
One for Paul
One for Silas
One for to make my heart rejoice
Can't you hear my lambs acallin
Oh good shepherd
Feed my sheep
If you want to get to heaven
Over on the other shore
Stay out of the way of the long-tongue liar
Oh good shepherd
Feed my sheep
If you want to get to heaven
Over on the other shore
Stay out of the way of the gun shot devil
Oh good shepherd
Feed my sheep
03 The Farm (03:12)
Bought myself a farm way out in the country
Took to growin lettuce milkin cows and honey
Bought myself a farm (way out in the country)
Bought myself a farm way out in the country
Spent time in the hayloft with the mice and the bunnies
Spent time in the country
Yes it's good livin on the farm
Ah so good livin on the farm
Yes it's good livin on the farm
Here comes my next door neighbour comin down the road
He always looks so regal ridin on his toad named Lightnin
The toad's name is Lightnin he's ten hands at the shoulder
And if you give him sugar you know he'll whinny like a boulder
Yes he will
Well I gotta get back to work now and clear away some logs
Ah the sun is shinin westwards yeah I think I'll saddle up my frog and
Get outta here
04 Hey Fredrick (08:34)
Either go away or go all the way in
Look at what you hold
Come back down on a spear of silence
When it flies
You go on through
You come on through
Thr rediculous no
Oh no
One more pair of
Loving eyes look down on you
Sheets and a pillow
How old will you have to be before you
Stop believing
That those eyes will look down on you
That way forever
There you sit mouth wide open
Animals nipping at your sides
On wire wheels the four stroke man
Opens wide
The marching sound
The constant ride
On the gasket is mine
All mine
One more pair of
Wire wheels bear down on you
Gear stripping the willow
How many machine men will you see before you
Stop believing that speed
Will slide down on you
Like brakes in bad weather
06 Wooden Ships (06:25)
(UPS) EARTH JULY 1975
Black sails knifing through the pitchblende night
Away from the radioactive landmass madness
From the silver-suited people searching out
Uncontaminated food and shelter on the shores
No glowing metal on our ship of wood only
Free happy crazy people naked in the universe
WE SPEAK EARTH TALK
GO RIDE THE MUSIC
If you smile at me you know I will understand
Cause that is something everybody everywhere does
In the same language
I can see by your coke my friend that you're from the other side
There's just one thing I got to know
Can you tell me please who won
You must try some of my purple berries
I been eating them for six or seven weeks now
Haven't got sick once
Probably keep us both alive
Wooden ships on the water very free and easy
Easy you know the way it's supposed to be
Silver people on the shoreline leave us be
Very free and easy
Sail away where the mornin sun goes high
Sail away where the wind blows sweet and young birds fly
Take a sister by her hand
Lead her far from this barren land
Horror grips us as we watch you die
All we can do is echo your anguished cry and
Stare as all you human feelings die
We are leaving
You don't need us
Go and take a sister by her hand
Lead her far from this foreign land
Somewhere where we might laugh again
We are leaving
You don't need us
Sailing ships on the water very free and easy
Easy you know the way it's supposed to be
Silver people on the shoreline leave us be
Very free
And gone
NO C'MON
GO RIDE THE MUSIC
C'MON RIDE IT CHILD
08 A Song for All Seasons (03:29)
Well the word was out on the street today
All the friends that I'd met would have to say
While your records line the shelves
You're fighting amongst yourselves
That's a hell of a lot of dues for you to pay
Well the word my friend you know is on the street
It's on the lips of everyone I meet
While you're climbin up the chart
Your band just fell apart
I guess your life just ain't really that complete
You know your car with which I was impressed
Well I hear that it's gonna be repossessed
Well I thought you had it made
But you ain't even paid
For the things that you've bought
Since the acid test
I hear you manager skipped town with all your pay
And your lead singer's bulge turns the censors grey
Wall that's really a doggone shame
But who's there left to blame
And all you ever really wanted was just to play
They say your drummer he's crazy as a loon
Last night they found him baying at the moon
As as for your lead guitar
He just cracked up his car
But he should be out of traction very soon
Well my friend it's time for me to go
I just can't be late for my evening show
You see I've written this tune
And I hope that very soon
I'll be heard on Top 40 radio
10 Volunteers (02:03)
LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT IN THE STREETS
GOT A REVOLUTION, GOT TO REVOLUTION
HEY I'M DANCING DOWN THE STREETS
GOT A REVOLUTION, GOT TO REVOLUTION
AIN'T IT AMAZING ALL THE PEOPLE I MEET
GOT A REVOLUTION, GOT TO REVOLUTION
ONE GENERATION GOT OLD
ONE GENERATION GOT SOUL
THIS GENERATION GOT NO DESTINATION TO HOLD
PICK UP THE CRY
HEY NOW IT'S TIME FOR YOU AND ME
GOT A REVOLUTION, GOT TO REVOLUTION
COME ON NOW WE'RE MARCHING TO THE SEA
GOT A REVOLUTION, GOT TO REVOLUTION
WHO WILL TAKE IT FROM YOU
WE WILL AND WHO ARE WE
WE ARE VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA
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Altre recensioni
Di fabiomr
"Il suono diventa materia vibrante, acciaio fuso, lava inesorabile ma vivificante; ti brucia, ti attraversa, e cavolo, non ti può lasciar indifferente."
"Solo poche band hanno avuto questo. Un'accolita di persone decise a farlo, a farti tremare, scuoterti."
