Original 1969  orange label RCA VICTOR pressing of  the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE album, VOLUNTEERS (LSP-4238 STEREO)
ORIGINAL INSERT
AMG 4 STARS: Controversial at the time, delayed because of fights with the record company over lyrical content and the original title (),  was a powerful release that neatly closed out and wrapped up the '60s. Here, the presents itself in full revolutionary rhetoric, issuing a call to "tear down the walls" and "get it on together." "We Can Be Together" and "Volunteers" bookend the album, offering musical variations on the same chord progression and lyrical variations on the same theme. Between these politically charged rock anthems, the band offers a mix of words and music that reflect the competing ideals of simplicity and getting "back to the earth," and overthrowing greed and exploitation through political activism, adding a healthy dollop of psychedelic sci-fi for texture. Guitarist 's beautiful arrangement of the traditional "Good Shepherd" is a standout here, and 's pedal steel guitar gives "The Farm" an appropriately rural feel. The band's version of "Wooden Ships" is much more eerie than that released earlier in the year by . Oblique psychedelia is offered here via 's "Hey Frederick" and ecologically tinged "Eskimo Blue Day." Drummer  gives an inside look at the state of the band in the country singalong "A Song for All Seasons."

The musical arrangements here are quite potent. ' distinctive piano highlights a number of tracks, and's razor-toned lead guitar is the recording's unifying force, blazing through the mix, giving the album its distinctive sound. Although the political bent of the lyrics may seem dated to some, listening to  is like opening a time capsule on the end of an era, a time when young people still believed music had the power to change the world.

Condition: the gatefold sleeve grades EX. The record and the insert grade NM. Original inner sleeve included; the record ships in an anti-static, dust free archival sleeve. Check out my feedback score; you won't be disappointed.