Paul Kantner's Blows Against The Empire

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I say classic.

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 08:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Better than the one where they all fly to Australia

― dave q, Wednesday, 7 January 2004 11:09 (twenty-one years ago)

More classic than any other Starship-related permutations, especially the noisy electronic bits, but my esteem for it dropped quite a few notches after I heard Hawkwind.

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Surely Blow Against the Empire is a better title.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

just bought it this last weekend used lp bin bonanza!!
wtf? sci fi or hippy utopia?

― thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Meh. It's ok, but I'd be more likely to play Bark and Long John Silver or the first couple Hot Tuna lps at this point.

― Broheems (diamond), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Nah, Kantner/Slick/Freiburgs' 'Baron Von Tolbooth And The Chrome Nun' is better (7 inches of pleasure / going home) & Jefferson Starship's 'Dragonfly' is the absolute mutts nutts.

― Ride The Tiger (Mooro), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 18:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Bark, Baron Von Tollbooth, Long John Silver and Dragonfly are all worse than Blows, and yes I've heard them all. Btw, Blows isn't very good at all, but at least Kantner doesn't play all the lead guitar.

― Sean (Sean), Wednesday, 7 January 2004 19:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Great album,wish I still had a copy.

― Paul R (paul R), Thursday, 8 January 2004 13:13 (twenty-one years ago)

from the AMG entry on blows against the empire:

Kantner had presaged this post-apocalyptic colonization idea on "Wooden Ships" on the last Airplane album, Volunteers, and here he expanded it out to album length with the help of members of The Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills and Nash, plus assorted others, a shifting supergroup informally known as PERRO, The Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra.

i like the idea of rounding up all the hippies, shoving them in a rocket, and shooting them off into space.

dunno about the music, though.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 8 January 2004 22:37 (twenty-one years ago)

nine months pass...

the PERRO team at their most inspiring {official} recorded work after crosby's "if i could only remember my name"

― uri benshaul, Monday, 1 November 2004 21:54 (twenty years ago)

Wicked-sweet record. Shortly after moving to SF, I cranked this record at sunset while driving down Route 1 along the coast. Damn, those SF hippies were onto something.

As for Hawkwind eclipsing this record? I'm not so sure about that. I don't think Hawkwind were good enough musicians to pull off some of the rhythms J. Airplane and early J. Starship created. Most of the cats on this record were steeped in folk fingerpicking intricate guitar shit.

― Justin Farrar (Justin Farrar), Monday, 1 November 2004 22:18 (twenty years ago)

thirteen years pass...

I published this online 8 years ago... it seemed funny at the time!:

http://kimgordonsrealage.tumblr.com/post/940663235/paul-kantner-killed-by-insane-starship-computer

― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Wednesday, 2 May 2018 05:09 (seven years ago)

eleven months pass...

I just discovered this record and now I can't believe I've gone this long without it. It's crazy and silly and a ton of fun.

― kornrulez6969, Friday, 5 April 2019 20:34 (six years ago)

Hell yeah

― brimstead, Friday, 5 April 2019 21:32 (six years ago)

I think I prefer the other individual solo JA on Grunt stuff.
Baron Von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun, Sunfighter and Manhole especially.

― Stevolende, Friday, 5 April 2019 22:43 (six years ago)

Those are all great too.

― brimstead, Saturday, 6 April 2019 03:40 (six years ago)

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Paul Kantner's Blows Against The Empire - C or D?