JEFFERSON STARSHIP – DRAGON FLY LP – EXC+ A1/B1 UK GRACE SLICK

Jefferson Starship – Dragon Fly
(Grunt Records  1974  BFL10717)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

US Sleeve in Very Good condition
 – wear to edges and ringwear and rubbing

Vinyl in Excellent+ condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from some light pops/crackles)

Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum selling studio albums. The band went through several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the Jefferson Starship name. The band name was retired in 1984, but it was picked up again in 1992 by a revival of the group led by Paul Kantner, which has continued following his death in 2016.

The group was formed by former Jefferson Airplane members Kantner and Grace Slick, and evolved from several solo albums they had recorded. They were joined by David Freiberg, Craig Chaquico and Pete Sears. Former Airplane frontman Marty Balin subsequently joined the group in 1975, and the following year’s album Spitfire was a top five hit. Slick and Balin both left the group in 1978, leaving the remaining members to recruit Mickey Thomas as their replacement. Slick rejoined the group in 1981, which continued with minor chart success. Kantner quit in 1984 and took legal action towards using the name; the remaining members became Starship. Kantner reformed the group as Jefferson Starship: The Next Generation in 1992, which toured regularly throughout that decade and into the 21st century. Following his death, the group continued with new members; Chaquico threatened legal action before reaching a settlement.

Dragon Fly, the 1974 release credited to Grace Slick / Paul Kantner / Jefferson Starship, was the transitional album between the various shifting groups Slick and Kantner had been recording with, as Jefferson Airplane dissolved in the early ‘70s and the new group Jefferson Starship began. This album just missed the Top Ten and went gold within six months, selling as well as any Jefferson Airplane albums generally did. Although the single “Ride the Tiger” only rose to #84 on the Billboard charts, the album itself hit #11.

“Hyperdrive” was used in the opening ceremonies of the 1976 World Science Fiction Convention, MidAmeriCon, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Track listing

Personnel

• Grace Slick – vocals, piano on “Be Young You”
• Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar
• John Barbata – drums, percussion
• Craig Chaquico – lead guitar
• Papa John Creach – electric violin
• Pete Sears – bass on all tracks except “That’s for Sure”, piano on “That’s for Sure”, “Caroline”, “All Fly Away”, and “Hyperdrive”, harpsichord on “Caroline”, organ on “Hyperdrive”
• David Freiberg – vocals, keyboards on “Ride the Tiger”, “Be Young You” and “Caroline”, piano on “Devil’s Den” and “Come to Life”, organ on “All Fly Away”, bass on “That’s for Sure”

Additional Personnel

• Marty Balin – lead vocals on “Caroline”

Production

• Jefferson Starship – producer
• Larry Cox – producer, engineer
• Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator
• Steve Mantoani – recordist
• Paul Dowell – amp consultant
• Bill Thompson – manager
• Acy Lehman, Frank Mulvey – art directors
• Peter Lloyd – illustration
• Recorded and Mixed at Wally Heider’s, San Francisco