Volunteers ( Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Original Master Sound Recording.)

Sealed - Brand new numbered 45rpm limited edition mobile fidelity half speed mastered 180 gram 2LP in gatefold cover. Made in the USA.

Volunteers is a 1969 album by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released as RCA Victor LSP-4238. It was also released in a Quadrophonic version in 1973 as RCA Quadradisc APD1-0320 using the discrete CD-4 system from JVC. It was controversial at the time because of the anti-war messages in certain songs and the occasional use of profanity in the lyrics. The title of the album was originally intended to be Volunteers of Amerika, but after objections from Volunteers of America the name was shortened.

This was the sixth album recorded by the group and the first to be wholly recorded in San Francisco, at Wally Heider's then state-of-the-art 16-track studio. Guest musicians included Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar, veteran session pianist Nicky Hopkins, future Airplane drummer Joey Covington on percussion, David Crosby, and Stephen Stills. It was one of the earliest 16-track recordings. The back cover of the album shows a picture of the MM-1000 professional 16-track tape recorder built by Ampex which was used to record the album.

The album was marked with strong anti-war and pro-anarchism songs. The theme of nature, communities and ecology was also explored with the songs "The Farm" and "Eskimo Blue Day". The title track was inspired by a "Volunteers of America" garbage truck that woke singer Marty Balin one morning. The title of the album was originally intended to be Volunteers of Amerika, a corruption of Volunteers of America, an American version of the Salvation Army charity; the term 'Amerika' was then in vogue as a sardonic expression of dissatisfaction with the USA. However the charity objected, so the title was shortened to Volunteers.^[4]

The album provoked even more controversy with lyrics such as "Up against the wall, motherfucker" which appeared on the opening song "We Can Be Together". The offending word was mixed lower on the 45 RPM release of that track to partially 'obscure' it, but it was still audible. The word "motherfucker" was censored on the album lyric sheet as "fred", however.^[5] At the time RCA Records was refusing to allow the word "fuck" on the album until they were confronted with the fact that they had already set a precedent on the Cast Recording Soundtrack of Hair. "Eskimo Blue Day" was also a point of contention, with its chorus line of "doesn't mean shit to a tree" repeated throughout. Musically, the album is characterized by Jorma Kaukonen's lead guitar parts (the dueling solos on "Hey Fredrick", plus the traditional gospel-blues song "Good Shepherd" and "Wooden Ships") and the distinctive piano-playing of Nicky Hopkins. It also featured the band experimenting with a country-rock sound, particularly in "The Farm" and "Song For All Seasons".

Despite its controversies, the album was a commercial success, becoming the band's fourth top twenty hit record, and went gold within two months of its release.^[6]

This was to be the last album with the group for both Jefferson Airplane's founder Marty Balin and drummer Spencer Dryden (although they did both appear on the "Mexico" single released in 1970 and its B-side "Have You Seen the Saucers?") and thus signifies the end of the best-remembered "classic" lineup. It was to be the group's last all-new LP for two years; Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen would now devote more of their energy to their embryonic blues group Hot Tuna, while Paul Kantner and Grace Slick celebrated the birth of their daughter China in 1971.

5:50
A2		Good Shepherd Arranged By – Jorma Kaukonen Written-By – Traditional

4:22
B1		The Farm Music By – Paul Kantner Pedal Steel Guitar – Jerry Garcia Vocals – Ace Of Cups Words By – Gary Blackman

2:55
B2		Hey Fredrick Music By, Words By – Grace Slick (Mole)* Piano – Nicky Hopkins

8:31
C1		Turn My Life Down Congas – Joey Covington Organ [Hammond] – Steven Stills* Vocals – Ace Of Cups Words By, Music By – Jorma Kaukonen

2:55
C2		Wooden Ships Piano – Nicky Hopkins Words By, Music By – David Crosby, Paul Kantner, Steven Stills*

6:00
D1		Eskimo Blue Day Music By – Grace Slick Percussion [Chair] – Joey Covington Piano, Recorder – Grace* Words By – Grace Slick, Paul Kantner

6:31
D2		A Song For All Seasons Piano – Nicky Hopkins Vocals [That Voice] – Bill Laudner Words By, Music By – Spencer Dryden

3:30
D3		Meadowlands Arranged By – Grace Slick, Paul Kantner Organ – Grace* Written-By – Traditional

1:01
D4		Volunteers Music By – Marty Balin, Paul Kantner Piano – Grace*, Nicky Hopkins Words By – Marty Balin

2:03

A1

We Can Be Together Piano – Nicky Hopkins Words By, Music By – Paul Kantner