Hot Tuna - Burgers: 50th Anniversary Edition [180G/ Ltd Ed Transparent Orange Vinyl] (SYEOR 2023)

The exploration of psychedelic depths did not appear to suffice the founders of Jefferson Airplane – Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady – when searching for their musical salvation. So why not amalgamate their hippy-like lifestyle and folksy music with the formation of a second band called Hot Tuna, emotional yet not so synthetically hotted-up? 

Even in the very first number, "True Religion," whose airy, bubbling folksy finger-picking soars up into powerful waves of rock, the message of their third album and first studio offering Burgers, which was originally issued in 1972, comes over loud and clear. Growling bass melodies and the representation of a life on the road ("Keep On Truckin'") conjure up a down-to-earth country feeling, with an off-key fiddle tune ("Let Us Get Together Right Down Here") accentuating the rough yet cordial get-together. The purely instrumental "Water Song" is a stroke of genius – this humming, buzzing guitar mix doesn't only demonstrate the players' instrumental dexterity but also their keen sense of melody and ear for sound coloring. 

Part of the "Start Your Ear Off Right" 2023 collection on transparent orange vinyl.

True Religion
Highway Song
99 Year Blues
Sea Child
Keep On Truckin'
Water Song
Ode For Billy Dean
Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
Sunny Day Strut