Its smirky title notwithstanding,
The Worst of Jefferson Airplane
provides a fine recap of the band's first six albums. Released in 1970 shortly before
Marty Balin
's initial departure from the band, the album marked not only the end of the decade but, unwittingly, the end of the group's most stable phase in terms of membership. The track selections are evenly divided among the first-generation albums; only the live
Bless Its Pointed Little Head
is represented by a single entry. Pains were also taken to include songs featuring lead vocalists
Balin
,
Grace Slick
Paul Kantner
, and guitarist
Jorma Kaukonen
. A few omissions are striking, most notably the chart single
"Greasy Heart"
and the signature
Kantner
track,
"Wooden Ships."
Nevertheless, the songs chosen for this album accurately summarize the distinct feel of each
Jefferson Airplane
album of the '60s, and thus the disc represents an ideal way to introduce oneself to the band's early, most
psychedelic
material. ~ Joseph McCombs