On 03-13-97 DAVE JANSEN wrote to ALL... 
 
 DJ> Im seeking a tune that I recall hearing back in 75 or so on the radio, 
 DJ> from around 66-67, by the group the great society called apropretly 
 DJ> enough"THE GREAT SOCIETY" It mocked the so called "great society" 
 DJ> envisioned by LBJ, and I've looked high and low for a cd,album or 45 
 
        Try looking under the name "Grace Slick and the Great 
        Society." That was the band she was in before she 
        replaced Signe Andersson in the Jefferson Airplane. There 
        was a decent double album anthology of their stuff that 
        was in print for much of the 70's and shouldn't be too 
        hard to find. 
 
        It's kind of ironic that you're most likely to find 
        their stuff in a Jefferson Airplane bin, since they were 
        in their day a great rival Frisco band. At one time JA 
        put out bumperstickers that said, "Jefferson Airplane 
        Loves You" and to poke holes in the hippy kitsch, they 
        put out a counter-sticker that read "The Great Society 
        Doesn't Really Care." 
 
        Musically they are interesting because Grace Slick wails 
        in the background of many tunes, sounding more like 
        Middle Eastern or South Asian music than most pop of the 
        time. The guitar player played what sounded like sloppy 
        two-finger solos that slipped outside of the time 
        signatures but were more like little masterpieces. They 
        had no real equipment, playing only on cheap crappy 
        guitars and amps from the Montgomery Ward department 
        store, giving them an odd and distinctive sound. They 
        were the first ones to have a hit single with "Somebody 
        to Love" and it was probably a better version than the 
        cover JA did a year later. "Free Advice" was another hit 
        of theirs which was pretty neat. Some songs sound cool 
        because they give the impression of having been composed 
        on the banjo and then transposed to rock band, an odd 
        effect. 
 
        HTH. 
 
                                Cheers, 
                                Kenneth 
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