from the LP Double Dose, Grunt Records, 1978For a lot of fans, the work that guitarist Jorma Kaukonen & bassist Jack Casady did under the mantle of Hot Tuna both equaled and, for many, eclipsed that of their former band, the Jefferson Airplane; frankly, most of the music is so different that I feel it’s a bit like comparing apples with peyote buttons. First of all, can I just say, there are few cooler bands names out there than Hot Tuna, and it was actually their second choice after the record company gave their initial idea, ‘Hot Shit’, the boot. Tuna have always been at their best jamming live on stage, and this set was taped on the last tour of the decade; extra points for the album’s lysergic title and blotter-like cover art. This reflective love song was culled from Jorma’s first (and best, in my humble opinion) solo album, an achingly beautiful piece of acoustic folk, electrified here and set to the warm, honeyed timbre of Kaukonen’s voice, “…the time has come for us to pause, and think of living as it was, into the future we must cross, must cross, and I'd like to go with you…you say I'm harder than a wall, a marble shaft about to fall, I love you dearer than them all, them all; I’d like to stay with you…and when we came out into view, and there I found myself with you, when breathing felt like something new, new; along with you…going along with you…”
