So it was considered another departure, if not a throwback, when Jorma released his first solo album. However, Quah was originally envisioned as a collaboration with another acoustic picker named Tom Hobson. While he only appears on three tracks (reportedly at the demand of the label), he’s still credited as “with” on the spine and the label itself.
The album mixes originals and old blues tracks, all fingerpicked and occasionally accompanied by strings. Side one is perfect, alternating Jorma’s contemplative “Genesis”, “Song For The North Star” and “Flying Clouds” with the covers “I’ll Be All Right” and “Another Man Done Gone” plus “I’ll Let You Know Before I Leave”, a jaunty instrumental duet. The overall feel is relaxed, ideal for the first nice day of spring, and you don’t have to be high to enjoy it either.
Side two is more quirky, beginning with the traditional “I Am The Light Of This World” and “Police Dog Blues”. Hobson sings the next two, a cover of Gordon Jenkins’ “Blue Prelude” with heavy delay and his own “Sweet Hawaiian Sunshine”, which might as well predict Leon Redbone’s entire career. Studio effects return on “Hamar Promenade”, and edgy but effective closer.
While apparently not a smash hit when first released, Quah has gone in an out of print over the years, usually resurfacing whenever there’s renewed interest in anything remotely connected to psychedelic San Francisco. One of these reissues included liner notes from Airplane expert Jeff Tamarkin, along with four outtakes, two of which have vocals by the long-lost Mr. Hobson. Had these appeared on the original LP they would have been fine, but would have likely edged aside some of Jorma’s, and then we’d’ve missed them.
Jorma Kaukonen with Tom Hobson Quah (1974)—4
When I was in college, Grunt Records released “Flight Log”, an anthology that consisted of about half tracks from the Airplane and half from their spinoff projects. Included was “Genesis”, which I instantly fell in love with. Of all things, “Light of the World” also got FM airplay, so this was a must eventually.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the album doesn’t hold up to “Genesis”, but I stilI like it a lot. It is a bit samey. Jorma’s voice doesn’t have a wide range. The combination of traditional material and Jorma’s more introspective songwriting works ever better than it did for the Airplane. As for Hobson, I understand why the record company didn’t want to turn half the album over to a totally unknown singer. He had, technically, a better voice than Jorma. It’s still a good thing that he had only two songs on the original vinyl, even if they are nice enough songs.
The cover art is marvelous, too, if inscrutable. (Is that a Quah?). The album, evidently, bombed when it was released, which is too bad. Hopefully, a few more people have discovered it because of your review.