Head on Display

Jefferson Airplane's first live album demonstrated the group's development as concert performers, taking a number of songs that had been performed in concise, pop-oriented versions on their early albums – "3/5's of a Mile in 10 Seconds," "Somebody to Love," "It's No Secret," "Plastic Fantastic Lover" – and rendering them in arrangements that were longer, harder rocking, and more densely textured, especially in terms of the guitar and basslines constructed by Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady…

Jefferson Airplane's first live album demonstrated the group's development as concert performers, taking a number of songs that had been performed in concise, pop-oriented versions on their early albums - "3/5's of a Mile in 10 Seconds," "Somebody to Love," "It's No Secret," "Plastic Fantastic Lover" - and rendering them in arrangements that were longer, harder rocking, and more densely textured, especially in terms of the guitar and basslines constructed by Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady. The group's three-part vocal harmonizing and dueling was on display during such songs as a nearly seven-minute version of Fred Neil's folk-blues standard "The Other Side of This Life," here transformed into a swirling rocker…

Porcupine Tree's debut is really one big in-joke, which actually makes for a better reason to record something that pretends to be profoundly deep through and through…

Remastered in 2015 by Steven Wilson. Porcupine Tree's debut is really one big in-joke, which actually makes for a better reason to record something that pretends to be profoundly deep through and through. As released, it doesn't make mention of the tracks' origins as the supposed product of a mysterious cult psych/prog rock band, but the packaging and artwork (even the fonts) would make the Dukes of Stratosphear proud. Steven Wilson's singing is noticeably higher at points than it would be in later years - chalk it up to his relative youth or a desire to sound appropriately wispy (or on the lovely "Nine Cats," like David Gilmour). On a sheer technical level, though, Wilson can't be beat. Recording and producing his material solo (outside of a couple of guest appearances) before the big '90s revolution in home recording quality, he easily reaches the depth and reach of bands who could spend many times more to reach the same sound…