Red Octopus

Red Octopus is the second album by Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records in 1975. Certified double platinum by RIAA in 1995, it is the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups. The single "Miracles" was the highest-charting single any permutation of the band had until Starship's "We Built This City" a decade later, ultimately peaking at #3 on the Billboard singles chart; the album itself reached No. 1 four non-consecutive weeks during 1975 on the Billboard 200. As with several other albums from the epoch, stereo and quadraphonic mixes of Red Octopus were released concurrently.

Red Octopus
Studio album by Jefferson Starship
Released	June 13, 1975
Recorded	February 1975
Studio	Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, CA
Genre	AOR
Length	42:00
Label	Grunt
Producer	Jefferson Starship, Larry Cox
Jefferson Starship chronology
Dragon Fly (1974) Red Octopus (1975) Spitfire (1976)
Alternative cover
Cover art of original LP release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B–[2]

Following a guest appearance on the preceding Dragon Fly, Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin returned as a fully integrated member of the ensemble. Balin wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks on the album, including "Miracles."[3] The group attempted to create a commercialized sound which was a total contrast to their past works, paving the musical direction of their next two albums.[4]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Fast Buck Freddie"	Grace Slick	Craig Chaquico	3:28
2.	"Miracles"	Marty Balin	Marty Balin	6:52
3.	"Git Fiddler" (instrumental)		Papa John Creach, Kevin Moore, John Parker	3:08
4.	"Ai Garimasũ (There Is Love)"	Grace Slick	Grace Slick	4:15
5.	"Sweeter than Honey"	Balin, Craig Chaquico	Craig Chaquico, Pete Sears	3:20

Side two

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Play on Love"	Grace Slick	Pete Sears	3:44
2.	"Tumblin'"	Marty Balin, Robert Hunter	David Freiberg	3:27
3.	"I Want to See Another World"	Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Marty Balin	Paul Kantner	4:34
4.	"Sandalphon" (instrumental)		Pete Sears	4:08
5.	"There Will Be Love"	Paul Kantner, Marty Balin	Paul Kantner, Craig Chaquico	5:04

2005 CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
11.	"Miracles" (single version)	Marty Balin	Marty Balin	3:29
12.	"Band Introduction" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland)			1:14
13.	"Fast Buck Freddie" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland)	Grace Slick	Craig Chaquico	3:34
14.	"There Will Be Love" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland)	Paul Kantner, Marty Balin	Paul Kantner, Craig Chaquico	4:57
15.	"You're Driving Me Crazy" (live, November 7, 1975 at Winterland)	Vic Smith	Vic Smith	6:44

Personnel

• Grace Slick – lead and backing vocals, piano (4)
• Paul Kantner – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
• Marty Balin – lead and backing vocals
• Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Papa John Creach – electric violin
• David Freiberg – organ (2, 8), lead and backing vocals, ARP synthesizer (4, 10), keyboards (7), bass (3, 6, 9)
• Pete Sears – bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10-15), keyboards (3, 5) electric (2, 11) and acoustic (6, 8-10) pianos, organ (6, 8, 9), clavinet (6), ARP synthesizer (9), backing vocals
• John Barbata – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Bobbye Hall – percussion, congas
• Irv Cox – saxophone

Production

• Jefferson Starship – producer
• Larry Cox – producer, engineer
• Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator
• Steve Mantoani, Jeffrey Husband – recordists
• Paul Dowell – amp consultant
• Dave Roberts – string and horn arrangement
• Recorded and Mixed at Wally Heiders, San Francisco
• Mastered by Kent Duncan, Kendun Recorders, Burbank
• Live tracks recorded at Winterland, November 7, 1975
• Bill Thompson – manager
• Frank Mulvey – art director
• Jim Marshall – liner photograph
• Gribbitt! – graphics

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1975	Billboard 200	#1

Singles

• "Miracles" (August 23, 1975) #3 US (Billboard Hot 100)
• "Play On Love" (December 13, 1975) #49 US Billboard Hot 100, #47 US Cash Box Top 100[5]

References

1. Ruhlmann, William. "Jefferson Starship: Red Octopus". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. "Red Octopus - Review". allmusic.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
4. "Jefferson Starship - Biography". billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
5. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 17, 1976". Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2017.

External links

• Snyder, Patrick (January 1, 1976). "Jefferson Starship: The Miracle Rockers". Rolling Stone.