Manhole is the first solo album by Grace Slick, and yes that's the title, it was released just before the rise of the Jefferson Starship, their 70s incarnation of their 60s band Jefferson Airplane. Album opener Jay starts with a eaceful intersecting array of acoustic guitar picking while Slick sings softly in mock Spanish, the panning and subtle echo work give off an quietly intxicating heat as her dulcet vocal overdubs caress the inner ear.
Theme from the the movie "Manhole" is fantastic too starting with a 70s piano soft rock sound, coursing vocal wails, slowly building dynamics, lead guitar working it's way to the fore til it's in full solo and best of all a downbeat piano progression. Another flamenco passage and more Spanish sung lyrics enter and while it all is pleasant, it feels very inauthentic but the song soon moves on into a big orchestra section where Slick wails in her Plant-esque style full of warbling tonsils, timpanis bang, cellos bray and strings scorch. Before we know it we're in a delightful Andalusian mandolin part, there is a long note from Slick which she always could pull off easily, then some trebly bass stumbles and plod along while triumphant horns and graceful strings intertwine for the mian body of the song as she sings abotu Spanish Wind. The best part is an electric guitar playing in a mandolin style; very tactile, strumming near the bridge fo the gutiar in a high pitched register with lightning quick abrasiveness and crystal clear timbre. The ending captures some top notch power balladry as Slick sings with bracing urgency about the state of affairs as the majestic full orchestra reigns down and the lead gutiar solos away. The coda is a return to the strident piano of the start with some banjo proving you can throw as many ideas as you like to a song if it sticks its fine otherwise it ends up a hot mess, I'm not sure how to evaluate this 15 minute suite; it was a soundtrack to a movie that never came about, much like this song, it's unfulfilled.
¿Come Again? Toucan starts with a damn loud mock Arriba! before we get some fluid electric flamenco laden 70s soft rock along the lines of Carole King or Stevie Nicks in it's mellow piano led arrangement and bewitched romantic vocals. It's Only Music is David Freiberg's moment to shine, a lot of this album was backed by the Jefferson Starship with Craig Chaquico providing all those lovely flamenco guitar. Freiberg's poppy folk rock high tenor and the melodic chords make this Dylanesque tune stand out as a flavourful solo spills out all over the track. The deep rumbling bass synthesizer always a presence waiting to drag out the tension appears on this track as does some Byrds/Poco sounding backing vocals on this ultimately a hybrid of 70s countrified soft rock and 60s psych folk pop. Grace returns on Better Lying Down a poor honky tonk blues injection with zero charisma just riding along with some very on the nose lyrics and no fun; Slick's wailing and tenacious delivery don't meld with fun lovin rock n roll.
The closer Epic(#38) starts with some startling duets of electric guitar/fuzz synth playing off strings butting in before a very Celtic strings drive this rocker; we get a melange of the dithering strings quivering in full Irish dance mode, 60s hippie rootsy harmonies and marching band triplet rolls. There is a spacey easy listening chorus, marked by more evergreen strings and little more electric mandolin strumming before a mid section where otherworldly glass harmonica (that thing with the glasses half full of water and licking the rim of the glass for high pitched wails otherwise impossible on traditional instruments). It's hypnotic as the hippy sounds continue, sweet flamenco jazz guitar, haunting picked notes, cymbals crackle, then we even get treated to some trumpets pipping up as the folky chorus continues. Finally it all builds to a magnificent Wagnerian cello riff that is joined one by one by the vocals, a variety of percussion, electronic synth and finally Chaquico's guitar who had been soloing separately this whole time creating an Epic climax to the album; now you understand it's name of not the #38 part
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