Splashdown 2

This is well woth picking up if you are at all a Hot Tuna fan. Jorma is smokin on I Know You Rider, and I Am The Light of This World is great also. Apparently, they just stopped in a radio station to play one day and this is the result. No production, no puffery, and none needed!

This has got to be without a doubt the most incredible acoustic playing Jorma has ever done. Jack is there every step of the way to back him up as well. The chemestry between the two is enough to make anyone love Hot Tuna. Not only does this cd display incredible talent, but an incredible friendship between Jorma and Jack that could last ages. Lastly, on police dog blues, you can hear a live news broadcast of the apollo-soyaz shuttle landing. The radio executives thought that what Jorma and Jack were producing was far to great to interupt, but also thought the shuttle mission was far too important to ignore, so they just mixed the broadcast right into the music. Its Incredible!

Splashdown Two is the 1997 remastered and expanded version of 1984's Splashdown with the remastering done by Michael Falzarano while the original tape was supplied by veteran taper Barry Glassberg. Both the track list and running time have also been doubled here with the original 8 songs now expanded to 16. I've loved this album since it was first released and the extra songs with 1997 remastering have made it even better although this still isn't a multi track professional recording. I also think a slight bit of tuning was edited out that was on the original release.

The radio station WQIV had a Saturday night show in which unreleased tapes by groups like the Dead and Hot Tuna were played live on the air and Hot Tuna was invited to come in and play when they could. On Thursday July 24, 1975 Jack and Jorma stopped by the radio station and performed live in the studio.

The release opens with the announcer introducing Jack and Jorma while they tune in the background before jumping into a strong version of Oh Lord Search My Heart. The version of Death Don't Have No Mercy that follows is one of my favorite Hot Tuna versions. I Am The Light Of This World is a good, fun version even if Jorma forgets the words at one point. Mann's Fate is masterful and makes you wonder why they couldn't have figured out some way to include it in the original release. Whining Boy Blues is very well done. Embryonic Journey and 99 Year Blues are very good. During Police Dog Blues we get transmission Apollo-Soyuz Mission returning to Earth (Splashdown). This was the first joint space mission between the U.S.A. and Russia. Sally Where'd You Get Your Liquor From is well performed and it's nice to hear something from the underrated Phosphorescent Rat album. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning and I Know You Rider stand out among the many performed. Babe I Want You To Know is a great version of a song that they had released on First Pull Up-Then Pull Down. Next we get the popular Keep On Truckin' before ending things with a hot Candyman which even manages to get a round of applause from the in studio crew. Despite one or two missed ques here or there, Jack and Jorma smoke here.