This two-disc compilation of RCA recordings, made between 1969 and 1977, traces Hot Tuna's evolution from an acoustic folk-blues group to an electric blues-rock band, and then to a near-heavy metal ensemble, and from a repertoire dominated by covers of songs by blues guitarists like the Reverend Gary Davis to one consisting largely of original material written by guitarist/singer Jorma Kaukonen. Actually, the transitions are not that dramatic, since Kaukonen continues to favor the same kinds...   [ read more ]

CD $15.19

RCA's single-disc collection of Hot Tuna's early output isn't as expansive as their two-CD compilation, The Best of Hot Tuna, but provides a nice springboard for those looking to find out what they were all about. The majority of the focus is on the albums First Pull Up, Then Pull Down and Burgers, when leaders Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassidy joined up with fiddler Papa John Creach and drummer Sammy Piazza for electrified readings of classic blues numbers, but {^Platinum & Gol...   [ read more ]

CD $7.59

When Hot Tuna's self-titled debut album was released in May 1970, it seemed like the perfect spin-off project for a major rock group, Jefferson Airplane's lead guitarist and bass player indulging in a genre exercise by playing a set of old folk-blues tunes in a Berkeley coffeehouse. The music seemed as far removed from the Airplane's acid rock roar as it did from commercial prospects, and thus, it allowed these sometimes overlooked bandmembers to blow off some steam musically without thre...   [ read more ]

CD $7.59