Grace Slick
Manhole

Rebellious temperament, determined, multifaceted, witty, and always outspoken - evidenced by her repeated arrests for insulting a public official and driving under the influence -, Grace Barnett Wing (known as Grace Slick) can be considered among the most beautiful and passionate voices in the rock scene.

Undoubtedly, her fame is linked to the Jefferson Airplane (whose album "Volunteers" has been rightly included by the authoritative Rolling Stone magazine among the 500 most important albums of all time), also because her restless personality probably did not allow her the transition from band member to successful solo artist.
Proof of this is "Manhole," dated February 1974, Grace Slick's first solo album, refined, elegant, experimental, far from any definition that could imprison its timeless beauty, charm, and sophistication. "Manhole" is indeed difficult to describe and therefore should be intensely savored in every detail. It is a sensual blend that seems to hover free and passionately envelops until exhaustion, it is all-encompassing, wonderfully dense, intense. It is capable of penetrating the bones, warm and sinuous, and capturing almost on tiptoe, sending shivers down the spine from the very first listen.

"Jai", which seductively unfolds slowly and gently like an ethereal and dreamy sound carpet yet so sad, with its subtle almost imperceptible guitar weaving and Slick’s almost whispered voice, is the ideal introduction to a sweet and personal sound universe.

The title track itself ("Manhole- Theme From The Movie"), played more or less by the same members of Jefferson Starship - one of the many reworkings of the Jefferson spaceship that toured in the spring of 1974 -, plus a few guests like David Crosby, and an entire orchestra of no less than 42 elements, is a true suite that masterfully encapsulates in its nearly sixteen minutes all these sensations, rich as it is of skillful melodic arabesques and changes of tone. The rest of the charm certainly owes much to a text half in English, half in Spanish, rightly chosen for its musicality to make vividly alive what already illuminates this brilliant pearl like few others.

"Come Again? Toucan" and "Better Lying Down" (a rewrite by Slick and Peter Sears of "Turtle Blues" by the legendary Janis Joplin) are two examples of how a mid-tempo rock and a classic stripped-down blues can be enhanced by a frankly sexy, sensual, and enveloping voice, now making us dream of flying softly, now mischievously leading us into clearly sexual realms.

A special mention should be made of the other two tracks that complete the platter. At the time, those at RCA were quite upset when, as a result of the Manhole sessions, they realized they only had 6 tracks, two of which did not even feature our heroine on vocals. These are "It's Only Music" by Robert Hunter/David Freidberg with the latter on vocals and "Epic #38", orchestrated by the same Freidberg, in which Slick intervenes softly only for the harmonizations, both another set of rock frescoes, almost painted in watercolor but with sharp and decisive strokes, which are probably the whim of an unpredictable artist, perhaps arrogant or perhaps humble, and that nonetheless contribute to creating an inseparable part of the rest of the work. A continuous poetry accompanied by stunning music and recited, almost lived, by a voice as gentle and light as feathers, as powerful as thunder.

Lastly, I would like to emphasize that the album cover is a self-portrait by Slick herself, certainly not the first rock icon to engage in palette and brushwork, who still paints today, and her artworks (mostly portraits of rock icons of the past, as well as landscapes from Alice in Wonderland) are quite well valued (visit www.areaarts.com if you wish).

See Ya! (and sorry for the verbosity)