''Pair a Dice Found'' is an album by the American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the ...

. Released in 1990, it was their first studio album since '' Hoppkorv'' in 1976.

Background

In 1989,

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ach ...

reunited for a tour and eponymous album on Epic Records. In between sets, lead guitarist

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassi ...

and bassist

Jack Casady John William "Jack" Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including " So ...

performed as

. After attending a show and seeing the positive reaction to Hot Tuna, Epic executives offered them a recording contract. Kaukonen produced the album, and described the sessions as easy-going, with songs requiring minimal takes. He and Casady were joined by

Michael Falzarano Michael Falzarano is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has been a professional musician since the 1970s, most notably in Hot Tuna, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Memphis Pilgrims, a Memphis-style rock and roll/blues ...

on rhythm guitar and Harvey Sorgen on drums. Compared with previous albums, Kaukonen has relatively few writing credits, with the rest made up of blues covers, songs from contemporary writers, and originals from newcomer Falzarano. It also features a cover of the 1960s protest song " Eve of Destruction," intended as a comment on the then-current

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. (A cover of "

Endless Sleep "Endless Sleep" is a "teenage tragedy" pop song written and originally recorded by rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds in 1957. Background Reynolds wrote the song in 1956, after listening to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and first performed it ...

" was also recorded during the sessions, and later released on '' Live at Sweetwater Two''.) In a press interview, Kaukonen described the choice of material: "I picked out songs I can still relate to. My whole era of songwriting back in the '70s, I sort of refer to as the 'canyons of your mind' songwriting school, though, and I don't find it easy to relate to those bizarre, introspective songs anymore."

Track listing

#"It's Alright with Me" (Jorma Kaukonen) #"

Parchman Farm Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), also known as Parchman Farm, is a maximum-security prison farm located in unincorporated Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. Occupying about of land,Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to ...

) #"Urban Moon" (

Randall Bramblett Randall Bramblett (born 1948) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek S ...

) #" Eve of Destruction" (

P. F. Sloan Philip Gary "Flip" Sloan (born Philip Gary Schlein; September 18, 1945 – November 15, 2015), known professionally as P. F. Sloan, was an American singer and songwriter. During the mid-1960s, he wrote, performed, and produced many ''Billboar ...

) #"AK-47" (Michael Falzarano) #"Shot in the Act" (

Scott Mathews Scott Mathews (born July 25, 1955) is an American music producer, composer, performer, and entrepreneur. He has appeared as a musician, songwriter or producer on recordings with sales of more than 40 million units which earned more than 20 gol ...

Ron Nagle Ron Nagle (born February 21, 1939) is an American sculptor, musician and songwriter. He is known for small-scale, refined sculptures of great detail and compelling color. Nagle lives and works in San Francisco, California. Life Born in San Fr ...

) #"Brand New Toy" (Falzarano) #"To Be with You" (Falzarano) #"Flying in the Face of Mr. Blue" (Bramblett, Davis Causey, Bucky Jones) #"Love Gone Flat" (Falzarano) #"Bulletproof Vest" (Falzarano) #"Ken Takes a Lude" (Kaukonen) #"

San Francisco Bay Blues "San Francisco Bay Blues" is an American folk song and is generally considered to be the most famous composition by Jesse Fuller. Fuller first recorded the song in 1954, which was released by the World Song label in 1955. A "one-man band" renditi ...

" (

Jesse Fuller Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". Early life Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta. He was sent by his mother to live with ...

) #"Happy Turtle Song" (Kaukonen)

Personnel

– vocals, lead guitars, rhythm guitars, lap steel guitar, dobro *

– bass, 4-string guitar, 5-string guitar, fretless guitar, background vocals *

– rhythm guitar *Harvey Sorgen – drums *Galen Underwood – keyboards, background vocals, rhythm guitar on "Urban Moon", "Shot in the Act", and "Flying in the Face of Mr. Blue", sequenced percussion on "Urban Moon" ;Additional personnel *

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

– background vocals on "Parchman Farm" and "Eve of Destruction" *The Phantoms (Charlie Staxx, Joe Veillette, Jane Veillette) – background vocals on "Urban Moon", "Brand New Toy", "To Be With You", and "Flying in the Face of Mr. Blue" *Vanessa Lillian, Ginger Lee, Rick Sanchez – background vocals on "Bulletproof Vest"

Production

– producer *Rick Sanchez – co-producer, engineer, mixdown at Beartracks *Michael Caplan – executive producer *Harvey Leeds – executive producer *Galen Underwood – production assistance *Ira Wilkes – production coordination *Harvey Sorgen – second engineer at Dreamland *John Yates – second engineer at Dreamland *Doug Rose – second engineer *Carl Studna – cover photo *Vanessa Lillian – art direction *Howard Fritzson – design

References

''Pair a Dice Found''
on

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

''Pair a Dice Found''
on deaddisc.com # # # # #

Notes

{{Authority control Hot Tuna albums 1990 albums Epic Records albums