Maps of Music

Manhole (1974)

Where the lyrics of Manhole take you, and where it was really made.

The album was conceived as the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, yet no film existed behind it.

Key places

Where the sessions began (1974)

Recording site Soapbox West — Sessions for the album began in April 1973 at this studio in San Francisco. Most Airplane-related projects had been recorded here since 1969. The point marks the city center, not the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Orchestra sessions in London (1974)

Recording site Olympic Studios — The team flew to London to add orchestration and booked three sessions here with the London Symphony Orchestra. The orchestral parts for the title track were recorded at this studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Manhole is the first solo album by Grace Slick, released on January 4, 1974 by Grunt/RCA Records
• The album is credited only to Grace Slick, and she drew all of its artwork
• It was conceived as the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, noted by the title of the second track, "Theme from the Movie Manhole"
• The album was released in the United States with the Grunt label catalogue number BFL1-0347

Background

• Jefferson Airplane finished its tour for Long John Silver in September 1972 and then went on hiatus
• Kantner, Slick and Freiberg made the album Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun, released in May 1973
• Manhole used much the same cast of players as Baron von Tollbooth, now credited under Slick's own name
• The Airplane's 1971 contract with RCA for Grunt Records required at least one Slick solo album

Recording

• Sessions began in April 1973 at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco
• Slick kept a nighttime schedule, so sessions were held in the evenings
• Orchestral parts were recorded in London at Olympic Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra
• Kantner and Freiberg co-produced the album with Keith Grant and Steven Schuster

Cover

• The cover is a self-portrait of the artist showing her new curly hairstyle
• The back cover shows the studio, with figures at the mixing desk watching an orchestra through the window

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Artist

Formation

• Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing, October 30, 1939) is an American musician and painter.
• Early in her career she performed with the Great Society, a band she formed in San Francisco in 1965.
• She was a prominent figure in San Francisco's psychedelic scene from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.

Career

• Slick became lead singer of Jefferson Airplane in late 1966 after Signe Toly Anderson left the band.
• Surrealistic Pillow (1967) included "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love", both top-ten US Billboard hits.
• She formed Jefferson Starship with Paul Kantner in 1974 and released several solo albums, including Dreams.
• With Starship she sang co-lead on two number-one hits, "We Built This City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now".
• She retired from music in 1990 and continues to work as a visual artist.
• In 1996 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Jefferson Airplane.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard called it a "heady, ethereal effort" designed for listeners who enjoy music that rambles on topics the audience cannot relate to
• Billboard also praised the adventurous musical effects and said Grace's voice is fine and powerful
• Robert Christgau at The Village Voice wrote that she sounds tired and that the album is as inflated as the worst Airplane

Reappraisal

• Joe Viglione at AllMusic called it an alien concoction that works on many levels as great head music
• Viglione concluded that the music is wonderfully dense, macabre and exhilarating
• Viglione described Manhole as orchestrated psychedelia at its finest

Records

• The album underperformed commercially and reached No. 127 on the Billboard charts
• It was the worst showing for any Airplane-related release since the 1966 debut
• The single "¿Come Again? Toucan", backed by an edited three-minute version of the title track, failed to chart
• RCA had spent heavily on the record and was disappointed with the result

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title was a reaction to women pressing Slick about women's liberation, and she used it sarcastically
• Engineer Bob Matthews recalled that Slick often worked through the night and sometimes skipped sessions, leaving Paul Kantner and David Freiberg to do the work
• Slick waited until 6 in the morning, when the Mexican janitor appeared, to have him help translate her Spanish-sounding words while he emptied garbage cans
• The album came with an extensive booklet that included a fictional ad for a "Grunt Record Eating Contest"
• Keith Grant, Steven Schuster and the London Symphony Orchestra worked on the orchestral sections, which were recorded in London

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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