The first album was in September of 1969. We had all harbored secret doubts about the true musicianship of the Jefferson Airplane, down underneath the screaming from that drunken monkey, Grace Slick. (What an evocative last name for her!) Those doubts were erased instantly when we heard Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady perform the songs on this album.
Not many folks could finger pick like Kaukonen. He'd hammer those steel strings and hurt 'em into making the blues. Casady's bass playing was nothing spectacular, but he sure did have a sincere feel for these types of songs. As with many acoustic blues efforts (see James "Son" Thomas for my experience in this area), they found some of the instrumental fills needed that ubiquitous harp sound. (That's Willow Scarlett doing it here.)
The most unforgettable line in this whole effort, for me, seemed to be an epiphany of the whole Vietnam debacle:
I want to kill somebody
But I don't want to break no law.