The Phosphorescent Rat is the fourth album by the blues rock group Hot Tuna, released in early 1974 as Grunt BFL1-0348. This was the first Hot Tuna album recorded after guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass player Jack Casady had left Jefferson Airplane. They were joined as before by drummer Sammy Piazza, though Papa John Creach had left the band for Jefferson Starship. The band's playing was moving away from the softer, more acoustic sound of their first three albums, and towards a hard rock sound that would be explored on their next three albums.
| The Phosphorescent Rat | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Hot Tuna | ||||
| Released | January 3, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | May – October 1973 at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco | |||
| Genre | Blues rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 37:46 | |||
| Label | Grunt | |||
| Producer | Mallory Earl | |||
| Hot Tuna chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C[2] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated)[3] |
Track listing
editAll songs written by Jorma Kaukonen, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I See the Light" | 4:15 |
| 2. | "Letter to the North Star" (also recorded as "Lord Have Mercy" for Quah; released as a bonus track) | 2:31 |
| 3. | "Easy Now" (later re-recorded with new lyrics as "Easy Now Revisited" for Steady as She Goes) | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Corners Without Exits" | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Day to Day Out the Window Blues" | 3:26 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In the Kingdom" | 5:26 | |
| 2. | "Seeweed Strut" (instrumental) | 3:25 | |
| 3. | "Living Just for You" | 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Soliloquy for 2" | 3:42 | |
| 5. | "Sally, Where'd You Get Your Liquor From?" (instrumental) | Reverend Gary Davis | 2:56 |
Personnel
edit- Jorma Kaukonen – vocals, guitars
- Jack Casady – electric bass, bass balalaika
- Sammy Piazza – drums, spoons, percussion
- Additional personnel
- Tom Salisbury – conductor of strings and woodwinds on "Corners Without Exits" and "Soliloquy for 2"
- Andrew Narell – steel drums on "Living Just for You"
- Production
- Pat Ieraci – production coordinator
- Mallory Earl – recording engineer, mixing engineer
- Steve Mantoani – assistant engineer
- Marek A. Majewski – cover design
- Recorded at Wally Heider's, San Francisco
- Mastered at The Lacquer Channel, Sausalito
References
edit- ^ Ruhlmann, William (2011). "The Phosphorescent Rat - Hot Tuna | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: H". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Breschard, Jack (2011). "Hot Tuna: Phosphorescent Rat : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2011.