Grace Slick “Manhole”

Side A (or, “Right Side Up”—yes, it’s one of those) starts out with what sounds like some backwards stuff, you know, tape running backwards. I don’t think sung backwards, though—though maybe Grace Slick could do it. Some of this record is sung in Spanish, but I don’t think I confuse Spanish with backwards English, come on. Though, it could be Spanish backwards, it’s hard to tell. Anyway, kinda weird that two records in a row (randomly selected for review) have backwards stuff. I would have thought that the first time someone did that (whether or not they were chanting “Satan”) would have been quite enough—like putting a PowerPoint chapter in a novel—it’s clever exactly one time—but after that—no.

This strange record from 1973 is all over the place, to say the least, and there’s certainly enough here that I could imagine someone getting quite obsessed with it, while others might dismiss it as too weird—and that alone would get my attention (though I’ve read or heard exactly nothing about this record in the last half-century). Actually, the cover alone was enough to get my attention—a painting or drawing of Grace Slick as Medusa, perhaps—I’m not sure how much it resembles either (might just be split ends) but it looks great—as does the back cover painting or drawing of people (perhaps those involved in this record) in the recording studio. I was looking for the art credits, and then noticed, right on the front: “Child type odd art by Grace.” Also, just the name of the record, “Manhole,” got my attention because, when I thought about it, that word, which describes a “utility hole” is not really used that often (unless you’re a utility worker) and it is possibly used more often as a pun, for either a man’s anus (good), or “deep pit of the grim and pathetic downside of the male segment of the species” (bad). Also, it’s the name of one of my all-time-favorite songs, by Men’s Recovery Project (2005).

This masterpiece is on Grunt Records, which I did have to look up, being curious. I guess it was Jefferson Airplane’s label, at least after 1971. Interesting name for a record label, as it might possibly mean “workers in the trenches” (admirable), or “the sound one makes while pooping” (gross). If this record is any indication, “Grunt” could also have meant “artistic freedom,” or “like pulling teeth.” I’ll go with artistic freedom, or at least freedom from trying to satisfy a certain percentage of expectations in order to sell a certain number of units. Most of the first side is: “Theme from the Movie ‘Manhole’”—and I’m not going to make the assumption that no such movie exists, at least as a movie—but I will make the assumption that such a movie, if it indeed did exist, would be enhanced if you were high—at least a little bit. I was lucky enough, with my used copy of the record, to have a full-size 8-page insert intact. It’s mostly lyrics and credits, but there’s some whimsical foolery as well. Also, a newspaper clipping about a Madrid gas leak explosion that sent manhole covers airborne like breakfast cereal. Side B (or, “Upside Down”) sounds like another adventure entirely—it’s like the cornucopia of pills that are Side A were isolated one at a time (or in limited, manageable cocktails) to make up each of the four songs on Side B. It’s all a lot of fun, actually, and very 1973—and it puts me in mind of the spirit of my first band—despite our limitations—though this isn’t about me.