The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (PERRO) was a loose conglomeration of Bay Area musicians who recorded together in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Best known as members of some of the greatest and most succesfull recording ensembles of the era, such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, what many people don’t realise that these musicians had been playing together for a decade or so before these home recordings were made.
Paul Kantner, Jerry Garcia, David Crosby and others had been friends for a long time. Way before they were famous they had played together in various folkclubs and coffee houses, as well as at private parties and in each others’ homes.
It is all too easy to perceive Superstars as having arrived into our communal consciousness fully fledged and with their repertoire fully formed. But, of course, the truth is nothing of the sort.
These extremely rare recordings give a uniquely valuable look behind the scenes at the creative processes of some of the most important songwriters and musicians of their generation, and it shows how the creative bond between them survived all the vicissitudes of fame and fortune, and was just as important in the early 1970s as it was when they were first starting out.
These recordings are so intimate and special that listening to them almost makes you feel like you are intruding on a series of private moments, and everyone involved should be congratulated for making such personal material available to the public at large. Well done to you all.
