AMG Review of Splashdown

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

This archival release is taken from a broadcast on New York radio station WQIV-FM on July 25, 1975, and features the duo of guitarist Jorma Kaukonen playing acoustic and bassist Jack Casady performing at the station. At the time, Hot Tuna recently had released its America's Choice album, but this set harks back to the group's 1970 debut album, Hot Tuna, both in its acoustic format and in the selection of mostly folk-blues standards. The performance also has an informality and intimacy that rivals the debut. Casual fans are likely to find the album redundant, but more fervent followers rejoiced when this album appeared nine years after the broadcast occurred and five years after the group's apparent demise. The album's title is derived from the re-entry of an Apollo spacecraft during the broadcast, which is mixed in with the performance of "Police Dog Blues."