Blows Against the Empire

Blows Against the Empire
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1970
RecordedSummer–fall 1970
StudioPacific High (San Francisco), Wally Heider Studios (San Francisco)
GenreFolk rock, progressive rock, acid rock, psychedelic rock
Length41:41
LabelRCA Victor LSP-4448
ProducerPaul Kantner
Paul Kantner chronology
Blows Against the Empire
(1970)
Sunfighter
(1971)

Blows Against the Empire is a concept album by Paul Kantner, released in 1970 under the name Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship. It is the first album to use the "Starship" moniker, a name which Kantner and Grace Slick would later use for the band Jefferson Starship that emerged after Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen left Jefferson Airplane. From a commercial standpoint, it performed comparably to Jefferson Airplane albums of the era, peaking at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 and receiving a RIAA gold certification.[1] It was one of the first two albums to be nominated for a Hugo Award in the category of Best Dramatic Presentation.[2]

  1. ^ "RIAA Gold and Platinum database retrieved 5 September 2015". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  2. ^ "1971 Hugo Awards". Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2018. The other album nominee for 1970 was Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers by the Firesign Theater comedy group.