Red Octopus

Red Octopus is the second album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released on Grunt Records in 1975. Certified double platinum by RIAA in 1995, it is the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups. The single "Miracles" was the highest-charting single any permutation of the band had until Starship's "We Built This City" a decade later, ultimately peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart; the album itself reached No. 1 for four non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. As was common in the era, stereo and quadraphonic mixes of the album were released concurrently.

Following a guest appearance on the preceding Dragon Fly, Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin returned as a fully integrated member of the ensemble. Balin wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks on the album, including "Miracles." The group attempted to create a commercial sound, which was a total contrast to their past works and paved the musical path for their next two albums.

Personnel

 * Marty Balin – lead (2, 5, 7, 10) and backing vocals
 * Grace Slick – lead (1, 4, 6) and backing vocals, piano (4)
 * Paul Kantner – lead (8) and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
 * Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, backing vocals
 * Papa John Creach – electric violin
 * David Freiberg – bass (3, 6, 9), organ (2, 8), ARP synthesizer (4, 10), keyboards (7), backing vocals
 * Pete Sears – bass (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10), keyboards (3, 5) electric (2, 11) and acoustic (6, 8–10) pianos, organ (6, 8, 9), clavinet (6), ARP synthesizer (9), backing vocals
 * John Barbata – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional personnel
 * Bobbye Hall – percussion, congas
 * Irv Cox – saxophone

Production
 * Jefferson Starship – producer
 * Larry Cox – producer, engineer
 * Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator
 * Steve Mantoani, Jeffrey Husband – recordists
 * Paul Dowell – amp consultant
 * Dave Roberts – string and horn arrangement
 * Recorded and Mixed at Wally Heiders, San Francisco
 * Mastered by Kent Duncan, Kendun Recorders, Burbank
 * Live tracks recorded at Winterland, November 7, 1975
 * Bill Thompson – manager
 * Frank Mulvey – art director
 * Jim Marshall – liner photograph
 * Gribbitt! – graphics