Editing Hot Tuna (section)

=== 1974–1977: Power trio ===
As the band prepared for its 1974 tour in support of ''The Phosphorescent Rat'', Kaukonen laid off Piazza after deciding to have the band return to its semi-acoustic repertoire.<ref name=GotA /> Kaukonen and Casady then proceeded to record Kaukonen's first solo album, ''[[Quah (album)|Quah]]''. However, July 1974 marked a departure from their primarily bluesy, acoustic style when Hot Tuna dropped their acoustic sets completely and morphed into a heavy rock band. In October 1974, the group performed on ''[[The Midnight Special (TV series)|The Midnight Special]]''.

The albums ''[[America's Choice]]'' (1975), ''[[Yellow Fever (album)|Yellow Fever]]'' (1975), and ''[[Hoppkorv]]'' (1976) showcase a [[power trio]] with the addition of new drummer [[Bob Steeler]]. Jeff Tamarkin's liner notes on the RCA "Platinum Gold Hot Tuna Collection" characterize this trilogy as being emblematic of the band's "rampage years." Kaukonen is quoted as saying the change of focus was because "it was just fun to be loud." During this period, Kaukonen's electric guitar playing was multi-layered, prominently showcasing such effects as the Roland Jet phaser. His "rampage" style is typified by the solos on "Funky #7" and "Serpent of Dreams" on ''America's Choice'' and "Song for the Fire Maiden," "Sunrise Dance with the Devil," and "Surphase Tension" on ''Yellow Fever''. Live performances throughout the epoch were distinguished by free-flow improvisational jams and very long sets (up to six hours uninterrupted) with extended versions of their studio material. A November 1976 concert at the Palladium in New York City featured a 16-minute version of "Invitation." However, producer [[Harry Maslin]] did not appreciate the group's style and held them to a more traditional rock format (including several cover songs) for ''Hoppkorv''. In 1977, Kaukonen began to perform solo sets before the band would perform. The trio stopped touring at the end of 1977 and performed its final concert at the Palladium on November 26, with keyboardist Nick Buck and saxophonist "Buffalo" Bob Roberts.

Although live performances from all iterations of the group enjoyed a notable [[cult following]] for much of the 1970s, Hot Tuna failed to rival or eclipse Jefferson Airplane and [[Jefferson Starship]] from a commercial standpoint. All but two Hot Tuna albums from the era reached the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Top 100, ''America's Choice'' was their only post-1972 album to chart for more than ten weeks, peaking at No. 75.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/303625/hot-tuna/chart |title=Hot Tuna – Chart history &#124; Billboard |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=June 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827193055/http://www.billboard.com/artist/303625/hot-tuna/chart |archive-date=August 27, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>