Grace Slick & The Great Society 2LP 1971 compilation psych Jefferson Airplane

	A$		35
	$		23

Grace Slick & The Great Society 2LP 1971 compilation psych Jefferson Airplane

Original US pressing on CBS G 30459 under the title “Grace Slick & Great Society, The - Collector's Item From The San Francisco Scene”

The Great Society (aka The Great! Society!!) were a 1960s San Francisco rock band that existed from 1965 to 1966, and were closely associated with the burgeoning Bay Area acid rock scene. Best known as the original group of model-turned-singer Grace Slick, the initial line-up of the band also featured her then-husband Jerry Slick on drums, his brother Darby Slick on guitar, David Miner on vocals and guitar, Bard DuPont on bass, and Peter van Gelder on flute, bass, and saxophone. Miner and DuPont would not remain with the band for the duration of its existence.

In the late summer of 1965, Grace, Darby, and Jerry were inspired by The Beatles to start their own group, assembling it fairly quickly. Grace has also said that seeing Jefferson Airplane perform for the first time was an influence as well. The band made its debut at the Coffee Gallery in San Francisco's North Beach section on October 15, 1965 and continued to perform throughout 1966.

The band released only one single during its lifetime, the Darby Slick penned "Someone to Love" (b/w "Free Advice"). The single was issued in February 1966 on Autumn Records' tiny Northbeach subsidiary label and made little impact outside of the Bay Area. While signed to Autumn Records, the band worked with the label's staff producer, Sylvester Stewart (better known as Sly Stone), who at the time was still in the process of forming his own band, Sly and the Family Stone. Purportedly, Stewart would eventually walk out as the band's producer after it took The Great Society over fifty takes to record a version of the song "Free Advice" that was suitable for release.

Momentum for the band began to build as they started opening for Jefferson Airplane and other successful local bands, with Columbia Records offering The Great Society a recording contract. By the time the contract arrived in the mail, however, Grace had been spirited away to replace departing vocalist Signe Toly Anderson in the Airplane, taking "Someone to Love" and her own composition, "White Rabbit", one of Great Society's live showcases, with her. Jefferson Airplane went on to record "Someone to Love" (retitled as "Somebody to Love") and "White Rabbit" themselves, with both songs being issued by the band as singles during 1967, reaching No. 5 and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. Since Grace Slick had been both the visual and musical focal point, the band could not survive without her and disbanded in the fall of 1966. Grace and Jerry Slick would divorce as well.

After Grace Slick had found fame with Jefferson Airplane, Columbia Records in 1968 released tapes of live performances by The Great Society, on the albums Conspicuous Only in its Absence and How It Was. All of those performances were recorded at The Matrix, a small nightclub in the Cow Hollow section of San Francisco whose house band was Jefferson Airplane. These two albums were later repackaged as a double LP named Collector's Item in 1971.

Sally Go 'Round The Roses    6:32

Didn't Think So            3:23

Grimly Forming           3:54

Somebody To Love    4:28

Father Bruce 3:31

Outlaw Blues 2:28

Often As I May              3:43

Arbitration      4:59

White Rabbit 6:15

That's How It Is           2:39

Darkly Smiling              3:08

Nature Boy      3:10

You Can't Cry 2:58

Daydream Nightmare              4:34

Everybody Knows      2:37

Born To Be Burned     3:13

Father                6:35

CONDITION:

SLEEVE: VG++ Shelf & ring wear & rubbing, no damage

RECORDS: EX

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