Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow LP 5135 Vinyl Record 2002 Mono NEW SHRINK

$

40

Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow LP 5135 Vinyl Record 2002 Mono NEW SHRINK

Track listing

1. "She Has Funny Cars" (Jorma Kaukonen, Marty Balin) – 3:14
2. "Somebody to Love" (Darby Slick) – 3:00
3. "My Best Friend" (Skip Spence) – 3:04
4. "Today" (Balin, Paul Kantner) – 3:03
5. "Comin' Back to Me" (Balin)  – 5:23

6. "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" (Balin) – 3:45
7. "D.C.B.A.–25" (Kantner) – 2:39
8. "How Do You Feel" (Tom Mastin)  – 3:34
9. "Embryonic Journey" (Kaukonen) – 1:55
10. "White Rabbit" (Grace Slick) – 2:32
11. "Plastic Fantastic Lover" (Balin) – 2:39

The second album by Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow was a groundbreaking piece of folk-rock-based psychedelia, and it hit like a shot heard round the world; where the later efforts from bands like the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and especially, the Charlatans, were initially not too much more than cult successes, Surrealistic Pillow rode the pop charts for most of 1967, soaring into that rarefied Top Five region occupied by the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and so on, to which few American rock acts apart from the Byrds had been able to lay claim since 1964. 

And decades later the album still comes off as strong as any of those artists' best work. From the Top Ten singles "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" to the sublime "Embryonic Journey," the sensibilities are fierce, the material manages to be both melodic and complex (and it rocks, too), and the performances, sparked by new member Grace Slick on most of the lead vocals, are inspired, helped along by Jerry Garcia (serving as spiritual and musical advisor and sometimes guitarist). 

Every song is a perfectly cut diamond, too perfect in the eyes of the bandmembers, who felt that following the direction of producer Rick Jarrard and working within three- and four-minute running times, and delivering carefully sung accompaniments and succinct solos, resulted in a record that didn't represent their real sound. Regardless, they did wonderful things with the music within that framework, and the only pity is that RCA didn't record for official release any of the group's shows from the same era, when this material made up the bulk of their repertory. That way the live versions, with the band's creativity unrestricted, could be compared and contrasted with the record. 

The songwriting was spread around between Marty Balin, Slick, Paul Kantner, and Jorma Kaukonen, and Slick and Balin (who never had a prettier song than "Today," which he'd actually written for Tony Bennett) shared the vocals; the whole album was resplendent in a happy balance of all of these creative elements, before excessive experimentation (musical and chemical) began affecting the band's ability to do a straightforward song. The group never made a better album, and few artists from the era ever did. 

Not many bands go from an auspicious debut to an even greater second album, but Jefferson Airplane was no ordinary band. Quickly filling the drum position vacated by Skip Spence, they tapped session drummer and jazz specialist Spencer Dryden. For the co-lead vocalist position left open by Signe Anderson’s departure, they looked no further than the Great Society vocalist Grace Slick. 

Convinced to join Jefferson Airplane by bassist Jack Casady, Slick signed on and the band bought out her contract with the Great Society for $750. With the new lineup complete, they began work on Surrealistic Pillow.

In addition to her strong vocal skills and model-ready looks, Grace Slick also brought with her two songs which would be recorded for the new album and would help break the band on an international scale. “Somebody to Love,” written by her then brother-in-law Darby Slick, had already been released on a single to little fanfare by the Great Society, from a session produced by Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart. 

“White Rabbit,” an interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” was Grace’s own composition. And boy, if RCA was nervous over lyrics on the band’s first album, they must’ve been positively apoplectic when they heard “White Rabbit”! (For more, see the entry for Jefferson Airplane Takes Off.) Nevertheless, the song was released as a single, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

The other Slick-associated song, “Somebody to Love,” fared even better, reaching #5. Sales of these two chart-topping singles not only drove Surrealistic Pillow sales through the roof, they also tipped the balance of power away from band founder Marty Balin to Slick. It was a one-two punch from which Balin never fully recovered.

The album’s heady mix of folk rock and psychedelia had a much harder edge than the band’s debut. Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen’s stinging leads and Slick’s tough, assured vocals marked a major move forward. 

Lead track “She Has Funny Cars” updated the Bo Diddley beat for a new generation while album closer “Plastic Fantastic Lover” is a multi-color swirl, driven by Kaukonen and Casady’s swooping bass lines. 

In between, the album’s quality control never lags. With all but two selections written by the band, it is also a stellar showcase of their songwriting abilities that, as previously noted, had been significantly strengthened by Slick’s arrival.

Initially released in mono and stereo versions, the mono edition quickly went out of print due to the period’s preference for stereo. Collectors fortunate enough to obtain a mono copy noted that the mix was much more powerful and clearer than the stereo mix, with much less echo and reverb. 

Consequently, the mono version became a much-desired collectable. 

After a decades long absence, Sundazed makes the prized mono version of Surrealistic Pillow available again on deep groove 180-gram vinyl. Mastered from the original analog RCA session tapes and packaged in a vibrant recreation of the LP jacket artwork, this seminal album awaits its debut on your turntable!