After Bathing at Baxter's
After Bathing at Baxter's was released in 1967 and is the third album by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane.
Unlike Surrealistic Pillow, released earlier the same year, After Bathing at Baxter's is classified as psychedelic rock because it eschews the more commercial type pop songs, such as "Somebody to Love," that appeared on the earlier LP. As such, it was a watershed album; Jefferson Airplane was now a much heavier rock group. Jorma Kaukonen's electric guitar was especially more to the forefront in both volume and tone.
Divided into "suites," this musical shift is typified by longer and more experimental compositions such as the nine-minute instrumental "Spare Chaynge" and Grace Slick's mammoth and unusual "rejoyce," an homage to James Joyce's novel Ulysses, with its quirky arrangement and Jack Casady's stentorian bass line. Many of the album tracks reflect the band's heavy use of the drug LSD. The cover art is by artist Ron Cobb.
The album peaked at no. 17. The first single, "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil," barely missed the top 40 mark, charting at #42 while the second release, "Watch Her Ride," charted at #61 on Billboard. Both singles made it to the top 40 in the Cash Box Top 100.[3] The band would continue its major commercial success the next year with Crown of Creation.
Track listing
| Writer(s) |
| 4. |
"Martha" |
Kantner |
3:26 |
| 5. |
"Wild Tyme (H)" |
Kantner |
3:08 |
| Writer(s) |
| 8. |
"Watch Her Ride" |
Kantner |
3:11 |
| 9. |
"Spare Chaynge" (instrumental) |
Jack Casady, Dryden, Kaukonen |
9:12 |
| Writer(s) |
| 10. |
"Two Heads" |
Slick |
3:10 |
| 11. |
"Won't You Try / Saturday Afternoon" |
Kantner / Kantner |
5:09 |
| Writer(s) |
| 12. |
"The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" (long version from Jefferson Airplane Loves You) |
Kantner |
11:04 |
| 13. |
"Martha" (single version B-side RCA #9389) |
Kantner |
3:26 |
| 14. |
"Two Heads" (single version B-side RCA #9297) |
Slick |
3:15 |
| 15. |
"Things Are Better in the East" (demo version) |
Balin |
2:31 |
| 16. |
"Young Girl Sunday Blues" (instrumental; hidden track) |
Balin, Kantner |
3:59 |
Notes
- ^ All lower case according to album notes.
Personnel
Additional personnel
- Gary Blackman – vocals
- Bill Thompson – vocals
Production
- Jefferson Airplane – design, notes, song arrangement
- Al Schmitt – producer
- Richie Schmitt – engineer
- Ron Cobb – album cover
- The Walking Owls – album title
- Alan Pappe – photography
- Recorded at RCA, Hollywood
Charts
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1967 |
Billboard Pop Albums |
17 |
Single
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1967 |
"The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" |
Cash Box Top 100 |
24 |
| 1967 |
"Watch Her Ride" |
Cash Box Top 100 |
37 |
| 1967 |
"The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
42 |
| 1967 |
"Two Heads" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
124 |
| 1967 |
"Watch Her Ride" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
61 |
References
- (1967) Album notes for After Bathing at Baxter's by Jefferson Airplane [Vinyl inset & inside gatefold cover]. New York City: RCA (LSO-1511).
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Studio albums |
|
|
| Live albums |
|
|
| Historical live albums |
|
|
| Authorized bootlegs |
|
|
| Compilations |
|
|
| Singles |
"It's No Secret" · "Come Up the Years" · "Bringing Me Down" · "My Best Friend" · "Somebody to Love" · "White Rabbit" · "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" · "Watch Her Ride" · "Greasy Heart" · "Crown of Creation" · "Plastic Fantastic Lover (live)" · "Volunteers" · "Mexico" · "Pretty as You Feel" · "Long John Silver" · "Twilight Double Leader" · "Summer of Love" · "Planes" · "True Love" |
|
| Selected songs |
|
|
| Filmography |
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|