Bless Its Pointed Little Head
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| Allmusic |
[1] |
| The Music Box |
[2] |
Bless Its Pointed Little Head is a live album by Jefferson Airplane recorded at both the Fillmore East and West in the fall of 1968 and released in 1969. Five songs on the album had not appeared on any of the band's previous studio recordings. The songs that did appear on previous albums, however, are now completely transformed into much heavier versions. Highlights of the album include Jack Casady's walking line bass playing which dominates the entire set and the blues number "Rock Me Baby" which is a harbinger of Casady's and Kaukonen's later band Hot Tuna.
Of particular interest is the musician lineup on the Donovan cover "Fat Angel", which demonstrates the versatility of the band. Marty Balin plays bass, Casady is the rhythm guitarist while Kaukonen and Kantner share the lead guitar duties. The album closes with the eleven minute improvised jam "Bear Melt", notable for the exceptional rhythm understanding between drummer Spencer Dryden and bassist Casady.
The Fred Neil composition "The Other Side of this Life" was a particular favorite of the band, having been a staple of their live concerts from the band's earliest days.
The instrumental work on "3/5 of a mile in 10 seconds" was notable to many people for the hard-driving nature of the guitar and bass of Kaukonen and Casady. This stood for many as the height of hard rock instrumental playing for many years. It was also among the tracks that were direct predecessors to Hot Tuna.
The 2004 CD reissue features three bonus tracks.
Track listing
Track times from original LP
| Writer(s) |
| 1. |
"Clergy" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) |
Jefferson Airplane |
1:32 |
| 2. |
"3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) |
Marty Balin |
4:37 |
| 3. |
"Somebody to Love" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) |
Darby Slick |
3:46 |
| 4. |
"Fat Angel" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) |
Donovan Leitch |
7:29 |
| 5. |
"Rock Me Baby" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) |
traditional, arranged by Jefferson Airplane |
7:40 |
| Writer(s) |
| 1. |
"The Other Side of This Life" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) |
Fred Neil |
6:35 |
| 2. |
"It's No Secret" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) |
Balin |
3:22 |
| 3. |
"Plastic Fantastic Lover" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) |
Balin |
3:40 |
| 4. |
"Turn Out the Lights" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) |
Paul Kantner, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick, Spencer Dryden |
0:58 |
| 5. |
"Bear Melt" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) |
Kantner, Casady, Kaukonen, G. Slick, Dryden |
11:06 |
| Writer(s) |
| 11. |
"Today" (recorded November 5 at Fillmore West) |
Balin, Kantner |
3:45 |
| 12. |
"Watch Her Ride" (recorded November 5 at Fillmore West) |
Kantner |
3:19 |
| 13. |
"Won't You Try / Saturday Afternoon" (recorded November 5 at Fillmore West) |
Kantner |
5:29 |
Personnel
Production
- Al Schmitt – producer
- Rich Schmitt – engineer
- Pat Ieraci – beret
- Jim Smircich – cover photography
- Bill Thompson – poster
- Gary Blackman – art direction
Charts
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1969 |
Billboard Pop Albums |
17 |
Single
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1969 |
"Plastic Fantastic Lover" |
Billboard Pop Singles |
133 |
References
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| Studio albums |
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| Live albums |
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| Historical live albums |
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| Authorized bootlegs |
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| Compilations |
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| 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" |
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| Selected songs |
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| Filmography |
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