| Surrealistic Pillow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Jefferson Airplane | ||||
| Released | February 1967[1] | |||
| Recorded | October 31 – November 22, 1966 in RCA Victor's Music Center, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 34:48 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor LSP 3766 | |||
| Producer | Rick Jarrard[2] | |||
| Jefferson Airplane chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [3] |
Surrealistic Pillow is the second album by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in February 1967.[1]
Original drummer Alexander 'Skip' Spence had left the band in mid-1966, replaced by a jazz drummer from Los Angeles, Spencer Dryden, a nephew of Charlie Chaplin. New lead vocalist Grace Slick, formerly of the Great Society, joined the band in 1966. Both Slick and Dryden debuted with the band on records with this album and its attendant singles, thus completing the best-known line-up of the group, which would remain stable until Dryden's departure in early 1970. It is also considered to be one of the quintessential albums of the 1960s counterculture movement.
Contents |
Jefferson Airplane's fusion of folk rock and psychedelia was original at the time, in line with musical developments pioneered by The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas, and Bob Dylan. Surrealistic Pillow was the first blockbuster psychedelic album by a band from San Francisco, announcing to the world the active bohemian scene that had developed there starting with The Beats during the 1950s, extending and changing through the 1960s into the Haight-Ashbury counterculture. Subsequently, the exposure generated by the Airplane and others wrought great changes to that counterculture, and by 1968 the ensuing national media attention had precipitated a very different San Francisco scene than had existed in 1966. San Francisco photographer Herb Greene photographed the band for the album's cover art.[4]
Some controversy exists as to the role of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia in the making of the album. His reputed presence on several tracks is denied by producer Rick Jarrard,[5] but he is credited on the RCA label copy,[5] as well as receiving credits on the Flight Log compilation[6] and the Jefferson Airplane Loves You box set.[7]
Surrealistic Pillow was originally released as RCA Victor LPM/LSP 3766, and peaked at #3 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart, driven by "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love," which peaked at #8 and #5 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album was mixed in both mono and stereo, and both mixes are available on a rare RCA Gold CD edition, a November 2001 reissue, and as part of the Ignition box set. The mono version is actually preferred by some collectors as it has a more powerful sound and significantly less echo and reverb than the stereo mix. Another stereo reissue appeared on August 19, 2003, with seven bonus tracks, including the mono A-sides of "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." The 2003 reissue was produced by Bob Irwin.
The United Kingdom version of the LP is a mish-mash of the United States version and their first LP, "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off".
In the 2003 reissue, "Track 17. White Rabbit(Mono Single Version)" contains an instrumental version of "D.C.B.A. -25" on the end.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 146 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[8]
Personnel and instruments from original LP notes[4]
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Billboard 200 | 3 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "My Best Friend" | Billboard Pop Singles | 103 |
| 1967 | "Somebody to Love" | Billboard Pop Singles | 5 |
| 1967 | "White Rabbit" | Billboard Pop Singles | 8 |
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – USA | Gold | July 24, 1967 |
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