Drummer Skip Spence had left the band in the summer of 1966 as had original vocalist Signe Anderson. They were replaced by Spencer Dryden and Grace Slick.
Slick had previously been in a band The Great Society with her husband Jerry and when she left she took with her her own song 'White Rabbit' and also 'Somebody To Love' written by Jerry's brother Darby Slick. Both appeared on this album and were issued as singles.
Jerry Garcia was credited on the album cover as 'musical and spiritual advisor' and he also added guitar to several tracks though this fact was refuted by producer Rick Jarrard. According to road manager Bill Thompson, Garcia was definitely there and even came up with the name for the album when he commented 'That's as surrealistic as a pillow'.
She Has Funny Cars
Written by vocalist Marty Balin and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, this song deals with the materialistic society in the US. The song recorded on 31 October 1966 provides the first example of the wonderful blend between the voices of Balin and Slick. It also features Jack Casady playing a bass with a 'fuzzy' sound similar to that employed by Paul McCartney on 'Think For Yourself' from 'Rubber Soul'.
Somebody To Love
Darby Slick's song was rather different when played at a much slower pace by The Great Society. With it's rockier arrangement, Jefferson Airplane took the song to a new level and thanks to regular features in movies and TV shows, it has become arguably the best known song by the Airplane. The track was recorded on 3 November 1966.
My Best Friend
Although Alexander 'Skip' Spence had left the band to form Moby Grape by the time this album was recorded, the band decided to include this jaunty love song written by their former drummer. It was also the first single released from the album.
Today
A beautiful ballad written by Marty Balin and Paul Kantner and sung by the former. According to Balin, Tony Bennett was recording in the next studio and Balin decided to try to write a song for Bennett to record. They never met and the song was destined to be covered by the lesser known Tom Scott. The gorgeous repetitive guitar part was played by Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead.
Comin' Back To Me
A lovely song composed by Balin while under the influence of marijuana provided by Paul Butterfield of the Butterfield Blues Band. The recorder part is played by Grace Slick. It was recorded on 1 November 1966.
3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds
Another Marty Balin composition starts side two of the vinyl album. I feel that Balin was always more adept at writing beautiful ballads but a rock song was required to kick off side two and this fits the bill.
DCBA-25
Paul Kantner takes solo writing credits for this song which he later revealed is named after the chord sequence that accompanies the melody. The number 25 refers to LSD-25. The track was recorded on 15 November 1966.
How Do You Feel
Vocally and musically this song draws comparisons with the work of The Mamas & The Papas another US folk/rock group who gained popularity in the mid 1960's. The song is credited to Tom Mastin who had played with Michael Brewer as Mastin & Brewer. It features nice three part harmony vocals from Slick, Balin and Kantner and more recorder from Slick.
Embryonic Journey
This short instrumental was the first piece ever written by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as far back as 1962. A fingerpicking workout, he never intended for it to appear on the album but it did so on the insistence of producer Rick Jarrard.
White Rabbit
When performed with The Great Society, this song was a totally different beast. At over six minutes in length, it was part Ravel's 'Bolero', part Miles Davis 'Sketches of Spain' and part 'Alice in Wonderland'. Featuring lengthy guitar solos and even Grace Slick playing oboe, it was a live favourite of the time.
Jefferson Airplane cut the song down to less than three minutes focusing on the drug imagery of the lyrics.
Slick herself was never totally happy with it but the public disagreed and it became a hit single as well as going on to define the drug fuelled mid to late 1960's.
Plastic Fantastic Lover
Recorded on the same 3 November session as 'White Rabbit', this Marty Balin song is a rant against one of America's favourite obsessions, the TV.
The fusion of folk and rock utilised on this album was totally unique at the time and the album influenced not only other US bands and artists but also others from farther afield - most notably a young group of folk musicians in England who called themselves Fairport Convention.
No comments:
Post a Comment