Track Listing
A1: She Has Funny Cars
A2: Somebody To Love
A3: My Best Friend
B1: Today
B2: Comin' Back To Me
C1: 3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds
C2: D.C.B.A. - 25
C3: How Do You Feel
D1: Embryonic Journey
D2: White Rabbit
D3: Plastic Fantastic Lover
Acid-Rock Experimentalism and Folk-Based Arrangements Yield Mysteriousness, Darkness, and Beauty
They were the best of times for Jefferson Airplane, and the good vibes are heard throughout the band's iconic Surrealistic Pillow. The group's first album with vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden, the 1967 effort bowed as the first psychedelic-rock breakout from the potent San Francisco scene, climbing to #3 and boasting two Top 10 singles. By bringing the then-unpolluted counterculture to the attention of the mainstream, the effort ranked by Rolling Stone #146 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time eradicated boundaries and opened up creative vistas for a parade of like-minded artists that followed.
Offering wider, deeper grooves for better information retrieval and superior pacing, this deluxe set gives listeners the chance to enjoy Jefferson Airplane's blockbuster set in faithful-to-the-original mono without having to pay a premium. Along with immersive detail and dynamics, the level of instrumental and vocal separation allows the sensory-altering songs' complexities to emerge with full-bloom colour and renewed perspective. While fans have always preferred the original mono version of the LP, it went out of print soon after its release, causing prices to soar.
Allegedly given its name by Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who remarked that the music was as surrealistic as a pillow, Jefferson Airplane's sophomore effort remains renowned for its inimitable combination of collective symmetry, concise melodic frameworks, and razor-edged assertiveness. Reflecting the atmosphere of the period, the sextet spread the songwriting duties among all the members. Slick and Marty Balin share lead vocal duties. Jorma Kaukonen and Paul Kantner come into their own as guitarists. The family affair even extended to Garcia, who plays on several tracks and by nearly all accounts, served as the record's arranger and spiritual guide. Never again would the Airplane convey so much in such a straightforward fashion.
Surrealistic Pillow folds acid-rock experimentalism into folk-derived constructs with a blend of mysteriousness, assuredness, darkness, beauty, and romanticism that mirrored the very traits Slick possessed. Her authoritative, clarion-call voice leaps out from the explosive, fractal-pulsating smash "Somebody to Love" like a truthful challenge that cannot be ignored. Similarly, Slick's measured deliveries and Alice In Wonderland-inspired lyrics give the bolero-based "White Rabbit" its hallucinogenic power while simultaneously bringing drug references into mainstream culture.
Of course, the former model's two songs don't define Surrealistic Pillow - they merely reflect its kaleidoscopic brilliance. Slick and Balin duet to enchanting effect on "She Has Funny Cars." Stripped to its bare acoustic foundations, the mellow ballad "Comin' Back To Me" shimmers and whispers, a quaint recorder underlining echoing the yearning mood. Similarly quixotic, the instrumental "Embryonic Journey" hints at the possibilities explored throughout the album and particularly manifested on the gorgeously textured "Today," originally written for Tony Bennett. Inside these 34 minutes, Jefferson Airplane achieves sublime surrealism - and more.
GAIN 2(TM) Ultra Analog(TM) System for Vinyl
GAIN 2 Ultra Analog(TM) is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's founding fathers - Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL's most heralded past releases.
The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog(TM) system is comprised of a Studer(TM) tape machine with customised reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog(TM) system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)
First and foremost, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs only utilise first generation original master recordings as source material for their releases. MFSL then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog(TM) system to fully extract the master's sonic information. The lacquers are then plated in a specialised process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial playback, but as the disc is played more, a high-quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). MFSL further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors' items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.
Album Credits
Produced by Rick Jarrard
Engineered by Dave Hassinger
Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Krieg Wunderlich, assisted by Rob LoVerde at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA on the GAIN 2 ULTRA ANALOG SYSTEM.
Release Information
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, MFSL 2-456
Series: Gain 2(TM) Ultra Analog, 45RPM 180g Mono Series
Format: 2x Vinyl LP, 45 RPM, Mono, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Numbered
Country: US
Released: 2015
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
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