JEFFERSON AIRPLANE – SURREALISTIC PILLOW LP – Nr MINT UK

Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
(RCA Records  1977  SF7889)
Matrix No’s: A2/B3 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from the odd light pop/crackle)

Jefferson Airplane was a San Francisco, California-based band who pioneered the American counterculture movement as well as psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to achieve international commercial success. They were headliners at the three most famous American rock festivals of the 1960s—Monterey (1967), Woodstock (1969) and Altamont (1969)—in addition to the first Isle of Wight Festival (1968)  in England. Their 1967 break-out record Surrealistic Pillow ranks on the short list of most significant recordings of the “Summer of Love”. Two songs from that album, “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit”, are among Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

The “classic” line-up of Jefferson Airplane remained stable from 1967 to early 1970, and consisted of Marty Balin, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen and Grace Slick. The group broke up in 1972 and split into two bands: Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Surrealistic Pillow is the second studio album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on February 1, 1967, by RCA Victor. It is the first album by the band with vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is considered to be one of the most influential and quintessential works of the early psychedelic rock era and 1960s counterculture.

Track listing

Side one

1. “My Best Friend”
2. “3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds”
3. “D.C.B.A. – 25”
4. “How Do You Feel”
5. “Embryonic Journey”
6. “Don’t Slip Away” (Balin, Spence)

Side two

7. “Come Up the Years” (Balin, Kantner)
8. “Chauffeur Blues” (Lester Melrose)
9. “Today”
10. “Comin’ Back to Me”
11. “Somebody to Love”

Jefferson Airplane

• Marty Balin – vocals, guitar, album design, lead vocals on “Today,” “Comin’ Back to Me,” and “Plastic Fantastic Lover,” co-lead vocals on “She Has Funny Cars,” “My Best Friend,” “Go to Her” and “3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds.”
• Jack Casady – bass guitar, fuzz bass, rhythm guitar
• Spencer Dryden – drums, percussion
• Paul Kantner – rhythm guitar, vocals, lead vocals on “How Do You Feel,” co-lead vocals on “My Best Friend,” “D. C. B. A.-25” and “Go to Her”
• Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, lead vocals on “Come Back Baby” and “In the Morning”
• Grace Slick – vocals, piano, organ, recorder, lead vocals on “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit,” co-lead vocals on “She Has Funny Cars,” “My Best Friend,” “D. C. B. A.-25”, “Go to Her” and “3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds”
• Signe Toly Anderson – lead vocals on “Chauffeur Blues” (UK only)
• Skip Spence – drums on “Don’t Slip Away,” “Come Up the Years,” and “Chauffeur Blues” (UK only)

Additional personnel

• Jerry Garcia – “musical and spiritual advisor”; guitar on “Today”, “Comin’ Back to Me”, “Plastic Fantastic Lover”, “In the Morning”, and “J. P. P. McStep B. Blues”
• Herb Greene – photography
• David Hassinger – audio engineer
• Rick Jarrard – record producer