Jefferson Airplane – Bless Its Pointed Little Head
(RCA Records 1969 SF8019)
UK Pressing
Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
Vinyl in Excellent+ condition
(Plays great apart from a mark at the very start of track 2 which gives a few clicks before the vocals start)
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.
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 as RCA Victor LSP-4133.
Five songs on the album had not appeared on any of the band’s previous studio recordings. Many of the Airplane’s recordings on the live album were longer in length than their studio performances. The performance emphasized their vocal harmonies and revealed a harder rocking group. Guitar and bass lines were more in-depth in their construction, revealing complex instrumentals. It distinguished a different focus in their live concerts compared to their studio albums.
Rush bassist Geddy Lee ranked this as one of his top fifteen favorite albums.
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | “Clergy” (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Jefferson Airplane | 1:37 |
| 2. | “3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds” (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Marty Balin | 4:39 |
| 3. | “Somebody to Love” (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Darby Slick | 4:15 |
| 4. | “Fat Angel” (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Donovan Leitch | 7:36 |
| 5. | “Rock Me Baby” (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | traditional, arranged by Jefferson Airplane | 7:45 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | “The Other Side of This Life” (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Fred Neil | 6:48 |
| 2. | “It’s No Secret” (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Balin | 3:31 |
| 3. | “Plastic Fantastic Lover” (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Balin | 3:53 |
| 4. | “Turn Out the Lights” (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Paul Kantner, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick, Spencer Dryden | 1:24 |
| 5. | “Bear Melt” (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Kantner, Casady, Kaukonen, G. Slick, Dryden | 11:22 |
Personnel
- Marty Balin – vocals, bass on “Fat Angel”
- Jack Casady – bass, rhythm guitar on “Fat Angel”
- Spencer Dryden – drums
- Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar, second lead guitar on “Fat Angel”
- Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals
- Grace Slick – vocals
- Production
- Al Schmitt – producer
- Rich Schmitt – engineer
- Pat Ieraci – beret
- Jim Smircich – cover photography
- Bill Thompson – poster
- Gary Blackman – art direction
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