96. Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow (February 1967)

1. She Has Funny Cars

2. Somebody to Love*

3. My Best Friend

4. Today*

5. Comin' Back to Me

6. 3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds

7. D.C.B.A.-25

8. How Do You Feel

9. Embryonic Journey

10. White Rabbit*

11. Plastic Fantastic Lover

B

Conventional wisdom has it that there are only two good songs on this album. I used to agree with that, and was honestly not looking forward to Surrealistic Pillow. Coming back to it now, years later, I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. I think the big problem with this album is just that the two hit singles ("Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit") not only both stand head and shoulders above the rest of the material here, but they aren't at all representative of the sound of the album as a whole. So people coming to this album hoping for the Grace Slick experience, and a load of druggy psychedelia, are probably going to be disappointed by the more folk-rock sound of the other songs. 

Still, they aren't bad songs (well, mostly - "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" and "Plastic Fantastic Lover" both kind of suck). And this album was obviously pretty influential. I know Jefferson Airplane had a pretty big impact on the Fairport Convention, for example; and I love that band. Almost 60 years later, it can be easy to forget that what sounds like generic folk rock now was actually new and exciting when it first came out. And the song "Today" is genuinely beautiful, with a haunting high-pitched guitar riff and simple lyrics about giving yourself to someone in love. I also quite like "Comin' Back to Me", another gentle folk ballad. And "Embryonic Journey" is a very pretty, and very impressive, instrumental guitar piece.

Really, though, the main reason anyone cares about this album these days is because of Grace Slick. Her voice was one of the most distinctive and beautiful in rock, a laser-focused contralto that could swing from gentle cooing to the banshee wail of "Somebody to Love" to the twisted acid declamations of "White Rabbit" (which she also wrote). Slick unfortunately only sings lead on two songs, but her voice twists and winds its way through the background of many of the songs here, and it's easily the best thing about the album. I don't think anyone forgets the first time they hear "White Rabbit", with its bolero rhythms and acid-drenched, Alice in Wonderland-inspired lyrics, all delivered by Slick in her stern, icy tones like she's the Ancient Mariner or something. I believe I first encountered it in the movie The Game, for example. 

So, a handful of brilliant songs, a fresh new sound, and only a couple of clunkers. Apparently this was the album that introduced San Francisco to the wider world, being as it was a massive hit. Which means that it's incredibly important album irrespective of musical quality. I am glad that this project has forced me to give it a second chance. I doubt I'll listen to it again any time soon, but it's definitely better than I remember it being.