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Rock/pop

Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow

Surrealistic Pillow
Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow
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For parents tuning into Top 40 radio in the 60s, hits like “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” probably confirmed their worst fears. The band was the Jefferson Airplane from San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district—the counterculture’s ground zero. The 1967 blockbuster release harboring these hits was Surrealistic Pillow, whose 11 tracks were in reality less trippy psychedelia and more a fusion of rock and folk, with harmonies echoing the Byrds, the Yardbirds, or The Mamas and the Papas. It was the Airplane’s second release and crucially the first with added power-vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden, who joined singer Marty Balin, singer/guitarist Paul Kantner, guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, and bassist Jack Casady. MoFi’s 45rpm double LP is a beautifully packaged gatefold. Sides are short but surfaces are quiet, the sound vintage analog. But what makes this remastering significant is the use of the monaural mix. Much less reverb was applied compared to the stereo originals, giving each track a stunning clarity and detail and intimacy–and a far heavier, more cohesive energy that places the spotlight on the musicianship and enlivens classic tracks like “Today” and “Plastic Fantastic Lover.” If you’ve only known the stereo version, you’re in for a real treat.

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By Neil Gader

My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.

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