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Surrealistic Pillow
Studio album by Jefferson Airplane
Released	February 1967
Recorded	October 31, 1966 – November 22, 1966 in RCA Victor's Music Center, Hollywood, California
Genre	Psychedelic rock, folk rock
Length	33:40
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Rick Jarrard
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone (not rated) link
Jefferson Airplane chronology
Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (1966) Surrealistic Pillow (1967) After Bathing at Baxter's (1967)

Surrealistic Pillow is the second album by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in February 1967. Original drummer Alexander 'Skip' Spence had left the band in mid-1966, replaced by a jazz drummer from Los Angeles, Spencer Dryden. New lead vocalist Grace Slick joined the band in 1966. Both Slick and Dryden debuted with the band on records with this album and its attendant singles, thus completing the best-known line-up of the group, which would remain stable until Dryden's departure in 1970. It's also considered to be one of the quintessential albums of the counterculture movement/social revolution.

Jefferson Airplane's fusion of folk rock and psychedelia was original at the time, in line with musical developments pioneered by The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas, and Bob Dylan. Surrealistic Pillow was the first blockbuster psychedelic album by a band from San Francisco, announcing to the world the active bohemian scene that had developed there starting with The Beats during the 1950s, extending and changing through the 1960s into the Haight-Ashbury counterculture. Subsequently, the exposure generated by the Airplane and others wrought great changes to that counterculture, and by 1968 the ensuing national media attention had precipitated a very different San Francisco scene than had existed in 1966. San Francisco photographer, Herb Greene photographed the band for the album's cover art.

Some controversy exists as to the role of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia in the making of the album. His reputed presence on several tracks is not corroborated by RCA paperwork and is denied by producer Rick Jarrard.^{citation needed} But when performing "Comin' Back to Me" live with Jefferson Starship, Marty Balin almost always introduced the song with a reference to the Surrealistic Pillow sessions, mentioning Garcia as playing the guitar parts on the original studio version.^{citation needed}

Surrealistic Pillow was originally released as RCA Victor LPM/LSP 3766, and peaked at #3 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart, driven by "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love," which peaked at #8 and #5 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album was mixed in both mono and stereo, and both mixes are available on a November 2001 reissue, initially as part of the Ignition box set; another stereo reissue appeared on August 19, 2003, with seven bonus tracks, including the mono A-sides of "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." The 2003 reissue was produced by Bob Irwin.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 146 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."

Track listing

Side one

1. "She Has Funny Cars" (Jorma Kaukonen, Marty Balin) – 3:07
2. "Somebody to Love" (Darby Slick) – 2:54
3. "My Best Friend" (Skip Spence) – 2:59
4. "Today" (Marty Balin, Paul Kantner) – 2:57
5. "Comin' Back to Me" (Marty Balin) – 5:14

Side two

1. "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" (Marty Balin) – 3:39
2. "D.C.B.A. -25" (Paul Kantner) – 2:35
3. "How Do You Feel" (Tom Mastin) – 3:28
4. "Embryonic Journey" (Jorma Kaukonen) – 1:51
5. "White Rabbit" (Grace Slick) – 2:30
6. "Plastic Fantastic Lover" (Marty Balin) – 2:33

2003 CD reissue Bonus Tracks

1. "In the Morning" (Jorma Kaukonen) – 6:20
2. "J.P.P. McStep B. Blues" (Skip Spence) – 2:36
3. "Go To Her (version two)" (Paul Kantner, Irving Estes) – 4:01
4. "Come Back Baby" (Trad., arranged by Jorma Kaukonen) – 2:55
5. "Somebody to Love" (mono single version) (Darby Slick) – 2:57
6. "White Rabbit" (mono single version) (Grace Slick) – 2:30
7. "D.C.B.A. -25" (Paul Kantner) (instrumental - hidden track) – 2:39

Personnel

• Marty Balin - Vocals, Guitar
• Grace Slick - Vocals, Piano, Organ, Recorder
• Paul Kantner - Rhythm guitar, Vocals
• Jorma Kaukonen - Lead guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
• Jack Casady - Bass, Fuzz Bass, Rhythm Guitar
• Spencer Dryden - Drums, Percussion
• Jerry Garcia, musical and spiritual adviser, guitars
• Rick Jarrard – producer
• David Hassinger – engineer
• Recorded in RCA Victor's Music Center of the World, Hollywood California
• Marty Balin – album design
• Herb Green – album photography

Charts

Album

Single

Certifications