Jefferson Airplane
Surrealistic Pillow

THE REVIEW

1967. It was just before the 1970s. The Jefferson Airplane came from their first album, "Takes Off", centered on a folk-rock sound. The band was made up of very talented musicians: the two guitarists, Kantner (who provides his voice on some songs) and Kaukonen, bassist Casady, lead singer Marty Balin, and two new entrants: drummer Dryden and singer Grace Slick as the female voice.

For the second album, the Jefferson Airplane skillfully fused the sound of the first album with psychedelic elements, of which Kaukonen's acid guitar is a fundamental element, along with the sublime vocal interweaving of Slick and Balin.
Slick's entry into the group brought vitality to the band and the sound; in fact, she arrived with two songs written by her that made the fortune of "Surrealistic Pillow". The tracks in question are the famous "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit": the first is a cheerful hippie anthem with a fast rhythm, the chorus sticks in your mind and never leaves, all garnished with Slick's voice and the catchy acid guitar; the second is a captivating acid-rock piece that starts slow and ends in a great crescendo of sensations explicitly linked to LSD use, with lyrics referencing the story of "Alice in Wonderland" and its oddities tied to the effects of lysergic acid.
As for the other songs, "She Has Funny Cars", "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds", and "Plastic Fantastic Lovers" are great examples of acid-blues-rock;
while "My Best Friend", "Today", "How Do You Feel", and "D.C.B.A." revisit (and improve upon) the folk-rock sounds of "Takes Off".
But the two masterpieces are the instrumental "Embryonic Journey", with a grand performance by Kaukonen on acoustic guitar, and "Coming Back To Me", endowed with a wonderful arpeggio, the sound of a delightful flute, and Balin's suave voice.

In short, an absolutely must-have album, which paved the way for other masterpieces by the American band, like "After Bathing At Baxter's" and their probable career pinnacle, "Volunteers".

Yes, because the Jefferson Airplane is among those musical phenomena, Grateful Dead (incidentally their leader Jerry Garcia collaborates on this album) and Velvet Underground foremost, that most ignited the late '60s and early '70s with their psychedelic concerts and political references.