Grace Slick & The Great Society
Collector's Item

This is my first review, and I wanted to describe an album that hadn't already been brought to the attention of DeBaser readers. But I also deeply believe that one should only review albums that we like, and if possible, that we love, because it attracts more people by conveying our emotions rather than discrediting.
I have to admit it was quite a challenging task, especially satisfying the first condition, because in terms of completeness, no site surpasses DeBaser.

My choice (somewhat forced) fell on "Collector's Item" by Grace Slick & The Great Society.
We are in the San Francisco Bay Area, the year is 1966, experimentation with the effects created by the mixture of music and acids is in vogue (incidentally, LSD is still legal), the so-called "Acid Test" parties, it's the beginning of everything, the "Big Bang" hasn't happened yet (I mean '67, with everything that ensued), everything smells like novelty around; when I think of this period, I associate it with the beginning of summer, a lively June that already lets us anticipate the heat and emotions of the coming August...

And it's precisely in this historical context that the album is set, and I believe it is one of the best representations... It is a collection of live recorded songs in various evenings at different venues in San Francisco. Musically, I find it enlightening because it gathers insights and ideas that will be found in later music: it is a kind of folk-rock, tinged with blues, all flavored with strong acid tones (sharp, vibrant, and electric sounds); but what is truly incredible about this album is represented by the guitar and the voice... It is really difficult to describe in words the emotions that the music provokes, but I'll try nonetheless: the sound of the guitar is the most acidic you’ll ever hear, absolutely hypnotic and repetitive, with very strong oriental influences and never trivial musical themes; and the voice... well, the voice... it is the voice of Grace Slick (for those who don't know her, she is famous as the singer of Jefferson Airplane), in my opinion, the greatest, most wonderful singer that rock has ever given us, in a particularly prolific moment of her artistic career... and here my descriptive abilities fail... the only thing I can say is listen to her and judge thereafter...

The overall level of the songs is rather high, particularly significant are White Rabbit (extremely stretched with a wonderful 4-minute instrumental introduction) and Somebody To Love (in the most beautiful version ever released on record) as future flagship songs of Jefferson Airplane. An album that does not deserve to remain forgotten, both because it is a historical testimony and because it is musically interesting.