Surrealistic Pillow

Production

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, Bob Dylan, The Yardbirds, and The Beatles, among other mid-1960s rock bands. 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. Subsequent 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 denied by producer Rick Jarrard, but he is credited on the RCA label copy, as well as received credits on the Flight Log compilation and the Jefferson Airplane Loves You box set. In his sleeve notes for Early Flight - the 1974 compilation album of previously unreleased material - the band's sometime manager Bill Thompson writes only that Garcia was, "listed as 'spiritual advisor' on the album cover [and] played one of the guitars", on "In The Morning", a track recorded at the Surrealistic Pillow sessions, but first included on the album on the 2003 reissue. Garcia himself recalled in a mid-1967 interview that he had played the high lead on "Today", played on "Plastic Fantastic Lover" and "Comin' Back to Me", and that he had rearranged "Somebody to Love". He also played on two songs not released until the reissue ("JPP McStep B Blues"and "In the Morning") and may have played on "How Do You Feel". Kaukonen said that Garcia was essentially the producer who arranged the songs. A comment by Garcia about the music being "as surrealistic as a pillow" also reportedly inspired the album title.

Mixing

The album was mixed in both mono and stereo. The stereo version includes heavier echo effects not present on the mono version.

Singles and reissues

Two singles were released from the album later in the year, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit", peaked respectively at number five and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and are the band's only Top 40 hits on that chart. Both mono and stereo mixes are available on two 2001 reissues, an RCA Gold CD edition and as part of the Ignition box set. Another stereo reissue appeared on August 19, 2003, with six bonus tracks, including the mono A-sides of "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit". The 2003 reissue was produced by Bob Irwin. The original United Kingdom version of the LP was a mish-mash of the United States version and their first LP, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. "Today" was not released as a single but was played repeatedly on college radio and underground Classic rock stations across the nation repeatedly during the summer of love 1967 and remains one of their most popular songs to date.

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

In January of 2017, "Somebody to Love" received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, while "White Rabbit" received a platinum certification.

Track listing

1. "She Has Funny Cars" (Jorma Kaukonen, Marty Balin) – 3:14
2. "Somebody to Love" (Darby Slick) – 3:00
3. "My Best Friend" (Skip Spence) – 3:04
4. "Today" (Balin, Paul Kantner) – 3:03
5. "Comin' Back to Me" (Balin) – 5:23

6. "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" (Balin) – 3:45
7. "D.C.B.A.–25" (Kantner) – 2:39
8. "How Do You Feel" (Tom Mastin) – 3:34
9. "Embryonic Journey" (Kaukonen) – 1:55
10. "White Rabbit" (Grace Slick) – 2:32
11. "Plastic Fantastic Lover" (Balin) – 2:39

12. "In the Morning" (Kaukonen) – 6:21
13. "J.P.P. McStep B. Blues" (Spence) – 2:37
14. "Go to Her" (Version two) (Kantner, Irving Estes) – 4:02
15. "Come Back Baby" (traditional, arranged Kaukonen) – 2:56
16. "Somebody to Love" (Mono single version) (Darby Slick) – 2:58
17. "White Rabbit" (mono single version) (Grace Slick) / "D.C.B.A.-25" (instrumental; hidden track) – 5:21

1967 UK release

1. "My Best Friend"
2. "3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds"
3. "D.C.B.A. - 25"
4. "How Do You Feel"
5. "Embryonic Journey"
6. "Don't Slip Away" (Balin, Spence)

7. "Come Up The Years" (Balin, Kantner)
8. "Chauffeur Blues" (Lester Melrose)
9. "Today"
10. "Comin' Back To Me"
11. "Somebody To Love"

Personnel

Charts

Album

Single