After Bathing at Baxter's was released in 1967 and is the third album by the San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane. Unlike Surrealistic Pillow, released earlier the same year, After Bathing at Baxter's is classified as psychedelic rock because it eschews the more commercial type pop songs, such as "Somebody to Love", that appeared on the earlier LP. As such, it was a watershed album; Jefferson Airplane was now a much heavier rock group. Jorma Kaukonen's electric guitar was especially more to the forefront in both volume and tone.
Divided into "suites", this musical shift is typified by lengthier and more experimental compositions such as the nine-minute instrumental "Spare Chaynge" and Grace Slick's mammoth and unusual "rejoyce", a homage to James Joyce's novel "Ulysses", with its quirky arrangement and Jack Casady's stentorian bass-line. Many of the album tracks reflect the band's heavy use of the drug LSD. The cover art is by artist Ron Cobb.
Although it peaked in the top twenty, the album failed to garner the same commercial appeal as it's predecessor, mainly due to its experimental sound. The first single, The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil, barely missed the top forty mark, stalling at #42 while the second release, Watch Her Ride, went to #61 on Billboard. Both singles however, made it to the top forty in Cash Box Top 100. The band would return to major commercial success the following year with the more concise Crown of Creation.
Tracks
1. The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil (4:35)
2. A Small Package Of Value Will Come To You, Shortly (1:34)
3. Young Girl Sunday Blues (3:32)
4. Martha (3:26)
5. Wild Tyme (3:08)
6. The Last Wall Of The Castle (2:40)
7. Rejoyce (4:00)
8. Watch Her Ride (3:11)
9. Spare Chaynge (9:11)
10. Two Heads (3:13)
11. Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon (5:02)
Listen
0 Response to 'Jefferson Airplane - After bathing at Baxter's (1967)'
Post a Comment