After Bathing at Baxter's [Original recording remastered]
Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Originally released in 1967 (same year but 10 months after Surrealistic Pillow), this RCA/BMG Heritage remastered reissue adds 4 bonus tracks 'The Ballad Of You Me and Pooneil' (live-long version previously unreleased), 'Martha' (single version-mono), 'Two Heads' (alternate version-previously unreleased) & 'Things Are Better In The East' (demo version-previously unreleased). Includes 12-page booklet with extensive liner notes, detailed track listing & rare photos. 2003.
After Bathing at Baxter's, Music, Jefferson Airplane, Folk-Rock, Pop, Psychedelic, Rock, Rock/Pop
Average customer rating:
- I'm Doin' Things That Haven't Got a Name Yet
- here we go
- A Marking Point
- Unsung Hero
- An indispensable example of psychedelia
|
After Bathing at Baxter's
Jefferson Airplane
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
 General
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Pop Rock
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Psychedelic Rock
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Similar Items:
- Crown of Creation
- Volunteers
- Surrealistic Pillow
- Jefferson Airplane Takes Off
- Bless Its Pointed Little Head
ASIN: B0000A0DRX
Release Date: 2003-08-19 |
Tracks:
- The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil
- A Small Package Of Value Will Come To Yo, Shortly
- Young Girl Sunday Blues
- Martha
- Wild Tyme (H)
- The Last Wall Of The Castle
- Rejoyce
- Watch Her Ride
- Spare Chaynge
- Two Heads
- Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
- The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil (Live - Long Version)
- Martha (Mono Single Version)
- Two Heads (Alternate Version)
- Things Are Better In The East
Album Description
Originally released in 1967 (same year but 10 months after Surrealistic Pillow), this RCA/BMG Heritage remastered reissue adds 4 bonus tracks 'The Ballad Of You Me and Pooneil' (live-long version previously unreleased), 'Martha' (single version-mono), 'Two Heads' (alternate version-previously unreleased) & 'Things Are Better In The East' (demo version-previously unreleased). Includes 12-page booklet with extensive liner notes, detailed track listing & rare photos. 2003.
Customer Reviews:
I'm Doin' Things That Haven't Got a Name Yet .......2007-06-16
Read the reviews below to get a sense of the emotional response this album evokes. It's not just a so-called psychedelic album, it's an album of great searching and yearning for an alternate path during times dark with the Vietnam war, the clunky Johnson administration (JKF was still a recent martyr, RFK not yet dead), and the very cold war (Nuclear annihilation anyone?). The baby boomers could not believe the cornucopia of new sounds and experiences available to them, as the radio got looser and everyone began to swap their monophonic record players for high end stereos. This album made no sense to people expecting a continuation of "Pillow", but true fans listened over and over to this record until the grooves were worn out. Something in this album, LSD influenced or not, resonated with a lot of music lovers, and it remains an iconoclastic "screw you" tip o' the hat to the music biz. The Airplane embodied the spirit of the antiestablishmentarianism of the times, a template of non-conformity during a very conformist time (next up, Richard Nixon). Grace Slick et al have become forgotten relics of a time of great passion and desire for a better reality, and god knows we could use a band as rebellious and expressive now. A great aural souvenir of a transitional time in Amerikan culture.
here we go.......2007-06-10
After Bathing At Baxter's isn't quite the outrageous trippy inspiration that many reviewers tend to make it sound. Surprisingly, much of the album is quite listenable and melodic. "Martha", "Wild Tyme", "Watch Her Role" and "Two Heads" are pretty normal songs. Nothing really outrageous about those ones.
The rest of the album is, however, pretty strange. It's also a pretty hard album to give a rating too, because all the experiments probably make it a tricky listen the first few times, but on the other hand, the songs that are melodic and memorable probably are some of Jefferson Airplane's best tunes.
An album worth hearing, and possibly owning. It would probably be wise to save this album for last in your Airplane journey. Just my opinion.
A Marking Point.......2007-06-06
This album was truly a marking point for the band. With the first album being a huge success under their belt, it sounds like they felt they could let the listener into their heads a bit. From start to finish this album is a friendly reminder that experience is what life is about.
Unsung Hero.......2007-05-21
Baxter's is probably the Airplane's finest studio album. No, really! They were at the height of their creative powers, and they took a lot of time in producing this album. They had asked Frank Zappa to produce it, but he was quite busy with his own projects, so they did it themselves. Coming off of their highly successful Surrealistic Pillow, they were clearly working together and developing their music as a unit. With more tracks to work with in the studio, they made full use of them without sounding too cluttered. The songs are well crafted without taking away the sponaneity of what they did in live performances. The album is clearly psychedelic, and the songs are weird, but this is what they were about. This album captures their sound at its finest. There are no real "hits" on this album, which is what I like about it. They were allowed to create music without worrying about Jefferson "airplay."
An indispensable example of psychedelia.......2007-04-18
After Bathing at Baxter's is uncompromising, drug-induced psychedelic music. It could have been produced only on the West Coast and only during the heady experimental era that begun in 1967 and ended before the decade was out. The band's Surrealistic Pillow, released at the beginning of 1967, consisted primarily of radio friendly songs. Baxter's is a wholly different kettle of fish. Although the record sold very well, the last thing that you would call it is commercial. It was never an easy listen. I find that many albums that I thought "out there" when released now sound more or less conventional. Baxter's still sounds as imaginative and avant-garde as it did in 1967. Jorma Kaukonen's guitar and Grace Slick's voice are unique in rock and roll. Whether they are harmonizing or playing off each other Marty Balin and Grace Slick are a perfect paring. Jack Casady really gives his base a good workout. Spencer Dryden shows why a talented drummer is worth his weight in gold (rejoyce). On this record the band members are consistently on the same page. This music is not for everyone. But for those who appreciate the psychedelic genre it is one of the indispensable recordings.
Average customer rating:
- The Airplanes most psychedelic and experimental album.
- The Airplane Crashes and Burns
- A little nostalgia for the old folks
- How much did/will this change your life?
- Bold as Love
|
After Bathing at Baxter's
Jefferson Airplane
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Folk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Psychedelic Rock
| Classic Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classic Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Volunteers
- Crown of Creation
- Electric Music for the Mind and Body
- The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
- The United States of America
ASIN: B000002WVQ
Release Date: 1996-01-30 |
Tracks:
- The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil
- A Small Package Of Value Will Come To You Shortly
- Young Girl Sunday Blues
- Martha
- Wild Tyme
- The Last Wall Of The Castle
- Rejoyce
- Watch Her Ride
- Spare Chaynge
- Two Heads
- Won't You Try Saturday Afternoon
Album Details
Japanese 20bit remaster.
Customer Reviews:
The Airplanes most psychedelic and experimental album........2006-03-21
After Bathing At Baxters, the third album for the Jefferson Airplane is the Airplane at their most psychedelic and experimental. Great songs are joined together by sixties stoner sound effects and studio trickery to make a wonderful continuum of quintesential JA song writing and sonic frivolities that run from the sublime to the annoying. It's uneven to be sure, but Baxters contains some of JA's best songwriting in Martha, Ballad Of You Me & Pooneil, Watch Her Ride and others. Although some folks will say Baxters is really dated due to the indulgent psychedelic interludes, it's also really strong. I'll agree and also say Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles are dated too, so's XTC, so's Mozart, but that doesn't detract from the intrinsic excellence of their music. Baxters is truly a creature of its time and no less enjoyable for it. It's the second album in the triumverate of indispensable Jefferson Airlane albums: Surealistic Pillow, ABAB, and Crown Of Creation. Volunteers is pretty darn good too. So get out your tie dyes, granny glasses, beads and Beatle boots, tune in, turn on, and drop out. It's never too late to just say yes.
The Airplane Crashes and Burns.......2003-07-03
Yes, this album embodies the drug culture of San Francisco 1967. Yes, this album is unique. Yes, this album is aggressively anti-commercial. Does this mean this is a good album? Unfortunately No. That is unless you've lived during the era (in which case this album has nostalgic value), tripped-out during it (apparantly what this was designed for) or are still tripping out. Otherwise, what you will discover is a meandering mess of self-indulgence thrown together by musicians discovering what it's like to have free reign in the studio and dithering around with every nob and button they could find. If that excites you or if you think the excess of Frank Zappa is genius, then maybe you'll love this album. On the other hand, if you were expecting to hear some great songs from the late 60's that still hold resonance today (as you will on the Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow, Crown of Creation or Volunteers albums) you've come to the wrong place because all you'll get here are two or three very good songs in the midst of an anarchist jumble of annoying, time-consuming nonsense that should never have been recorded and released to an unsuspecting and growing fanbase. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the album's meant to be this way because it's all about the whole LSD and drug experience and what it means? Sorry, but unlike a number of reviewers here, I don't look upon that as a *good* thing but as a disgusting, self-destructive misuse of life that has done enormous harm to people's lives (exactly how many years did it take Jorma to break his heroine habit and after how many near-death experiences?). Granted, a number of amazing albums have been written and produced with its musicians on drugs. Sadly, this isn't one of them. It's no coincidence that Marty Balin only co-wrote one song here and his presence is sorely missed. Thankfully, the follow-up, Crown of Creation, took the knowledge they gained on this release and coupled it with good compositions to produce not only one of their finest efforts, but one of the best albums of the era.
A little nostalgia for the old folks.......2003-05-08
As we used to say, when this little piece of vinyl was still hot from the press, "It ain't much, but it'll get you off".
Once considered "underground" and "revolutionary", Baxter's is now a genuine roadside attraction, and a valuable thread in the weave of the American experience. Enjoy this gentle breeze from finer days.
How much did/will this change your life?.......2002-07-05
I used to throw this one on while I was executing psychedelic paintings (tempera paint on poster-board) during sophomore year ('68-'69) at the university.
The first, very long lead guitar note signals the beginning of an epic/epochal journey, which in a way is what this album set out to achieve. It was to be a transformation of the consciousness of our generation, perceived/conceived through what the Airplane offered us through their creativity, experience, and of course their music. It was the herald of a new dawn, a kind of strange bird trumpeting to us of its arrival, and secondarily announcing their new style/sound.
On "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil", you almost don't know what Balin and company are singing about, but somehow it makes perfect sense, in a most visionary sort of way. This is excellent, as they don't fall prey to trying to describe the situation too precisely [if you can say/see exactly what it is, you ain't there!] So what you get is the map of the energy currents your soul can follow in order to travel the paths they are marking. Jefferson Airplane are describing and charting the way into and through the region of numinous. (Who really cares whether or not if it's meant to be thought of as drug-induced? It works either way, I'd say).
Dylan never did it any better than this. When Mr. Zimmerman got into a similar mode ["Gates of Eden", "Desolation Row", "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest", et al.), he was busy creating new prophetic religious texts for the New/Now Generation. Bob created a series of alternate worlds staring at us, right in front of us. Or was he semi-transforming what we always see into what we always know, but don't always realize? Again, either way, it works.
Following "Pooneil", there is the relative short interlude of the happy psychedelic party, a sound-space through which meaningful and/or hilarious one-liners, musical passages/quotations and various conversations float, and which segues into the beautiful, very moving "Young Girl Sunday Blues".
Even more amazing is the beginning of the second suite, the song "Martha", during which we succumb to some of the most beautifully poetic lines imaginable, all which compassionately conspire to take us higher and deeper into and through the new vista. "Martha she speaks to me from a feather in the meadow . . . " This is the one song that starts with an acoustic guitar ostinado, which continues throughout. (A little ways in, it's heavily overlaid, in most a friendly manner, by offerings from the lead electric.)
These first couple of suites, Grace is given free rein to use her voice as an accompaniment instrument (Marty does most of the lead singing). Grace was sort of serving the function of a second lead guitar, of course timbrally different. I wonder if Yoko Ono learned how to sing listening to these pieces? Grace does a great job here. Then, later when she takes the lead on the two severely satirical pieces ["Last Wall of the Castle" and "Two Heads"] her voice assumes its usual, masterful [powerful] attitude. These two songs (and to some extent all of 'side two') more or less forecast what's to come next (album #4: 'Crown of Creation'), where satirical and apocalyptic energy/imagery kick in furiously.
Here on 'Baxters' there's not yet too much trouble in paradise . . . Middle America is witnessed as something outside of the new hippie way. Alienation has acted in its own way to create the [beautiful] alternate to what was referred to at the time as the Death Culture. But by splitting humanity/America into two camps, we were led in a way to the partial dissolution of this new vision, as most had our feet planted somewhat in both worlds. 'Crown of Creation' dives headfirst into this fray. Please stay tuned.
Bold as Love.......2002-01-21
Eric Clapton once opined (in the late 60s: no idea how he would feel today) that groups were either instrumentally oriented (like Cream) or vocally (like the Beach Boys). Jefferson Airplane were the exception that may or may not have proved the rule. No one could deny the vocal chops of Grace Slick and Marty Balin, both wonderful and unique singers, but the instrumental prowess of Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen was an equally distinctive and powerful element of the group's sound. To say they offered the best of both worlds is not quite accurate, though: rather they shaped a whole new one.
"Baxter's" was the Airplane at their boldest and most experimental. Released the same year as their commercially successful "Surrealistic Pillow" is was a radical departure from that album. "Pillow" was a tight, conventionally well produced affair, with little bits of psychedelic freak-out thrown in almost as coloration (e.g. the guitar "outro" on "Somebody to Love"). "Baxter's" was unabashed psychedelia, as others have noted below, and was all the more representative of the group's power and their true sensibility.
It's hard to believe that a rock epic like "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" was actually released as a single--let alone the equally adventurous "Watch her Ride," the vocals of which constantly threaten to derail, but never do. Grace Slick's brooding compositions "rejoyce" and "Two Heads" were real stream-of-consciousness dazzlers --"literary", in an unself-conscious way (much less so than the obvious conceit behind "White Rabbit," say) and penetrating. Her subsequent work only occasionally displayed such flashes of true brilliance. (I say this as a fan, but as an honest one.)
The only down side for me (both in '67 and today) was the diminishment in Marty Balin's contribution. Marty's folky romanticism was already losing ground after "Pillow," and he proved to be one of those artists, for whom increased public acclaim and the exhausting demands of touring, actually proved at least temporarily detrimental to his creative output. "Young Girl Sunday Blues" is a real rouser and he contributes lively vocals throughout, but his role in the group was already on the wane. On the group's subsequent releases, he would average two actual lead vocals and share others with Grace and Paul Kantner. Their vocal sparring remained a highlight of the group's later releases (especially the live album "Bless Its Pointed Little Head"). But Kantner was becoming the dominant songwriter by this point, if not the group's actual "leader."
Speaking of Kantner, his writing was still very strong and not nearly as portentous as it would later become. His compositions here, including "Martha" and "Saturday Afternoon/Won't You Try" achieve a splendor here that he would have trouble matching in later years (when everything became an epic). "After Bathing at Baxter's" is experimental rock at its most successful. If it were played for today's audiences, it could be a salvo against the domniant strains.corporate rock--just as it was in '67.
Average customer rating:
|
After Bathing at Baxter's
Jefferson Airplane
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Folk Rock
| Rock
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| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Psychedelic Rock
| Classic Rock
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All Bargain Titles
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Similar Items:
- Crown of Creation
ASIN: B00008FMT5
Release Date: 1989-08-29 |
Tracks:
- Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
- Small Package of Value Will Come to You, Shortly
- Young Girl Sunday Blues
- Martha
- Wild Tyme
- Last Wall of the Castle
- Rejoyce
- Watch Her Ride
- Spare Chaynge
- Two Heads
- Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
Average customer rating:
- The Airplanes most psychedelic and experimental album.
- The Airplane Crashes and Burns
- A little nostalgia for the old folks
- How much did/will this change your life?
- Bold as Love
|
After Bathing at Baxter's
Jefferson Airplane
Manufacturer: Bmg Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Folk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Psychedelic Rock
| Classic Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classic Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Classic Rock
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Rock
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Volunteers
- Crown of Creation
- Electric Music for the Mind and Body
- The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
- The United States of America
ASIN: B000007VPT
Release Date: 2006-07-28 |
Tracks:
- Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
- Small Package of Value Will Come to You, Shortly
- Young Girl Sunday Blues
- Martha
- Wild Tyme
- Last Wall of the Castle
- Rejoyce
- Watch Her Ride
- Spare Chaynge
- Two Heads
- Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
Album Details
Japanese 20bit remaster.
Customer Reviews:
The Airplanes most psychedelic and experimental album........2006-03-21
After Bathing At Baxters, the third album for the Jefferson Airplane is the Airplane at their most psychedelic and experimental. Great songs are joined together by sixties stoner sound effects and studio trickery to make a wonderful continuum of quintesential JA song writing and sonic frivolities that run from the sublime to the annoying. It's uneven to be sure, but Baxters contains some of JA's best songwriting in Martha, Ballad Of You Me & Pooneil, Watch Her Ride and others. Although some folks will say Baxters is really dated due to the indulgent psychedelic interludes, it's also really strong. I'll agree and also say Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles are dated too, so's XTC, so's Mozart, but that doesn't detract from the intrinsic excellence of their music. Baxters is truly a creature of its time and no less enjoyable for it. It's the second album in the triumverate of indispensable Jefferson Airlane albums: Surealistic Pillow, ABAB, and Crown Of Creation. Volunteers is pretty darn good too. So get out your tie dyes, granny glasses, beads and Beatle boots, tune in, turn on, and drop out. It's never too late to just say yes.
The Airplane Crashes and Burns.......2003-07-03
Yes, this album embodies the drug culture of San Francisco 1967. Yes, this album is unique. Yes, this album is aggressively anti-commercial. Does this mean this is a good album? Unfortunately No. That is unless you've lived during the era (in which case this album has nostalgic value), tripped-out during it (apparantly what this was designed for) or are still tripping out. Otherwise, what you will discover is a meandering mess of self-indulgence thrown together by musicians discovering what it's like to have free reign in the studio and dithering around with every nob and button they could find. If that excites you or if you think the excess of Frank Zappa is genius, then maybe you'll love this album. On the other hand, if you were expecting to hear some great songs from the late 60's that still hold resonance today (as you will on the Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow, Crown of Creation or Volunteers albums) you've come to the wrong place because all you'll get here are two or three very good songs in the midst of an anarchist jumble of annoying, time-consuming nonsense that should never have been recorded and released to an unsuspecting and growing fanbase. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the album's meant to be this way because it's all about the whole LSD and drug experience and what it means? Sorry, but unlike a number of reviewers here, I don't look upon that as a *good* thing but as a disgusting, self-destructive misuse of life that has done enormous harm to people's lives (exactly how many years did it take Jorma to break his heroine habit and after how many near-death experiences?). Granted, a number of amazing albums have been written and produced with its musicians on drugs. Sadly, this isn't one of them. It's no coincidence that Marty Balin only co-wrote one song here and his presence is sorely missed. Thankfully, the follow-up, Crown of Creation, took the knowledge they gained on this release and coupled it with good compositions to produce not only one of their finest efforts, but one of the best albums of the era.
A little nostalgia for the old folks.......2003-05-08
As we used to say, when this little piece of vinyl was still hot from the press, "It ain't much, but it'll get you off".
Once considered "underground" and "revolutionary", Baxter's is now a genuine roadside attraction, and a valuable thread in the weave of the American experience. Enjoy this gentle breeze from finer days.
How much did/will this change your life?.......2002-07-05
I used to throw this one on while I was executing psychedelic paintings (tempera paint on poster-board) during sophomore year ('68-'69) at the university.
The first, very long lead guitar note signals the beginning of an epic/epochal journey, which in a way is what this album set out to achieve. It was to be a transformation of the consciousness of our generation, perceived/conceived through what the Airplane offered us through their creativity, experience, and of course their music. It was the herald of a new dawn, a kind of strange bird trumpeting to us of its arrival, and secondarily announcing their new style/sound.
On "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil", you almost don't know what Balin and company are singing about, but somehow it makes perfect sense, in a most visionary sort of way. This is excellent, as they don't fall prey to trying to describe the situation too precisely [if you can say/see exactly what it is, you ain't there!] So what you get is the map of the energy currents your soul can follow in order to travel the paths they are marking. Jefferson Airplane are describing and charting the way into and through the region of numinous. (Who really cares whether or not if it's meant to be thought of as drug-induced? It works either way, I'd say).
Dylan never did it any better than this. When Mr. Zimmerman got into a similar mode ["Gates of Eden", "Desolation Row", "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest", et al.), he was busy creating new prophetic religious texts for the New/Now Generation. Bob created a series of alternate worlds staring at us, right in front of us. Or was he semi-transforming what we always see into what we always know, but don't always realize? Again, either way, it works.
Following "Pooneil", there is the relative short interlude of the happy psychedelic party, a sound-space through which meaningful and/or hilarious one-liners, musical passages/quotations and various conversations float, and which segues into the beautiful, very moving "Young Girl Sunday Blues".
Even more amazing is the beginning of the second suite, the song "Martha", during which we succumb to some of the most beautifully poetic lines imaginable, all which compassionately conspire to take us higher and deeper into and through the new vista. "Martha she speaks to me from a feather in the meadow . . . " This is the one song that starts with an acoustic guitar ostinado, which continues throughout. (A little ways in, it's heavily overlaid, in most a friendly manner, by offerings from the lead electric.)
These first couple of suites, Grace is given free rein to use her voice as an accompaniment instrument (Marty does most of the lead singing). Grace was sort of serving the function of a second lead guitar, of course timbrally different. I wonder if Yoko Ono learned how to sing listening to these pieces? Grace does a great job here. Then, later when she takes the lead on the two severely satirical pieces ["Last Wall of the Castle" and "Two Heads"] her voice assumes its usual, masterful [powerful] attitude. These two songs (and to some extent all of 'side two') more or less forecast what's to come next (album #4: 'Crown of Creation'), where satirical and apocalyptic energy/imagery kick in furiously.
Here on 'Baxters' there's not yet too much trouble in paradise . . . Middle America is witnessed as something outside of the new hippie way. Alienation has acted in its own way to create the [beautiful] alternate to what was referred to at the time as the Death Culture. But by splitting humanity/America into two camps, we were led in a way to the partial dissolution of this new vision, as most had our feet planted somewhat in both worlds. 'Crown of Creation' dives headfirst into this fray. Please stay tuned.
Bold as Love.......2002-01-21
Eric Clapton once opined (in the late 60s: no idea how he would feel today) that groups were either instrumentally oriented (like Cream) or vocally (like the Beach Boys). Jefferson Airplane were the exception that may or may not have proved the rule. No one could deny the vocal chops of Grace Slick and Marty Balin, both wonderful and unique singers, but the instrumental prowess of Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen was an equally distinctive and powerful element of the group's sound. To say they offered the best of both worlds is not quite accurate, though: rather they shaped a whole new one.
"Baxter's" was the Airplane at their boldest and most experimental. Released the same year as their commercially successful "Surrealistic Pillow" is was a radical departure from that album. "Pillow" was a tight, conventionally well produced affair, with little bits of psychedelic freak-out thrown in almost as coloration (e.g. the guitar "outro" on "Somebody to Love"). "Baxter's" was unabashed psychedelia, as others have noted below, and was all the more representative of the group's power and their true sensibility.
It's hard to believe that a rock epic like "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil" was actually released as a single--let alone the equally adventurous "Watch her Ride," the vocals of which constantly threaten to derail, but never do. Grace Slick's brooding compositions "rejoyce" and "Two Heads" were real stream-of-consciousness dazzlers --"literary", in an unself-conscious way (much less so than the obvious conceit behind "White Rabbit," say) and penetrating. Her subsequent work only occasionally displayed such flashes of true brilliance. (I say this as a fan, but as an honest one.)
The only down side for me (both in '67 and today) was the diminishment in Marty Balin's contribution. Marty's folky romanticism was already losing ground after "Pillow," and he proved to be one of those artists, for whom increased public acclaim and the exhausting demands of touring, actually proved at least temporarily detrimental to his creative output. "Young Girl Sunday Blues" is a real rouser and he contributes lively vocals throughout, but his role in the group was already on the wane. On the group's subsequent releases, he would average two actual lead vocals and share others with Grace and Paul Kantner. Their vocal sparring remained a highlight of the group's later releases (especially the live album "Bless Its Pointed Little Head"). But Kantner was becoming the dominant songwriter by this point, if not the group's actual "leader."
Speaking of Kantner, his writing was still very strong and not nearly as portentous as it would later become. His compositions here, including "Martha" and "Saturday Afternoon/Won't You Try" achieve a splendor here that he would have trouble matching in later years (when everything became an epic). "After Bathing at Baxter's" is experimental rock at its most successful. If it were played for today's audiences, it could be a salvo against the domniant strains.corporate rock--just as it was in '67.
Average customer rating:
- How much did/will this change your life?
|
After Bathing at Baxter's
Jefferson Airplane
Manufacturer: Bmg Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Folk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Psychedelic Rock
| Classic Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Rock
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Crown of Creation
- Jefferson Airplane Takes Off
- Bless Its Pointed Little Head
- Long John Silver
ASIN: B0009S8EWO
Release Date: 2005-08-23 |
Tracks:
- Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
- Small Package of Value Will Come to You, Shortly
- Young Girl Sunday Blues
- Martha
- Wild Tyme
- Last Wall of the Castle
- Rejoyce
- Watch Her Ride
- Spare Chaynge
- Two Heads
- Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon
Album Description
Limited Edition Cardboard Sleeve version of the 1967 (same year but 10 months after Surrealistic Pillow) album. Includes four bonus tracks: 'Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil (live-long version), 'Martha (mono single version), 'Two Heads' (previously unissued alternate version) and 'Things Are Better In The East'. BMG. 2005.
Album Details
Japanese Limited Edition Issue in a Deluxe LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Album Artwork.
Customer Reviews:
How much did/will this change your life?.......2005-12-23
I used to throw this one on while I was executing psychedelic paintings (tempera paint on poster-board) during sophomore year ('68-'69) at the university.
The first, very long lead guitar note signals the beginning of an epic/epochal journey, which in a way is what this album set out to achieve. It was to be a transformation of the consciousness of our generation, perceived/conceived through what the Airplane offered us through their creativity, experience, and of course their music. It was the herald of a new dawn, a kind of strange bird trumpeting to us of its arrival, and secondarily announcing their new style/sound.
On "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil", you almost don't know what Balin and company are singing about, but somehow it makes perfect sense, in a most visionary sort of way. This is excellent, as they don't fall prey to trying to describe the situation too precisely [if you can say/see exactly what it is, you ain't there!] So what you get is the map of the energy currents your soul can follow in order to travel the paths they are marking. Jefferson Airplane are describing and charting the way into and through the region of numinous. (Who really cares whether or not if it's meant to be thought of as drug-induced? It works either way, I'd say).
Dylan never did it any better than this. When Mr. Zimmerman got into a similar mode ["Gates of Eden", "Desolation Row", "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest", et al.), he was busy creating new prophetic religious texts for the New/Now Generation. Bob created a series of alternate worlds staring at us, right in front of us. Or was he semi-transforming what we always see into what we always know, but don't always realize? Again, either way, it works.
Following "Pooneil", there is the relative short interlude of the happy psychedelic party, a sound-space through which meaningful and/or hilarious one-liners, musical passages/quotations and various conversations float, and which segues into the beautiful, very moving "Young Girl Sunday Blues".
Even more amazing is the beginning of the second suite, the song "Martha", during which we succumb to some of the most beautifully poetic lines imaginable, all which compassionately conspire to take us higher and deeper into and through the new vista. "Martha she speaks to me from a feather in the meadow . . . " This is the one song that starts with an acoustic guitar ostinado, which continues throughout. (A little ways in, it's heavily overlaid, in most a friendly manner, by offerings from the lead electric.)
These first couple of suites, Grace is given free rein to use her voice as an accompaniment instrument (Marty does most of the lead singing). Grace was sort of serving the function of a second lead guitar, of course timbrally different. I wonder if Yoko Ono learned how to sing listening to these pieces? Grace does a great job here. Then, later when she takes the lead on the two severely satirical pieces ["Last Wall of the Castle" and "Two Heads"] her voice assumes its usual, masterful [powerful] attitude. These two songs (and to some extent all of 'side two') more or less forecast what's to come next (album #4: 'Crown of Creation'), where satirical and apocalyptic energy/imagery kick in furiously.
Here on 'Baxters' there's not yet too much trouble in paradise . . . Middle America is witnessed as something outside of the new hippie way. Alienation has acted in its own way to create the [beautiful] alternate to what was referred to at the time as the Death Culture. But by splitting humanity/America into two camps, we were led in a way to the partial dissolution of this new vision, as most had our feet planted somewhat in both worlds. 'Crown of Creation' dives headfirst into this fray. Please stay tuned.
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