Bless Its Pointed Little Head is a live album by Jefferson Airplane recorded at both the Fillmore East and West in the fall of 1968 and released in 1969 as RCA Victor LSP-4133.
| Bless Its Pointed Little Head | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | February 1969 | |||
| Venue |
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| Genre | Psychedelic rock, acid rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 52:48 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Al Schmitt | |||
| Jefferson Airplane chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
| The Music Box | [2] |
The album was recorded on the tour supporting Crown of Creation, yet no songs from that album or its predecessor After Bathing at Baxter's were included (the CD re-release, however, contains bonus tracks of a few selections from Baxter's). Instead, selections were taken from their first two albums and a number of covers that had been in their setlist since 1965/6 yet remained unrecorded by them in the studio. One of these, "Fat Angel", had been written by Donovan in the spring of 1966 and namechecked the band, so they returned the favor by covering it in their style. Another, Fred Neil's "The Other Side Of This Life", had apparently been in the set list on the first night they performed at The Matrix in August 1965. Jorma Kaukonen showcased his blues roots with a slow, heavy cover of the traditional "Rock Me Baby", that had also been played by the group as early as 1966. Of the remaining selections, "Clergy" was an audio excerpt from the film King Kong which was used to introduce the band at their Fillmore shows, while "Turn Down The Lights" was a short improvised number of self-explanatory nature. The closing "Bear Melt" had developed from a lengthy instrumental jam called "Thing" which had evolved on stage through the years, now featuring an improvised vocal intro by Slick. A version of "Thing" without Slick's vocal contribution can be heard on the archival release Live at the Fillmore East, taken from the group's May 1968 shows at the venue.
Many of the Airplane's recordings on the live album were longer than their studio performances, featuring greater use of improvisation, and most were sped up considerably. The performance emphasized their freewheeling, ping-pong vocal harmonies and revealed a harder-rocking group. Guitar and bass lines were more in-depth in their construction, forming complex instrumentals. Some of the band's hit singles, such as "White Rabbit", were not included although a dramatically rearranged "Somebody to Love" does appear. The album revealed a different focus in their live concerts compared to their studio albums.[4][5] The album received mixed reviews on release but is a favorite with fans and in the booklet to the box set Jefferson Airplane Loves You, it is noted as the only Airplane album which all the band members remembered with superlatives.
"Plastic Fantastic Lover", which had become considerably funky compared to the studio recording, was released as a single in May 1969 although it failed to chart. Billboard described it as "heavy hard rock."[6] Cash Box wrote that it "features the team's more commercial-than-controversial style" and has "a solid instrumental track and very fine vocal."[7] Record World wrote it was one of the band's favorites.[8]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Clergy" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Jefferson Airplane | 1:37 |
| 2. | "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Marty Balin | 4:39 |
| 3. | "Somebody to Love" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Darby Slick | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Fat Angel" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Donovan Leitch | 7:36 |
| 5. | "Rock Me Baby" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Traditional; arranged by Jefferson Airplane | 7:45 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Other Side of This Life" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Fred Neil | 6:48 |
| 2. | "It's No Secret" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Balin | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Plastic Fantastic Lover" (recorded October 24–26 at Fillmore West) | Balin | 3:53 |
| 4. | "Turn Out the Lights" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Paul Kantner, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick, Spencer Dryden | 1:24 |
| 5. | "Bear Melt" (recorded November 28–30 at Fillmore East) | Kantner, Casady, Kaukonen, G. Slick, Dryden | 11:22 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Today" (recorded November 5 at Fillmore West) | Balin, Kantner | 3:50 |
| 12. | "Watch Her Ride" (recorded November 5 at Fillmore West) | Kantner | 3:19 |
| 13. | "Won't You Try / Saturday Afternoon" (recorded November 5 at Fillmore West) | Kantner | 5:30 |
On the back cover of the LP (RCA LSP-4133), "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" is identified as "3/5's Of a Mile in 10 Seconds".
"Clergy" contains an extract from the soundtrack of the 1933 film King Kong.
Personnel
edit- Jefferson Airplane
- Marty Balin – vocals, bass on "Fat Angel"
- Jack Casady – bass, rhythm guitar on "Fat Angel"
- Spencer Dryden – drums
- Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar, second lead guitar on "Fat Angel"
- Jorma Kaukonen – lead guitar, vocals
- Grace Slick – vocals
- Production
- Al Schmitt – producer
- Rich Schmitt – engineer
- Pat Ieraci – beret
- Jim Smircich – cover photography
- Bill Thompson – poster
- Gary Blackman – art direction
Charts
edit| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] | 12 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[10] | 38 |
| US Billboard 200[11] | 17 |
General references
edit- Bless Its Pointed Little Head (Vinyl back cover). Jefferson Airplane. New York City: RCA. 1969. LSP-4133.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
References
edit- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Bless Its Pointed Little Head". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ^ Metzger, John (October 2004). "Jefferson Airplane: Bless Its Pointed Little Head". The Music Box. 11 (#10). Archived from the original on 2006-03-25. Retrieved 2006-03-10.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ "Bless Its Pointed Little Head - Review". headheritage.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ Woodstra, Chris; Bush, John; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2007). Guide Required Listening. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879309176. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. May 24, 1969. p. 76. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 10, 1969. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 10, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5975". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Jefferson Airplane Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
