More Jefferson Airplane

Reviews and Commentaries for The Jefferson Airplane

The big selling point of this compilation is that practically all of Surrealistic Pillow is on it it. Any Hot Stamper pressing of that album we offer will clearly sound better. It will surely be priced at many hundreds of dollars. It’s a single disc. And there is no question it is going to be noisier.  

That’s if we can even find one! When was the last time you saw one on the site? It’s exceedingly rare to find one that’s not scratched, inner groove damaged or just plain worn out. We’re buying them all the time, but most end up going back to the sellers who mis-graded them (or can’t be bothered to play their records, even the ones that command high prices).

The sound here is big, open, rich and full, with the performers front and center (as well as left and right). The highs are extended and silky sweet. The bass is tight and punchy. And this copy gives you more life and energy than others by a long shot.

This 1987 compilation also has some of the midrange magic that’s no doubt missing from whatever 180g reissues have been made from the 50+ year old tapes. However good those pressings may be, we guarantee that this one is clearly more REAL SOUNDING.

What to Listen For (WTLF)

Here are some of the things we specifically listen for in a Psych Folk Rock record (whatever that is!).

Our hottest Hot Stamper copies are simply doing more of these things better than the other copies we played in our shootout.

The best copies have:

• Greater immediacy in the vocals (most copies are veiled and distant to some degree);
• Natural tonal balance (many copies are at least slightly brighter or darker than ideal; those with the right balance are the exception, not the rule);
• Good solid weight (so the bass sounds full and powerful);
• Spaciousness (the best copies have wonderful studio ambience and space);
• Tubey Magic, without which you might as well be playing a CD;
• And last but not least, transparency, the quality of being able to see into the studio, where there is plenty of musical information to be revealed in this sometimes simple, sometimes complex and sophisticated recording.

TRACK LISTING

Side One

It’s No Secret
Come Up The Years
My Best Friend
Somebody To Love
Comin’ Back To Me
Embryonic Journey
She Has Funny Cars

Side Two

Plastic Fantastic Lover
Wild Tyme
The Ballad Of You & Me & Poonell
A Small Package Of Value Will Come To You, Shortly
White Rabbit
Won’t You Try Saturday Afternoon
Lather

Side Three

We Can Be Together
Crown Of Creation
Mexico
Wooden Ships
Rejoyce
Volunteers

Side Four

Pretty As You Feel
Martha
Today
Triad
Third Week In Chelsea

Allmusic 4 Star Review

This was the first serious effort to assemble the best and most interesting of the Jefferson Airplane’s work from beginning to end. At the time, the group’s catalog on CD was in a woeful state of disrepair, hastily mastered from LP production sources and sounding worse than original vinyl copies of many of the titles, and there was no comprehensive anthology, just the Worst of Jefferson Airplane compilation from 1970.

2400 Fulton Street isn’t ideal, jumping around a little too much, but provides a look for the uninitiated into the evolution of the group’s sound from a mixed electric-acoustic folk rock ensemble, not too different from the Mugwumps et al., into a high-energy rock band and, for a time, one of the more daring psychedelic outfits.

Additionally, even longtime fans will appreciate most of the jumps that are made, for all of the essentials are here — most of Surrealistic Pillow, along with highlights from the surrounding albums up through the end of the group’s history (with a Levi’s radio commercial featuring the band thrown in for good measure) and a few odd singles and B-sides that otherwise usually get overlooked.

Moreover, the sound was a major improvement at the time (though it has since been outdone on the re-releases of the individual albums), and the notes contained what was, at the time, perhaps the best easily available account of the group’s history.

[User reviews at the time of this writing were Five Stars.]