Artist: JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
Album: AFTER BATHING AT BAXTERS REMASTERED (CD)

Release date: 1967/ 2003
Media type: CD

Bitten by the '60s San Francisco bug of extended musical explorations, the Jefferson Airplane flew into song-suites on AFTER BATHING AT BAXTER'S. But rather than being an organic jam-fest, BAXTER'S took the Airplane's singular white R&B jams and bled them into one another. The "Streetmasse" suite, for instance, combines two typically electrifying Airplane performances--"The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil" and "Young Girl Sunday Blues," both of which give off the adrenaline of an Americanized early Who with female harmony vocals--through a warped pastiche of vocal and percussive noodling ("A Small Package Of Value Will Come To You, Shortly").

San Francisco's cultural evolution didn't just affect the structure of the songs on AFTER BATHING AT BAXTER'S. No longer hiding behind the metaphors of the first two albums, the Airplane were now openly voicing the thoughts of their constituency--"There is a new way of thinking," sings Paul Kantner on his "Wild Tyme," and the very title of the "Hymn To An Older Generation" suite speaks for itself. "Spare Chaynge" is a nearly ten-minute instrumental led by Jorma Kaukonen's spaced-out guitar, the closest the Airplane had yet come to the musical free-for-all of their San Francisco brethren.

Of all the reissues to date of the Jefferson Airplane's classic catalog, the 2003-vintage expanded version of After Bathing at Baxter's is the most rewarding. The most ambitious album ever recorded by the band, and one of the finest psychedelic albums ever released, the reissue enhances its value, not only with a better transfer than the 1996-vintage upgrade, but some highly significant bonus tracks. First and foremost, and one of the great bonus cuts to have turned up to date in the entire CD era, is the live, long version of "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil," 11-plus minutes of some of the best psychedelic music ever committed to tape by anyone, and significantly different from the four-and-half-minute studio version finally used; this track by itself is worth the price of the CD. The other labeled bonuses are the single edit of "Martha" (which isn't that special); a leaner, less ambitious, smoother alternate version of "Two Heads" (which reveals a potential lost single); and Marty Balin's never-used "Things Are Better in the East" (originally resurrected for the 2400 Fulton Street box). But the producers have also included a hidden bonus track, an alternate instrumental track for "Young Girl Sunday Blues," that is well worth hearing. The historical notes by Bill Thompson and group biographer Jeff Tamarkin give a full account of the evolution of each song as well as the entire album, and the excellence of the sound makes the 2003 reissue an essential acquisition for any fan of the group, or of psychedelic music in general. ~ Bruce Eder

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.

TRACKLIST:

1. The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
2. A Small Package of Value Will Come to You, Shortly
3. Young Girl Sunday Blues
4. Martha
5. Wild Tyme
6. The Last Wall of the Castle
7. Rejoyce
8. Watch Her Ride
9. Spare Chaynge
10. Two Heads
11. Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon

12. Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil, The - (previously unreleased, live, long version)
13. Martha - (mono, single version)
14. Two Heads - (previously unreleased, alternate take, alternate version)
15. Things Are Better in the East - (previously unreleased, demo version)

LINE-UP:

Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen (vocals, guitar)
Grace Slick (vocals, recorder, piano)
Marty Balin (vocals)
Jack Casady (bass)
Spencer Dryden (drums)