JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - SURREALISTIC PILLOW (LPM3766) RARE MONO VG+/VG 1st PRESS

$

21

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE - SURREALISTIC PILLOW (LPM-3766) RARE AND PREFERRED MONO VG+/VG 1st PRESSING RCA INDIANAPOLIS, IN

CONDITION DETAILS:
JACKET (VG+)  This glossy cover jacket is in very nice shape, showing nothing more than a couple of corner bumps and light shelf wear to the seams and spine.  No splits, no separations, no cracks. No ringwear.  Bright white background on the backside.  A very attractive jacket for this classic album.
VINYL (VG)  This is an original, heavy wax (134g) pressing from RCA's Indianapolis record plant with the black Nipper and "MONAURAL" boldly printed at the bottom of the label.  It has been well-played and visually grades a solid VG.  There are numerous, mostly shallow needle skates, hairlines, paper slides and scuff marks.  That said, the record plays quite well - beyond its visual appearance.  While there is light tickiness throughout, it mainly remains below the ambient level of the music, except in the quieter passages and between tracks.  The music is always dominant.  There are a couple of medium scratch/scuffs where some repetitive clicks lightly poke above the music, but these are brief and not overly distracting.  Overall, it's a decent and listenable playing copy.
INSERTS - None, as issued.  Original RCA color-printed factory paper sleeve as issued.
PERSONAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE MUSIC - Two massive hits spearheaded this album into rock and roll history, and the Jefferson Airplane as the front-runners in the burgeoning San Francisco "psychedelic" circle of bands in the mid/late '60s.  "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" were the two Grace Slick tunes that she brought to the Airplane on her arrival from The Great Society, replacing the newly departed and soon-to-be-mother Signe Anderson. Her impact was immediate and the two hits were huge, but the remainder of the record boasts creative and solidly-performed originals and helped create THE record-to-beat when it was released in February 1967. (Of course, then June '67 gave us the Beatles' Sgt Peppers, but Pillow was still a "best of!")  From airy, acoustic Marty Balin-sung folk ballads ("Today," "Comin' Back to Me,"), to the Jorma Kaukonen finger-picking masterpiece "Embryonic Journey", and the hard-driving "Plastic Fantastic Lover" and finally psych influenced mid-tempo folk rockers like "D.C.B.A.-25" this record is chock-full of good listening.  One of Rolling Stone magazine's top 200 of all time.  A true classic and a must have!
Of significant importance, this piece is the rarer and generally preferred MONO version. The Airplane made no secret of the fact they were unhappy with the overall stereo mix on Pillow, with its heavy use of added reverb, and rather thin bass, which somewhat muddies the sound on those versions.  However, these effects are less notable on the MONO version, resulting in more definition to the vocals and instruments, better lower end, and an overall punchier sound.  Everyone hears things differently, of course, but that seems to be the general consensus and the reason the MONO is more in demand.
GENERAL NOTES -

I describe my records with as many details as possible, because I want you to get what you think you're getting.  I have been a buyer of records on eBay for many years and I know just how sparsely and/or inaccurately described so many records are.  I want this to be a positive buying experience for you.  My photos accurately show the full jacket (front and back), full disc (front and back), special sleeves or inserts (front and back), as well as an angle view of the spine.  All my records have been shelf-stored vertically in a non-smoking home since their purchase.  They have only been played on high-quality vintage turntables using audiophile-level cartridges and styli (eg. currently using Shure M97xE) at a tracking force of 1.5g+.