Surrealistic Pillow

It was okay. I suspect, but not sure, that it was an album that burst through into public consciousness of a new style of music. But fifty years later, it seems tired and repetitive.

I was pleased when I saw this album pop up today, because I’ve always had a niggling feeling that Jefferson Airplane is a band I should know a little bit more about. But in the end, I was disappointed. I’d only ever heard one track before, so the rest of it was a voyage of discovery. It turned out to be quite a dull ride. The whole thing had a clear ‘summer of love’ kind of vibe to it, but since I wasn’t around in the summer of love, that kind of vibe doesn’t hold much nostalgia for me. Having said that, there were a few tracks that I quite liked. Mainly the more upbeat, rocky numbers. And I liked some of the bluesy ones, especially ‘In the Morning’, but then I am a sucker for the twelve-bar blues. Ultimately, though, there were just too many jingly-jangly folky fluff fillers for me. Some really nice guitar work in places, like on the instrumental track, ‘Embryonic Journey’, which made it all the more strange that the guitar solos on some of the tracks sounded like they’d been played by a three year-old. ‘3/5 of a mile in 10 seconds’ is a great name for a song. I imagine that the only type of vehicle capable of doing that is a Jefferson Airplane. Unfortunately, the track didn’t live up to the name. Overall… disappointing.

Underwhelming, even though Somebody to Love and White Rabbit are two absolute bangers!!!

white rabbit and someone to love obviously jump out, rest of the album wasn't exactly noteworthy

Hefði þurft meiri sýru fyrir þetta. White rabbit er frábær tónsmíði en ég er ekki tilbúinn að fyrirgefa þeim fyrir We built this city.

Good rock band.

Definitely not bad. Just don’t think I was in the mood for hippy music. High 2 almost 3

Some good

A bit dull

once again sounds like every other 60s album on here

A few good songs. Typical of the late 60's. Some trippy songs on here.

Somebody to Love is the only song I previously knew from this album.The rest of the album is quite boring.

More jangly and less hippy than expected.

Surrealistic Pillow Hmmm. Somebody to Love and White Rabbit are, rightfully, enduringly great 60s songs. Maybe a bit overfamiliar but undoubtedly great. The rest I’m not so sure about. I liked Today and I liked a lot of the folky elements and I like Grace Slick’s lead and harmony vocals a lot, however the rest of the songs were very forgettable in a kind of generic mid late 60s style way. Perhaps it’s the lyrics and perhaps it’s the production but nothing really grabbed my attention or seemed that interesting. I wanted to like it more on the basis of the two big songs, and I do like a lot of that mi late 70s San Francisco music, but the more I hear these types of albums the more I realise a good compilation of all these bands is the best thing to listen to ⭐️⭐️

No question Somebody to Love and White Rabbit are hall of fame rock classics. This makes me laugh when it shifts from Somebody to Love to My Best Friend, the two songs couldn't be more different. And it is so noticeable how mediocre this band feels without Grace Slick. Pretty wild too that, after listening, those are basically the two songs she is highlighted on. Listening to this has made me like this band less. Just the annoyance that these mediocre white male rock bands flooding the market when there are other people far more interesting than them out there but the support only goes to those same boring people. Look, I feel like I'm required to give this album a three but with all these revelations, I need to make a statement.

Boogie Pimps did Somebody to Love better. White Rabbit is a total slammer, but the rest is easily forgettable. I wanted to like this album more than I did.

Trash. First two songs were a tease and then it’s just some whiny acoustic garbage until white rabbit and white rabbit is literally like a 45 second song and then more trash so nice try guys.

Couple of must hear classics. Didn't care for the rest.

I get why this is on here, but apart from White Rabbit and Somebody to Love, I've always found the rest of it boring. I guess you just had to be there (and probably on acid)!

There's the 2 obvious hits on here, that I do enjoy. Everything after that not my cupatea. Will I listen to again: 5%

Na ja, auch 70er. Einzig Somebody to love hat sich eingeprägt über die letzten Jahrzente

Much too of its time for my tastes 2/5

Not much I cared for other than the two best known tunes.

1. funny carz - 0 2. zomebody to love - 1 3. my bezt friend - 0 4. today - 0 5. coming back to me - 1.5 6. 3/5 - 0 7. dc - 0 8. houu do you feel - 0 9. journey - 1 10. uuhite rabbit - 1.5 11. plaztic - 0 12. in the morning - 1.5 13. jpp - 0 14. go to her - 0 15. come back baby - 1

Ok Boomer

Somebody to love e jo bra, men resten e litt meh

Just like 4 songs too long for me. Like this needs to choose what genre it wants to be. I do not have much more to say when it was pyschedelic it was best. Highlights are somebody to love She has funny cars White rabbit In the morning men need to not sing

Very apt name for this band.

You might recognize this song as performed by Jefferson Airplane, in a little rockumentary called "Gimme Shelter," about the Rolling Stones and their nightmare at Altamont. That night the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels had their way. Tonight, it's my turn. I'm not into psychedelic music. I am just not on the right amount of drugs for it. There's a few good songs though.

Classic

Far out…

Recuerda al movimiento anti guerra de Vietnam

It was a bit weird for me.

Meh, OK at best. There's really not much here beyond two of their biggest hits and I'm not all that interested in those either.

Didn’t love it. :(

Souch unibeat on this record. It's like super primal. And the entire thing is drenched in hall reverb. Them there's the acoustic guitar jerk off session. Not sure I like it. Even with the hit.

Like a couple of songs

Just pure unfiltered 60s boomer shit. The singles are head and shoulders above the rest.

not my style

I don’t know, not particularly bad album, but not good either. It doesn’t have lots of memorable songs and parts, not very great vocals, no crazy melody. I just haven’t felt anything while listening to that album. Maybe, on day, I’ll return to it, and will understand, but for now: eeeeehh, 5,2/10

one thing jefferson airplane excelled in was creating such a consistent vibe for the entirety of surrealistic pillow, which was definitely aided by the album name itself. no one quite hit the nail on the head as far as psychedelic rock like jefferson airplane. the tone is warped, off putting, challenging. you're not rewarded for a close listen, in a way, because it's so different that you're unsettled. that being said, it really isn't quite for me. i love their two biggest songs, which happen to come off of this album, but that's about it. still, respect for what jefferson airplane did here.

Feels more like a parody of 60s music than a real coherent album. Everything muddled by too much reverb. Very overrated.

I thought I done the psychedelic rock section. But now I’m in the quintessential psychedelic rock section.

A product of its time. Beside 2 good songs, everything else sounds bland and boring. Not recommended. Also shout out to white rabbit, really amazing song.

I can’t deny that White Rabbit is one of the greatest psych rock songs of all time. But I can deny that this album should be included on this list. Most of it is so so, with hardly any memorable riffs, lyrics or complete tracks.

Somebody to Love was my favorite. Great instrumentals and solid vocals. I can tell this album was influential. A couple of the slower songs dragged, but the majority of the album was up-tempo.

Not bad, but I wouldn’t actively choose to listen to this.

very 60s psychedelic want somebody to love is a banger

not for me but one good song, "somebody to love"

The two big hits are fine; Embryonic Journey is amazing; won’t revisit the rest.

Some amazing song but a lot of dross

Highlights: Somebody To Love, Today, White Rabbit Makes me wish I could travel to 60's San Francisco to fully understand the context, as nowadays this comes across as pretty bare-bones psychedelic rock. The best parts come when Grace Slick lends her vocals, as the other tracks range from decent to downright schlocky.

Wasn't that into it

If you ever wondered how The Beatles would sound with a female voice...

A dated affair with some timeless hits sprinkled in.

Meh

The two songs i knew were fine. The rest of the tracks were hard to get through.

Yep. That's some white biker mid-sixties psychedelic bullshit alright. I am so sick of that decade. It's sooooo over represented in this list.

oh this is some weird shit somebody to love, I know this this is fine, too long dull 2/5

A little surprised by the sound...a little less psycadelic than I anticipated. That probably isn't a good thing when it comes to JA. 2/5

Very 60’s, kinda fun, but somewhat low energy and not something I enjoyed a whole lot. 2/5

Somebody to love e jo bra, men resten e litt meh

Too long

Not really my sort of thing, but technically good.

Highlights: "Comin' Back to Me," "Embryonic Journey," "White Rabbit," "DCBA-25" Probably the best encapsulation of 60s pop music we're going to get, in that it's competently performed but transparently derivative. Like if Sonny and Cher did Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Zombies, and Doors. That is on a lyrical level, too, with as much inconsistency in quality as you'd expect. Not really blown away by Slick's performance -- the harsh vibrato and liberal portamento is a little annoying. The vocal harmonies work best for them. Maybe the bigger issue is how tonally inconsistent it is, the way it progresses from bold rock jams to blithe pretentious pop-folk creeds but ends on whack blues numbers. It's like hearing a cult coalesce and go off the rails in fast forward -- which it was.

I really thought with "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" that I would enjoy this album more.

It’s like 40% of the way to a 3 in my mind. Some songs are really good and others feel lacking to me.

More outdated, drug infused music from the sixties.

Knew a couple off this album, but it's really not dated well I don't think. Sounds like hippy nonsense and I'm but a wee nipper by comparison. Did not really enjoy much.

60s non granché

Not really a fan of the dreamy sound throughout the album and in particular the singing. Some song are nice, but as an album it is quite boring.

Jefferson airplane- Grace slick and the harmonies are cool. I would’ve wanted her singing lead on all the songs instead of the other guy. I like Somebody to love. White rabbit sounds like drugs. Best friend is ok. I hate listening to these 60’s bands play blues songs- kinda just feels like album filler to me. Embryonic journey was cool- the fingerpicking acoustic stuff is way more interesting than his electric playing. Would’ve wanted to hear a song with vocals with this vibe. 2.5

Not a fan. I don’t know why but I’ve always really hated the song white rabbits. Good players and really great production, the reverb sounds especially great. All 60’s RCA records sound great though. Didn’t enjoy it otherwise.

somebody to love is iconic yet i never want to listen to it white rabbit i find so annoying the rest is dribble really

White Rabbit and Somebody to Lovr outshine the rest.

Got some nice tunes but that's it. Nice tunes

It was okay. I found that with each listen I would check my phone around DCBA to see if the album is almost done. A couple classics that have been immortalized through media but overall it didn't do all that much for me.

Not that great and the album title feels like they were trying too hard. Meh.

Giving this one star was too harsh before, but the comments stand. These are not good songs outside of the hits. Favorite track: Somebody to Love

jeg vil ikke mere, 60´erne please

So hard for me to get into psych rock from this era. It essentially has to wear me down a bit before I can get past the dated sound. White Rabbit is an all time classic, though.

The album title sounds quaintly twee today. For some reason music from the 60s is probably my least favourite, I like the 50s and 70s plenty, but the the 60's is just too much flower power for me. The saving grace (pun intended) on this album is Ms. Slick herself. Her strong vocals elevate Somebody to love and White Rabbit way above the other hippie songs. The bolero theme on White Rabbit is also quite memorable and as a result its an iconic 60's song. It's a shame that they didn't give Grace more opportunity to shine on this album.

Not memorable but some songs are good.

This is what I imagine Woodstock ‘69 sounded like. Somebody to Love is a moderate jam. There’s a lot of songs on this album, and they get a lot of mileage out of the acoustic guitar, but nothing really jumps out to me. White Rabbit is supposedly the most famous song on here, and I have never heard it.

fome

2 Another 60’s

Not my cup of tea, hate the album title

There were a few songs that I liked

White rabbit and somebody to love are bangers. Rest are filler

In which Florence Welch hears Grace Slick on Somebody to Love and White Rabbit and her whole career flashes before her eyes.

Didn’t like the whole sound of Jefferson Airplane

white room and sombody to love are prolific. the rest bored me to death

This one came down to a simple question for me: "Is Grace Slick singing lead on this song?" If the answer was "Yes," then it was good. If the answer was "No," then it was mostly meh. And somehow this ended up making the album mostly meh. How did they not realize that she's the real star(ship) here and put her front center on every last track?? Baffling.

it took me so long to get through this album because it just truly wasn’t for me and i was sooo bored

A couple of stand-out tracks and some background music. "White Rabbit" is the pick of the album.

Grounded.

zeppelin biplane

The second song- absolute bop. The rest was fine

The song Go To Her is a less good version of The Zombie's She's Not There

Ehhhh. 4-5/10

The Airplane never interested me as much as most of the other big 60s names. Sounds better in stereo, though.

Some ok songs

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: She Has Funny Cars, Somebody to Love Cutting Edge: Today, Embryonic Journey Overall Notes: THIS inspired the summer of the STD??

It's really really 60s music. I may enjoy more as I approach that age. But unfortunately, it's almost too psychedelic for me.

In one ear and out the other. Probably a bunch of nonces.

not great other than the 2 hits

Not much of the album was on Spotify 😔

Classic.

Perfect for the era, perhaps too tied to the 60’s to be relevant today. Would never put it on out of context.

A lot of the album is missing off Spotify, I enjoyed the 2 songs I knew (somebody to love and White Rabbit) but the rest weren't to my taste.

I like Jefferson Air/Star. But there's something about this album that makes me understand why punk, garage, avant-guard, new wave, heavy metal and grunge all exist -- to rebel against this.

Not very good really

Somebody to love and White Rabbit are two of those rare classics, the rest of the album is pretty boring though. Not another listen for me.

pretty boring. stopped listening towards the end

I’ve heard Somebody to Love and White Rabbit before. I like the first few songs and didn’t care for the slower sad songs in the middle, I didn’t like the placement of them either. I don’t like the two songs after the sad ones either. I feel like White Rabbit really stands out, best song on the album. The beginning and end are good but the songs in the middle are kinda boring. Will probably listen to some songs again especially White Rabbit but as a whole 2/5

War mir zu Boomer, aber manche Lieder waren ganz gut.

Evolutionary step. In meiner Wahrnehmung nicht unmittelbarer Bestandteil einer revolutionären Entwicklung

Just painfully average. A bit like an ASDA frozen pizza. It’s not terrible and it’s nice but there are many better options out there. Every song sounds a little samey. Somebody To Love is clearly the best song on there and there’s a reason it’s their only hit single. There is absolutely no need for this album to have 17 songs on it.

Some decent moments but not for me

Not bad, enjoyed the big numbers but the rest passed me by. Quite long

It was alright. 2RS

2 decent songs. The rest pretty pedestrian.

2 good songs, nothing special.

Only listened to half of it.

01/26 - Yesterday I worked on many different things within the Manufacturing building, from updating wall types and work areas to match slab demo to researching the Hilti rated cover at the penthouse penetration. I also helped Courtney with view range issues and worked on developing sleeves to go around process piping points in Chrom. Jefferson Airplane was a very interesting band to read about and even more interesting of a band to watch a performance of. However, Surrelistic Pillow was an okay album and was not very motivational for getting me through the work day. My favorite song on this album was Somebody to Love

Its times like this that I'd changed my rating system earlier. So this is just OK which is now going to be 2 stars from here on...

Some decent tracks but very dated

Feed your Head you hippies

Not really my vibe. Nice album, but kind of just not for me.

White Rabbit. The rest of the album is pretty similar...jangly, acoustic, hippie pop.

got dull really quickly

Long and boring aside from White Rabbit and anytime Grace Slick sings.

Ugh. Maybe it was because I was listening to this while working but I couldn't get on with it. In fact, it was quite annoying in the background. Clever musically but too 'busy' for me in my current mood. I have no desire to listen to this album again. Best tracks are White Rabbit and Someone To Love. 2/5

Sama biisi eri variaatioilla

This was good - especially someone to love!

Psykedelisk 60’er rock, få standouts

Fuck, no.

Summer of Love? More like "Summer of Did Not Care For". Did enjoy the instrumental "Embryonic Journey" and to an extent "Somebody to Love", but that is more due to Jim Carrey than Jefferson Airplane. Maybe it is due to this being an early psychedelic rock album, but alot of the songs seem like temu versions of better songs. Overall not for me. 1/5

full of clunky lyricism, grooveless songs, and overall dullness. i probably underrate psychedelic rock most of the time already and this has all of the worst and none of the best. and for the record i listened to this on the comedown after a high so i should be fairly close to the proper listening conditions. deserves to be one of the 1001? i mean almost certainly yes. it epitomizes all of my least favorite aspects of psych rock, but it defines them. a glaring omission if kept off.

Empieza con un buen ritmo 😃😃

Lyrically its not bad but there sound is harsh even the tambourine and guitar doesn't blend that well for me maybe its because of there voice 2/10

I quite liked "Embryonic Journey", mainly as a relief from Slick's (and others) vocals which I can't stand. Shame it's immediately followed by "White Rabbit" which showcases that vocal at maximum Slick-ness

Pseudo psychedelia from 1966 although released in 1967 including the iconic “white rabbit”

I struggled through this

This album was painful. Did not enjoy at all.

Of its time . Missed it when it first came out - can't say I'm that sorry .

Fun little album. Not too much of my thing though 2.8/10

Overrated and too much of an attempt to sound "trippy and weird". White Rabbit still slaps though.

Not my vibe. Passed after 3 or 4 songs

bored

I got bored

60s slop

Gonna be honest I listened to like 2 songs and it’s not really my type of music - I will still try to listen to it all

There were so many great psyche albums made in 1967. This isn’t one. This sounds like a load of nepo babies bought some beads and made an album. It’s the kind of easy listening slop an AI programme would make if you asked for a psych song and were using the free version. Occasionally Grace Slick starts screaming like Stevie Nicks or a banshee with a septic ulcer. Shudder. You can really hear how this lot of charlatans made it big in the soundtracks of the 80’s. A terrible band that stuck around long enough to thrive in pop culture’s most terrible period.

What has the world done to the world since 1967.

Me causa repulsión. 1/5

Skippy tracks

Big-time snoozer

I am surprised I really thought I would like this. Not at all, just not great at all. I know the two hits somebody to love and white rabbit but they are so overplayed. It's not an album I would buy. I think IMHO the instruments sound horrible, the harmony is just grinding to my ears. Again totally surprised from people I have talked telling me how awesome it it. I might be crazy but yuck.

membro do fã clube oficial "eu odeio jefferson airplane"

Generic British 60s 1/5

That mono production in 2025 hits like a tab of acid. And not in a pleasant way.

Not really my style, a little bit too old for me

no me gusto mucho, no es un disco muy reescuchable; no creo que lo escuche nuevamente.

Not for me. 1/5

Solid shite

Two relatively decent 60’s classics, the rest was surprisingly bad.

Somebody to love I knew. Not really my kind of music.

60er.

Was not a big fan of this one. Not too good imho.

Started out strong then it just dragged on and on and on and kept dragging and kept going. Just like a lot of these 5 star reviews

Not for me.

Get a haircut and take a shower hippies. Definitely not for me. I did think of Queen with songs titles like Somebody To Love and My Best Friend. That's about the most positive thing I can say about this album, I thought of Queen. Oh yeah, I believe Grace Slick was on a bad acid trip during a concert in Germany and flipped out on the crowd about Hitler and having their country wiped out during WWII. Could be wrong but don't care enough to waste anymore time on these guys.

This should be truth or dare style. Maybe a David Goggins challenge or the album of the day.

Another bland "classic/alt/psychedelic rock with a touch of country" albums to throw on the pile. I just finished this album but cannot pick out any musical ideas or moments that I heard; completely forgettable.

Dull…only listened to first few tracks

i just do not care for it tbh. 1/5

Boring as fuck, reconfirms every negative thought I’ve ever had about the music of the SF hippie scene. Weak blues riffs played with zero feeling and generic lyrics written by idiots. Will absolutely never listen to this record again.

Not my style, even the hits are boring.

Hippy shit fairy music. Bad drugs. Bloody awful haircuts. No ta.

Somehow so boring that its over-represented aura gets old and dusty. Nothing I would keep in mind for another session.

Not interested.

i didnt ike it

This album sucked. Jefferson Airplane is not a good band beyond their odd hits. This album perfectly encapsulates this. Favorite track: White Rabbit

Nope

bleck..... overrated.

A couple of recognisable tunes but too twee for my liking

beach boys minus luau

I get why people like it. There are catchy melodies and fun guitar riffs, but it’s too slow and repetitive for my taste. Puts me to sleep.

s h i t

Nope