For those who say that this latest CD sounds hideous, I think they protest too much. This is as good as it is going to get as long as they use the original two-track stereo masters. The only other possible way to improve the sound is to remix from the multi-tracks, and that rarely happens if the record is a classic. The biggest exception to this was the reissue of the Who's catalogue in the late 90's, but Pete Townshend himself was involved with approving each remaster. While I thought they sounded great, there was a lot of protest from fans that they did indeed sound different. When the Beatles catalogue was being prepared for CD transfer by George Martin, he remixed the earliest albums, but wisely chose to leave the later albums as was. It is possible to make an old two-track master sound good if the LP EQing is removed and the dynamic range is expanded. The late engineer/producer Gus Dudgeon (he engineered early albums by Moody Blues, Bowie, and produced many classic Elton John albums as well as remastered his entire catalog) wrote a very interesting technical article about the remastering of older albums and how it can and should be done. It can be found by searching on Google. His remastering of the 70's Elton albums is flawless.

So, my opinion is that the 2003 CD of Surrealistic Pillow is the best there can and will be using the original mixes. The packaging has been restored with all the original elements and there are 6 bonus tracks including mono single mixes of the classics, "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love". Therefore this is the definitive remaster...unless Paul Kantner and Marty Balin are allowed to remix the multi-tracks with a very good engineer.


Only If You Need The Bonus Tracks   August 31, 2003
24 out of 25 found this review helpful

All the accolades afforded this album over the years are well justified--and if you're reading this, I'm sure you've heard (and likely experienced for yourself) them all. This is truly one of the greatest albums not only of the Sixties & the folk-rock/psychedelic era, but of the entire pop music era period! That said, I'm afraid we've yet to see the ultimate cd issue of this masterpiece--though this latest one offers the added attraction of four songs not on the original LP, three of which were cut during the "Pillow" sessions. Airplane aficianados are well familiar with all these tracks (scattered through various compilations over time), but in fact, the extra tracks are really the only reason to purchase this edition of the album, if you don't already own one of the more recent issues. The real killer in the bonus bunch is "Go To Her," a showcase for Marty Balin's soulful wail, and a song more than deserving of inclusion on the original album. You'll also hear Jorma Kaukonen step out front on an original blues "in The Morning," as well as on an excellent reading of Lightning Hopkins' "Come Back Baby," the latter actually recorded a few weeks after the album came out. Further, there's an unlisted bonus cut at the end, an instrumental run-through of "B.C.D.A. -25," on which Paul Kantner's 12-string rhythm playing takes the spotlight.
All that said, I want to caution you: If you're looking for an improved-quality recording of this album over the gold disk, the 1996 issue or the 2001 issue, you ain't gonna get it here! That's not to say it doesn't sound good, rather to say it's not been improved upon. Fans are well aware of the differences between the mono and stereo mixes of the album: It's great to have both, but this version only has two of the mono mixes (the two monster hit singles.) As for the standard stereo mix, all the tape hiss is still there, not to mention the early fade-outs on the tracks which go on a little longer on the mono album. I've thought for quite a long time that this album begs to be remixed, from top to bottom, from the original four-track masters. Perhaps that'll be done someday--either after someone gets smart or after someone dies! Fact is, the bonus tracks (all of which are in stereo outside of the two singles) are technically of higher quality than those from the original album.
In the meantime, to reiterate: If you have one of the above-mentioned issues of this album, the bonus tracks are really the only reason you may want to purchase this one. They were my reason; I needed them and am quite pleased with them. And oh yes: The liner notes are very good--with stories behind and recording info about--all the tracks, but of course, you can't play the liner notes!


Airplane fans can rest easier with this Pillow   September 3, 2003
R. Baker (Baltimore, Maryland)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Excellent re-mastering of this great album and really the first decent sounding CD of "Surrealistic Pillow". Not only do the original tunes get the red carpet treatment here, the bonus tracks are excellent additions as well. A long blues jam is included with "In the Morning" and "J.P.P. McStep B. Blues" sounds better than ever, a previous version was included on the "2400 Fulton Street" collection. There's also a hidden track at the end of the CD that will pleasantly surprise.

New liner notes are well written adding insight to the recordings. Additional photos from the sessions used for the original packaging are included. This re-master has been a long time coming and should move to the head of the class of the JA catalog! A must for any Airplane fan or for those wondering just what the buzz was all about in 1967.


For the Hippie in All of Us   June 28, 2006
Richard B. Luhrs (Jackson Heights, NY United States)
25 out of 29 found this review helpful

Unlike, say, the Doors or the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane really is a "'sixties band." The group's hippie ethos was and remains omnipresent, the very core of its sociomusical importance. Thus it is that the Airplane's most celebrated and probably greatest album, SURREALISTIC PILLOW, sounds a lot more dated now than many other classic records from 1967 - though still less so than SERGEANT PEPPER. But as even a cursory listen proves, the flower children had a lot more to offer than free love and cheap acid.
Right from the heavily reverbed drums opening "She Has Funny Cars," PILLOW is a powerfully expansive and entertaining experience, and its overt sense of its own time and place does nothing to weaken it. The hard-rocking "Somebody to Love" is still a rousing blend of psychedelic swagger and pop accessibility, "D.C.B.A. 25" a lovely folk-rock gem which can wring a nostalgia for the Summer of Love even from one who wasn't there. It's a pair of beautiful ballads, however - "Today" and the magnificent "Comin' Back to Me" - which are really the album's highlights. Singer Marty Balin's lovely, emotive tenor has never quite gotten the credit it deserves; but his performances on these two songs make clear that it was he, rather than the overhyped Grace Slick, who truly was the voice of Jefferson Airplane. Not that Slick doesn't do some fair work of her own, on flute and keyboards as well as at the mike: "White Rabbit" may sound corny from the smarmy vantage of 2006, but put it up against any of the tripe currently being peddled as worthwhile music on FM radio and it's nothing less than high art.
This 2003 remaster of PILLOW sounds good - though not great, perhaps, as the original album appears to have been rather muddily recorded - and adds seven bonus tracks, a couple of which are indeed good enough to have been on the LP itself. Hippie or not, you're sure to find something you like here, as people have been doing for nearly forty years. Peace!


Warning New CDs Severely Volume Compressed   July 17, 2007
C. B Kitchin (Wilmington, MA. USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Buyer beware. Most CD companies today use digital hyper compression to make their remastered recordings sound as loud as possible. This results in very harsh sounding music. There are few music companies that still produce good sounding oldies rock.

The CD companies are completely clueless of the need to preserve the original hi-fi sound of the original LP recordings and have now affectively destroyed the rock oldies portion of the music business.

Anyone wanting original full range sound today is advised to purchase a CD recorder (such as Denon etc) and convert their LPs to CD.