Bless Its Pointed Little Head

Bless Its Pointed Little Head
Live album by
Jefferson Airplane
ReleasedFebruary 1969
Venue
GenrePsychedelic rock, acid rock, hard rock
Length52:48
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerAl Schmitt
Jefferson Airplane chronology
Crown of Creation
(1968) 		Bless Its Pointed Little Head
(1969) 		Volunteers
(1969)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Music Box [2]

Bless Its Pointed Little Head is a live album by Jefferson Airplane recorded at both the Fillmore East and West in the fall of 1968 and released in 1969 as RCA Victor LSP-4133.

The album was recorded on the tour supporting Crown of Creation, yet no songs from that album or its predecessor After Bathing at Baxter's were included (the CD re-release, however, contains bonus tracks of a few selections from Baxter's). Instead, selections were taken from their first two albums and a number of covers that had been in their setlist since 1965/6 yet remained unrecorded by them in the studio. One of these, "Fat Angel", had been written by Donovan in the spring of 1966 and namechecked the band, so they returned the favor by covering it in their style. Another, Fred Neil's "The Other Side Of This Life", had apparently been in the set list on the first night they performed at The Matrix in August 1965. Jorma Kaukonen showcased his blues roots with a slow, heavy cover of the traditional "Rock Me Baby", that had also been played by the group as early as 1966. Of the remaining selections, "Clergy" was an audio excerpt from the film King Kong which was used to introduce the band at their Fillmore shows, while "Turn Down The Lights" was a short improvised number of self-explanatory nature. The closing "Bear Melt" had developed from a lengthy instrumental jam called "Thing" which had evolved on stage through the years, now featuring an improvised vocal intro by Slick. A version of "Thing" without Slick's vocal contribution can be heard on the archival release Live at the Fillmore East, taken from the group's May 1968 shows at the venue.

Many of the Airplane's recordings on the live album were longer than their studio performances, featuring greater use of improvisation, and most were sped up considerably. The performance emphasized their freewheeling, ping-pong vocal harmonies and revealed a harder-rocking group. Guitar and bass lines were more in-depth in their construction, forming complex instrumentals. Some of the band's hit singles, such as "White Rabbit", were not included although a dramatically rearranged "Somebody to Love" does appear. The album revealed a different focus in their live concerts compared to their studio albums.[4][5] The album received mixed reviews on release but is a favorite with fans and in the booklet to the box set Jefferson Airplane Loves You, it is noted as the only Airplane album which all the band members remembered with superlatives.

"Plastic Fantastic Lover", which had become considerably funky compared to the studio recording, was released as a single in May 1969 although it failed to chart. Billboard described it as "heavy hard rock."[6] Cash Box wrote that it "features the team's more commercial-than-controversial style" and has "a solid instrumental track and very fine vocal."[7] Record World wrote it was one of the band's favorites.[8]

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Bless Its Pointed Little Head". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  2. ^ Metzger, John (October 2004). "Jefferson Airplane: Bless Its Pointed Little Head". The Music Box. 11 (#10). Archived from the original on 2006-03-25. Retrieved 2006-03-10.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  4. ^ "Bless Its Pointed Little Head - Review". headheritage.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  5. ^ Woodstra, Chris; Bush, John; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2007). Guide Required Listening. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879309176. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  6. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. May 24, 1969. p. 76. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  7. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 10, 1969. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  8. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 10, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-05-08.