@@Hartlor_Tayley I hadn't read that but I can certainly understand how that could be. Sketches of Spain begins with his jazz riff on the Concerto de Aranjuez. Sure. Why not.
Grace slick is a tragic victim of males humiliating females... for some reason she allowed people to depict her as a flake and erratic when she was the best singer of the 60s and 1970s and early 1980s
Her annunciation and accent in this song was reminiscent to me, for the first time upon this listen, of that childlike voice women used to use as an affectation in the golden age of Hollywood (Judy Garland). Anyone else hear it that way?
It's a Spanish scale, reflecting a Moorish influence. It breaks through its scale, as the Kinks do on "You Really Got Me," the breakthrough being the climax. Jorma's electric guitar is inflected with flamenco. Jefferson Airplane's first hit was "Somebody to Love," also sung by Grace, one of three lead singers and writers in the group. She is also one of rock's great personalities. One of the band's most interesting albums is "After Bathing at Baxter's."
She has mentioned, at some point (I think it was referenced in Jorma Kaukonen's autobiography) that the song had some influence from "Sketches of Spain" by Miles Davis.
I'm not sure why, but for me, the marching drumbeat, as a contrast to the psychedelic sound of the stringed instruments and lyrics, paints an audio picture of the American society during the Vietnam war. The consistent presence of a military tone to the society being reflected by the marching drumbeat, but with a shift to the surreal in the musical counter-culture and experimentation with chemical consciousness-expansion.
I think that is a great observation. Reminds me of how Oliver Stone used this song in Platoon, when Charlie Sheen is first accepted into the group of "heads" in the underworld.
I am a retired cop. I was on patrol with my partner one night when this song came on the radio. Just as the line about chasing rabbits was sung, a white rabbit ran across an alley in front of our police car. My partner promptly yelled at me not to chase the rabbit. I sometimes think I should have chased the rabbit.
Never regret decisions made in the past when you weren't even the same person you are now. Lest the white rabbit return like the one in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
Note that in the first verse, Grace’s voice shifts down when the bass/guitar shift up their chords, and vice versa as the chord comes back down, even through the end progression. It makes space and some tension. In the last verse, she follows the bass and guitar upwards to the finale, giving it drive. A masterpiece of a song.
Fun fact about that Woodstock performance, they were supposed to go on much later but got bumped up. Grace was super because she thought she had some time.
Context this song was released in the same year as the Doors "light My fire" and "Sergeant Pepper's lonely heart club band" "Penny Lane" "strawberry Fields" and "Ode to Billie Joe" "Ruby Tuesday " it was a powerful year of music!
You're such a beautiful soul. I watch your videos for hours. You paint music into a picture. You bring it to life in ways I've never perceived before. Thank you for giving us your time and sharing your knowledge and thoughts. ❤
I have to agree with Hollyg6912,....you are a truly good soul and a sweet one as well,...you also seem to know your way around the harp, which is really not surprising as you are, for all intents and purposes, an angel!❤️😉♊😁👍
The most powerful female voice, (along with Janis), that ever was! Grace is a legend in every sense. Thank the stars for the genius of Jefferson Airplane!
I discovered this album on a bright, hot summer day in a darkened living room, on an excursion out in the country. Having the house to myself, I played "White Rabbit" over and over until someone came in and made me stop. I would have continued for hours, completely enthralled. Down the rabbit hole, indeed!
Grace Slick lived down the street from us in Mill Valley, California in the 80's and 90's. Her house burned in Sept. of 1993 and a lot of great rock history was sadly lost but no one was hurt.
@carsonfran no, no. That incident was around 1970, I want to say. Neighbors called police because they thought she had a gun. But "it was a beer can and we all know how much a beer can looks like a gun." They were young guns that showed up.
I loved this reaction. I am glad that you enjoyed it so much and found so much to like, particularly in Grace Slick's voice and vocal delivery. Good observation on how she showed similar techniques as a painter in the way she adds various textures. While I think she always had a love for art, I think she began to focus more on painting after she retired from music in the 90s. According to Wikipedia she is still active as a painter at the age of 84. You have started to get a good intro to psychedelic rock recently, and they don't get much more psychedelic than this one. I enjoyed all your comments and observations. Great reaction!
@@Hartlor_Tayley For what this song conveys on a deeper level and the mind journey it takes you on, I agree on this being the perfect song. Then again, Peter Frampton thought that "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was the perfect song (Amy did this yesterday). At least based on what he said in the Beato interview. So Socrates would ask: Can there be two perfect songs? Wouldn't they be the same song if they were perfect?
@@LeeKennison well those questions are above my pay grade Lee. I love the pokum vid yesterday. It’s interesting about psychedelic music, it’s presented as a genre but it’s really not, it’s an aesthetic, a you know it when you hear it kind of thing but can’t describe it.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, above my pay grade too.😉 I just happened to be watching a philosophy lecture on Plato and Socrates at the time (yes I'm weird I know). Plato through Socrates was speaking in terms of absolute truths and perfection, so your comment was perfectly timed. Yeah, I like your: "you know it when you hear it kind of thing but can’t describe it" statement. That sums it up.
my second rock concert - Nov 1969, Wilkes Barre Pa... Grace was very pregnant. They played for 2 hours ... took a break and came back out for another hour. In my top five concerts ever. I suggest the song 'Lather'
Yeah, if Amy thought White Rabbit was a quirky fun little song, she would love Lather. I bought The Worst Of Jefferson Airplane as a teen in early 80’s, and Lather has always just stood out to me. I love that there is a credit for the “nose solo” on the song.
Quite impressive how greatness becomes something that stands alone on its own apart from everything....from time, place, moment or even their own creators! Amy's reaction to hearing it for the first time is EXACTLY the same as from those who heard this song was released for the first time, from those who heard it for the first time in the 80's and today Amy had the same reaction as everyone who hears this song for the first time. That is what greatness do!
Jorma Kaukonen, another underrated guitarist. Thank you for doing this one. And then Grace Slick, what a voice. Her Silver Spoon is another one I recommend. I'm glad you mention Bolero, because every time I hear this I think about that.
It is great. Some isolated vocals are just magical. Jim Morrison doing Roadhouse Blues isolated just blows you out of the room. Also The Beatles harmonies on the isolated vocals for Day Tripper are simply other worldly.
@@scottfrench4139 I agree that the borders aren't hard, but The Wall is pretty far to the non-psychedelic side of the border; it's a prog rock concept album.
I agree. Pink Floyd's true psychedelic period included singles like See Emily Play and Arnold Layne. They drifted away from a psychedelic aesthetic after Syd Barrett left and had pretty much left it behind by the 70s, although some elements remained in their sound.
Yep. Always thought I head Concierto de Aranjuez in White Rabbit, especially Miles' version. Then I recently read the Wikipedia page, where Slick is quoted, saying that Miles recording was a big influence. Fun too that Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck recorded Beck's Bolero around the same time. Seems several musical adventurers of the time were charmed by those epic march vibes, whether French or Spanish tinged or from elsewhere far away. A great foundation for building all sorts of musical stories.
Great reaction ! .. Glad you loved the song too, like I do .. And yes, like you I always think of Ravel's "Bolero" whenever I hear this .. They are both perfect examples of a magnificent crescendo.
White Rabbit, definitely great song crafting! It draws you in like a cyclone 🌀 getting deeper and deeper with great intensity! Grace Slicks voice is Legendary on this wonderful dreamlike song!❤🎶
Actually, It's No Secret, off JA Takes Off was a regional hit with Grace's predecessor, Signe Toly Anderson and Marty Balin lead vocals. Nothing like White Rabbit's worldwide impact.
I use this song as my alarm clock and it's perfect. Each little escalation draws me a little further out of sleep and into consciousness. When Grace starts with the wide vibrato about halfway through, my brain hears it as like a siren, but much less abrasive, so it doesn't snap me awake. By the end of the song I'm awake and I usually just lie there and listen to it repeat one time before getting up. I spent a couple of years searching for the perfect wake-up song, and this is it. It helps that it's an old recording that isn't compressed into being louder.
I think you would also enjoy their version of "Wooden Ships" for the vocal harmonies. Also, "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon" has excellent harmonies.
Surrealistic Pillow was one of the first three albums I bought as a teenager in 1965/66. Great then, great now. You really should see the video of them performing White Rabbit at Woodstock. You have to see Grace Slick singing to fully appreciate it. And yes, the song's short length always left everyone wanting more.
Everyone wishes this perfect song was longer or was an into into something else. Great review! So glad you enjoyed it. It boggles my mind that Grace Slick is now 84 or 85. Time keeps marching.
They way you explain and feel the music makes it even more enjoyable, especially knowing you are discovering these songs we have heard many time. It brings a new perspective and understanding to the piece. Keep up the journey and the wonderful breakdown!
😎👍 If you're going to take a deep dive into the music of The Jefferson Airplane, there's one thing you should know first...Grace Slick is but one of four vocalists in the group who all share singing duties just about equally. Marty Balin, Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen also sing lead on many tunes, and on a lot of them, Grace, Paul and Marty sing in three-part harmony. 😉
I think it's one of the 5 LP's of 1967 that define that year. (My other 4 are Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Sgt. Pepper, Satanic Majesties, and Days of Future Passed.)
@@avlisk forever changes by Love, easter everywhere by the Thirteenth floor elevators. Something else by the kinks and so many more. What a year for music that was
Your face is so expressive. I can immediately tell when you are really enjoying something, when you are questioning certain choices, and when you don't really care for something. Grace Slick was certainly a powerhouse. Such an amazing voice, and she was never one to beat around the bush about her opinions.
One of your finest reviews. Your reaction to this is similar to mine on first hearing it. The military drumbeat and the half step rise and fall. Exciting! And Grace Slick has a very unique voice.
Back in the day when Grace got to "Feed Your Head" you rose to your feet (if you could ) and pumped your fist along with Grace. I saw Jeff Air 3 times - I'll never forget a minute of any of them. ☮☯☮
Just a masterful analysis of this song.Wow. You explained exactly what i felt about ir but couldn't express so perfectly.I could tell you genuinely enjoyed it, no condensation from a highly trained musician like yourself
Cat stevens was played often in my house when i was a child. This is the first piece of music i played to my first child when i took her home from the hospital. To me it was a special moment. Everthing in the world at that moment was in ballance. A beautiful son from a beautiful artist.❤
I'd love to have you as a music teacher. Your ability to translate the music to mental pictures and scenarios and the joy you express when doing so is fantastic. I feel just being around you would increase my musical ability and understanding. Thank you. BTW, I was 14 when this song was released. It's one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar.
I was in high school out in a bush village in Alaska when this song came out. The album was mind bending as we used to say. I have an antique half speed virgin vinyl album of Ravels Bolero. Yes the build up to crescendo in both are wonderful especially with a great set of speakers! Thumps you right in the chest. Ear phones can’t do that. Another album from that same time is The Moody Blues “Days Of Future Past”. On of the very first Thyme albums. The final song is Nights in White Satin, but you really need to listen to the entire album to grasp the power the final orchestra brings out.
The album this came from "Surrealistic Pillow" which is a terrific album, their work was hit and miss for me, but another great album is "Volunteers", brilliant track
This is my favorite Jefferson Airplane song ever. It is just so remarkable and it has been featured in quite a few movies or TV shows and it's always dramatic and just stops you in your tracks when you start listening to it cuz you know something momentous is about to happen! Also another fact which you did not mention is that Jefferson airplane changed their name later on to Jefferson Starship.
I just found this channel and I love it! The fantastic way she explains what a piece of music means to her is wonderful. This musician, really gets it!
Amy needs to explore the bands from the 60s and 70s that all the later bands emulated. Airplane is a good start. Early Who and Kinks. All the great midwest bands from the 70s (Chicago, Styx, REO, Seeger, Kansas and even Uncle Ted)! Then there is Bad Co., Foreigner, and Frampton.
You might also check out an earlier version she did with The Great Society. There is a long instrumental at the beginning and then the vocals from Grace come in. The early version is live and raw compared to the Airplane. Both are great.
This is wonderful! You are putting in words the movements in music that I feel but can't really explain. Thank you for helping me see more in my musical horizon! I have a request if I may.. I would love to have you analyze Terrapin Station by The Grateful Dead 🙏
You mentioned Pink Floyd as your only experience with psychedelic music, and how this felt very different. One thing to keep in mind is that most of the Floyd you have heard (mainly the wall) is from when they had gotten less psychedelic. They had not completely abandoned it, but it is less an influence by that point in their career.
I think of Floyd as 4 bands; the first lead by Syd and having a very distinctive sound of it's own, the second Floyd was a more collaborative effort, the third Floyd was the prototype for Roger's solo career and the fourth Floyd was the post-Roger era. Each version of the band was forced to evolve by personnel changes or simply the need to grow. Each has it's pros and cons, but the only one I'd consider Psychedelic was the first, lead by Syd. After that they quickly began to evolve into a Progressive style and sound. The only resemblance in sound to this music (Jefferson Airplane has it's own evolution story marked by name changes) to Floyd would be from Piper at the Gates of Dawn or other early recordings. Those would have been made in London around the same time, or just after what was going on in San Francisco (Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead). Two different Psychedelic scenes, developing in different parts of the world. TOOL is Pink Floyd for the new millennium. 🤘🧙♂🤘
One of my favourites. My husband prefers the heavy metal version by "Sanctuary!" Jefferson Airplane's big hit was "Somebody to love," but "Today" is also very good. Grace also sang with "Starship" in the 80's with "Nothing's going to stop us now, " which was also a huge hit. Amazing voice.
I've listened to a few dzn of your vids now Amy... Some are 30+ min. But, THIS is my absolutely my fav so far! I learn so much about the way music works by listening to VRock.
At the Halloween concert 1974 in the Omni, Grace came out to start the concert in a long black gown, barefoot & belted White Rabbit to the rafters! OMG I felt it was a life changing experience! Airplane's/Starship's version of Wooden Ships are really worth a listen...
Well you've reached 1966 with the Beatles and this is only one year later... the expansion in rock was explosive in a couple of years, and by 1968 we had it all, acid, metal etc! With it's mysterious mood White Rabbit was a classic for movies. B.t.w. the very melodic and symphonic style of Pink Floyd began with the album Dark Side Of The Moon - before that they were, to put it short, ...WEIRD!
Yes please listen to the first single :) Thank you so much! Your knowledge is so encompassing of all forms the arts (not just music), society, literature and philosophical thought which winds its way to a full appreciation and criticism.
Impossible to agree with Rolling Stone's 400+ ranking of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit in the most influential songs of rock music. I would place it in the top 50. 🤷
LOVE your videos. Classically trained musician here: Within Music Theory, this beginning progression can be described and "phrygian dominant" Kind of like a flat V7 chord > 6 chord (repeat several times) This progression is popular in many styles, flamenco, Turkish, Balkan, Heavy Metal... et al.
Speaking in terms of painting the song is the painting, the composer is the painter, and YOU are the brush in this moment! Love your interpretations and insights!!
This song is addressing a situation about parents reading Alice in Wonderland to their children then wondering why they gravitate towards drugs. With a song like this it's hard to comprehend the full impact without understanding the societal context of the times it was released. It's OK to appreciate it on its musical merits alone. But the impact was on the storytelling. It's important to note two things. One is at the time of writing the song LSD was still legal. It became illegal in 1968 when authorities realized it became a major component to the counter culture. And it would thwart their efforts to win in Vietnam. The other thing to note is Grace Slick wrote the song after an acid trip.
"I have fallen in love with the singer"
Well, Grace Slick definitely is somebody to love.
Haha - I see what you did there 😅
Don't you want somebody to love?
You better find somebody to love.
ruclips.net/video/2EdLasOrG6c/видео.html
@@shacharh5470 nice 🤣
I may add: somebody we NEED to love.
(edit: fixed my clumsy English :) ).
So glad you fell in love with that magnificent voice. Recognisable in two notes.
Grace Slick, the Voice That Launched a Thousand Trips!
I think you're missing a few zeros.
@@Rogue0257 Definitely but it doesn't have the great sounding appeal as a thousand
Totally dude, Peace out
i want you to throw the radio in the tub when white rabbit peaks
😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅@@Rogue0257
Slick herself admitted that Bolero inspired the snare and the slow crescendo. Great piece of imaginative music.
I've never heard that, but now that you mention it, I can definitely see Bolero influencing it.
I think she also said that this was influenced by Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis which she was listening to at the time
@@Hartlor_Tayley I hadn't read that but I can certainly understand how that could be. Sketches of Spain begins with his jazz riff on the Concerto de Aranjuez. Sure. Why not.
@@joemarchi1 I heard her say as much somewhere and I’m sure she was familiar with Ravel Bolero too.
Grace Slick is one of the most unique singing voices in all rock music.
Grace slick is a tragic victim of males humiliating females... for some reason she allowed people to depict her as a flake and erratic when she was the best singer of the 60s and 1970s and early 1980s
@@dampergoldenrod4156OK. Nice theory. She was just a puppet.
Her annunciation and accent in this song was reminiscent to me, for the first time upon this listen, of that childlike voice women used to use as an affectation in the golden age of Hollywood (Judy Garland). Anyone else hear it that way?
Try the Doors - psychedelic long before Pink Floyd & better than Jefferson Airplane.
@@petiewheat82 I don't hear that at all. I love her enunciation (it frustrates me when singers don't).
Grace's White Rabbit vocals will be heard at the very end of the universe, just before it blinks out.
It will be playing at The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe.😊
@@T-bone1950 That would be really together.
See you there, Slick! :)
Love Surrealistic Pillow. Probably played my album unit it was sheer😂 Grace Slick ruled the universe for a very long time 🌟⚡️💫
Would be so epic!
Grace wasn't merely a singer. She qualifies as a force of nature.
There weren't a lot of female rock singers with a trained voice back in the 60s, and Grace knocked us flat with that powerful contralto.
It's a Spanish scale, reflecting a Moorish influence. It breaks through its scale, as the Kinks do on "You Really Got Me," the breakthrough being the climax. Jorma's electric guitar is inflected with flamenco. Jefferson Airplane's first hit was "Somebody to Love," also sung by Grace, one of three lead singers and writers in the group. She is also one of rock's great personalities. One of the band's most interesting albums is "After Bathing at Baxter's."
It has an eerie March toward death very appropriate for the Vietnam war ...has nothing to do with the kinks
It;s technically the Indian scale also known as the Egyptian scale and the Spanish Scale.
She has mentioned, at some point (I think it was referenced in Jorma Kaukonen's autobiography) that the song had some influence from "Sketches of Spain" by Miles Davis.
I'm not sure why, but for me, the marching drumbeat, as a contrast to the psychedelic sound of the stringed instruments and lyrics, paints an audio picture of the American society during the Vietnam war. The consistent presence of a military tone to the society being reflected by the marching drumbeat, but with a shift to the surreal in the musical counter-culture and experimentation with chemical consciousness-expansion.
I think that is a great observation. Reminds me of how Oliver Stone used this song in Platoon, when Charlie Sheen is first accepted into the group of "heads" in the underworld.
Not really a march and I can't imagine marching to it - lines of soldiers bumping into each other and tripping over one another.
There's definitely a sense of foreboding with that beat, the guitar is also "Nam era" in the way it sounds.
Well said
Heavy, dude.
I am a retired cop. I was on patrol with my partner one night when this song came on the radio. Just as the line about chasing rabbits was sung, a white rabbit ran across an alley in front of our police car. My partner promptly yelled at me not to chase the rabbit. I sometimes think I should have chased the rabbit.
Great story and, yes, you probably should have chased the rabbit.
You might have fallen down a hole.
That's a White Rabbit gang trap, if ever heard of one.
But how about that Grace Slick?
Never regret decisions made in the past when you weren't even the same person you are now. Lest the white rabbit return like the one in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
I am called Alice thanks to this song, so happy you react to it! ❤️
Note that in the first verse, Grace’s voice shifts down when the bass/guitar shift up their chords, and vice versa as the chord comes back down, even through the end progression. It makes space and some tension. In the last verse, she follows the bass and guitar upwards to the finale, giving it drive. A masterpiece of a song.
Reminds me of the shift into major at the end of Ravel's Bolero.
Their performance of White Rabbit at Woodstock in '69, was one of the most epic live moment in rock history.
You should really check it out!
No, we need whole Woodstock 1970 documentary reaction. Maybe for 200k subscribers
Fun fact about that Woodstock performance, they were supposed to go on much later but got bumped up. Grace was super because she thought she had some time.
Context this song was released in the same year as the Doors "light My fire" and "Sergeant Pepper's lonely heart club band" "Penny Lane" "strawberry Fields" and "Ode to Billie Joe" "Ruby Tuesday " it was a powerful year of music!
I was born too!
@@Barbaste Me too!
Also "Whiter Shade of Pale"
Safe As Milk by Captain Beefheart is one of the top 5 albums of 1967 and hardly anyone has heard it. It was one of John Lennon's favorites as well.
Love's "Forever Changes" album, Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced," Moby Grape's debut album, Buffalo Springfield's second album ...
I'm fortunate to have been able to grow up with this music. As Rick Beato said: "Before there was Pro Tunes there were Pro's"
"before there were Pro Tools", I assume
You're such a beautiful soul. I watch your videos for hours. You paint music into a picture. You bring it to life in ways I've never perceived before. Thank you for giving us your time and sharing your knowledge and thoughts. ❤
I have to agree with Hollyg6912,....you are a truly good soul and a sweet one as well,...you also seem to know your way around the harp, which is really not surprising as you are, for all intents and purposes, an angel!❤️😉♊😁👍
Their first hit was "Somebody to Love" which is more fast-paced but Slick's voice is equally dramatic and powerful.
If this doesn't give you goosebumps....you're dead: ruclips.net/video/XbBlcLXsSbU/видео.html
8 Miles High - The Byrds. Another classic psychedelic 60's masterpiece.
Often cited as the first Psychedelic Rock song
And In-a-gadda-da-vida!
@@erikahlander3489 Ha ha! YT is asking if I want to translate that to English!
Don't forget "Spirit In the Sky" by Norman Grennbaum.
The byrds born to follow
The most powerful female voice, (along with Janis), that ever was!
Grace is a legend in every sense.
Thank the stars for the genius of Jefferson Airplane!
Pre - Floor Jansen.
Have you ever heard Odetta?
This song works on so many levels. A two minute miracle of a song. Perfection. Great analysis and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks Virgin rock
Psychedelic is an aesthetic more than a style or genre. It’s hard to describe but you know it when you hear it.
There is one shared ethos: LSD - it is big, and it is clever :D
@@richardbradbury3658 yes indeed
It was called avant-garde at one time
That is an astute observation. It is a state of mind - pun intended.
She said it actually: from an other world.
I discovered this album on a bright, hot summer day in a darkened living room, on an excursion out in the country. Having the house to myself, I played "White Rabbit" over and over until someone came in and made me stop. I would have continued for hours, completely enthralled. Down the rabbit hole, indeed!
Oh for sure, 5 more minutes of this song is every rock fan's dream lol!
I like to play it on a loop over and over and over again.
Not mine 💤🥱
Amen ✌🏼
Great classic rock!!!!😯😯😯😁
@@ellenlewis9860 Thanks!😆
Grace Slick lived down the street from us in Mill Valley, California in the 80's and 90's. Her house burned in Sept. of 1993 and a lot of great rock history was sadly lost but no one was hurt.
Was that about the same time that she confronted reporters and/or lookey-loo's on her property ... with a shotgun?
@@carsonfranyep
@carsonfran no, no. That incident was around 1970, I want to say. Neighbors called police because they thought she had a gun. But "it was a beer can and we all know how much a beer can looks like a gun." They were young guns that showed up.
Lawman is on the Bark album released in 1971
Brilliant and fun analysis. Few pieces immediately evoke and transport one back to the 60s like this one
This is Grace’s best song ever by a mile. Jack, Jorma, Spencer (Charlie Chaplin’s nephew) deserve a lot of credit for their magical performance.
By a mile? Her "Lather" is a very close second. Only a hundred feet behind.
I loved this reaction. I am glad that you enjoyed it so much and found so much to like, particularly in Grace Slick's voice and vocal delivery. Good observation on how she showed similar techniques as a painter in the way she adds various textures. While I think she always had a love for art, I think she began to focus more on painting after she retired from music in the 90s. According to Wikipedia she is still active as a painter at the age of 84. You have started to get a good intro to psychedelic rock recently, and they don't get much more psychedelic than this one. I enjoyed all your comments and observations. Great reaction!
It’s a perfect song imho
@@Hartlor_Tayley For what this song conveys on a deeper level and the mind journey it takes you on, I agree on this being the perfect song. Then again, Peter Frampton thought that "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was the perfect song (Amy did this yesterday). At least based on what he said in the Beato interview. So Socrates would ask: Can there be two perfect songs? Wouldn't they be the same song if they were perfect?
@@LeeKennison well those questions are above my pay grade Lee. I love the pokum vid yesterday. It’s interesting about psychedelic music, it’s presented as a genre but it’s really not, it’s an aesthetic, a you know it when you hear it kind of thing but can’t describe it.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, above my pay grade too.😉 I just happened to be watching a philosophy lecture on Plato and Socrates at the time (yes I'm weird I know). Plato through Socrates was speaking in terms of absolute truths and perfection, so your comment was perfectly timed. Yeah, I like your: "you know it when you hear it kind of thing but can’t describe it" statement. That sums it up.
@@LeeKennison I should have specified that Perfect was not in the platonic sense.
It's one of rocks' great performances.
A masterpiece of musical minimalism and space.. perfect.
my second rock concert - Nov 1969, Wilkes Barre Pa... Grace was very pregnant. They played for 2 hours ... took a break and came back out for another hour. In my top five concerts ever. I suggest the song 'Lather'
Lather is overlooked but great, thinks for the reminder have not given that a listen for years
@@Pawsk one of my favorite Airplane songs
Yeah, if Amy thought White Rabbit was a quirky fun little song, she would love Lather. I bought The Worst Of Jefferson Airplane as a teen in early 80’s, and Lather has always just stood out to me. I love that there is a credit for the “nose solo” on the song.
Yes, I love Lather!
Quite impressive how greatness becomes something that stands alone on its own apart from everything....from time, place, moment or even their own creators! Amy's reaction to hearing it for the first time is EXACTLY the same as from those who heard this song was released for the first time, from those who heard it for the first time in the 80's and today Amy had the same reaction as everyone who hears this song for the first time. That is what greatness do!
Yes - Her reactions are always on target as and she really appreciates most of what she listens to.
Another great singer./painter is Joni Mitchell. Folk though. Amazing voice and lyrics Her paintings are often used as album covers.
Jorma Kaukonen, another underrated guitarist. Thank you for doing this one. And then Grace Slick, what a voice. Her Silver Spoon is another one I recommend. I'm glad you mention Bolero, because every time I hear this I think about that.
She needs to hear "Embryonic Journey" next.
Sunfighter is a great and much overlooked album.... the celebration of the birth of China... Paul and Grace's daughter.
Sketches of China is another one for me.
Silver Spoon blows me away every time
Jack's bass runs are epic. And Spencer Dryden? Just a nursery room snare drum to carry us.
There is a video on RUclips with Grace Slick’s vocals isolated that I find mesmerizing.
It is Amazing!
I came across that years ago. It's good.
It is great. Some isolated vocals are just magical. Jim Morrison doing Roadhouse Blues isolated just blows you out of the room. Also The Beatles harmonies on the isolated vocals for Day Tripper are simply other worldly.
Pink Floyd that you listened to is prog rock Pink Floyd. Psychedelic PinkFloyd was on early records
Ya, The Wall isn't remotely psychedelic. Pink Floyd left psychedelic behind by the early 70s.
They were still psychedelic into the '70s. Different things can work in tandem, no hard borders.
@@scottfrench4139 I agree that the borders aren't hard, but The Wall is pretty far to the non-psychedelic side of the border; it's a prog rock concept album.
I agree. Pink Floyd's true psychedelic period included singles like See Emily Play and Arnold Layne. They drifted away from a psychedelic aesthetic after Syd Barrett left and had pretty much left it behind by the 70s, although some elements remained in their sound.
I've never seen you so enamored with a song. I love this track. Glad you do too
Inspired by Miles Davis'album "Sketches of Spain"... A must listen to...
Interesting to know.
I’m intrigued. Will check it out
Inspired by listening to it while tripping on LSD.
Yep. Always thought I head Concierto de Aranjuez in White Rabbit, especially Miles' version. Then I recently read the Wikipedia page, where Slick is quoted, saying that Miles recording was a big influence. Fun too that Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck recorded Beck's Bolero around the same time. Seems several musical adventurers of the time were charmed by those epic march vibes, whether French or Spanish tinged or from elsewhere far away. A great foundation for building all sorts of musical stories.
@@JobyOtero John Martyn had an idea why so many were attracted to the Bolero, expounded between songs on his ‘Live at Leeds’ album.
Imagine hearing this for the first time in 2024
I would simply like to congratulate you on your videos which are very qualitative. Maybe the best I have seen, continue like that Madam.
Great reaction ! .. Glad you loved the song too, like I do .. And yes, like you I always think of Ravel's "Bolero" whenever I hear this .. They are both perfect examples of a magnificent crescendo.
White Rabbit, definitely great song crafting! It draws you in like a cyclone 🌀 getting deeper and deeper with great intensity! Grace Slicks voice is Legendary on this wonderful dreamlike song!❤🎶
First hit by Jefferson Airplane was probably 'Somebody to love'.
Yeah that’s the one. Good song for Virgin Rock to do.
wil amy prefer it 2 the queen version? ;)
@@stephencolbertcheese7354 lol
Actually, It's No Secret, off JA Takes Off was a regional hit with Grace's predecessor, Signe Toly Anderson and Marty Balin lead vocals. Nothing like White Rabbit's worldwide impact.
@@marvinroos3520 yes it’s no secret was their first hit. They were really good before Grace.
I use this song as my alarm clock and it's perfect. Each little escalation draws me a little further out of sleep and into consciousness. When Grace starts with the wide vibrato about halfway through, my brain hears it as like a siren, but much less abrasive, so it doesn't snap me awake. By the end of the song I'm awake and I usually just lie there and listen to it repeat one time before getting up.
I spent a couple of years searching for the perfect wake-up song, and this is it. It helps that it's an old recording that isn't compressed into being louder.
There is an isolated vocal out there of this. Very much worth a listen.😊
Love that you did this one, Amy. Thank you!
I think you would also enjoy their version of "Wooden Ships" for the vocal harmonies. Also, "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon" has excellent harmonies.
Surrealistic Pillow was one of the first three albums I bought as a teenager in 1965/66. Great then, great now. You really should see the video of them performing White Rabbit at Woodstock. You have to see Grace Slick singing to fully appreciate it. And yes, the song's short length always left everyone wanting more.
Everyone wishes this perfect song was longer or was an into into something else. Great review! So glad you enjoyed it. It boggles my mind that Grace Slick is now 84 or 85. Time keeps marching.
When this was played by the first band she was in, The Great Society, they did a long, swirling intro to the song.
They way you explain and feel the music makes it even more enjoyable, especially knowing you are discovering these songs we have heard many time. It brings a new perspective and understanding to the piece. Keep up the journey and the wonderful breakdown!
😎👍 If you're going to take a deep dive into the music of The Jefferson Airplane, there's one thing you should know first...Grace Slick is but one of four vocalists in the group who all share singing duties just about equally. Marty Balin, Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen also sing lead on many tunes, and on a lot of them, Grace, Paul and Marty sing in three-part harmony. 😉
Such a pleasure to share your reaction to this work of art. Thank you, once again.
The entire Surrealistic Pillow album is wonderful. Highly recommended
I think it's one of the 5 LP's of 1967 that define that year. (My other 4 are Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Sgt. Pepper, Satanic Majesties, and Days of Future Passed.)
@@avlisk forever changes by Love, easter everywhere by the Thirteenth floor elevators. Something else by the kinks and so many more. What a year for music that was
@@avlisk chip in The Doors debut album into that 1967 summer!
Your face is so expressive. I can immediately tell when you are really enjoying something, when you are questioning certain choices, and when you don't really care for something. Grace Slick was certainly a powerhouse. Such an amazing voice, and she was never one to beat around the bush about her opinions.
You’re a woman of great taste and musical education. That’s why you like the song!
no, she's a hack and can do better
she needs to stop pausing to actually appreciate and listen to music
One of your finest reviews. Your reaction to this is similar to mine on first hearing it. The military drumbeat and the half step rise and fall. Exciting! And Grace Slick has a very unique voice.
I would occasionally play it over the intercom at the VA ward I worked at before giving morning meds.
Brilliant band, had everything, dreaming hippies, hardrocking core and Grace Slick
i love your voice.. its so relaxing to me...and i enjoy your reactions. Be Blessed always!
Back in the day when Grace got to "Feed Your Head" you rose to your feet (if you could ) and pumped your fist along with Grace. I saw Jeff Air 3 times - I'll never forget a minute of any of them. ☮☯☮
Just a masterful analysis of this song.Wow. You explained exactly what i felt about ir but couldn't express so perfectly.I could tell you genuinely enjoyed it, no condensation from a highly trained musician like yourself
Not to mention Grace's vibratto!!!
Cat stevens was played often in my house when i was a child. This is the first piece of music i played to my first child when i took her home from the hospital. To me it was a special moment. Everthing in the world at that moment was in ballance. A beautiful son from a beautiful artist.❤
Their deep tracks are pretty amazing hidden gems too like "Today".
I'd love to have you as a music teacher. Your ability to translate the music to mental pictures and scenarios and the joy you express when doing so is fantastic. I feel just being around you would increase my musical ability and understanding. Thank you. BTW, I was 14 when this song was released. It's one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar.
can we imagine Jefferson Airplane performing this song on the very polite & gentle American Bandstand show, back in 1967 ?
what kind of UFO it was 😁
I was in high school out in a bush village in Alaska when this song came out. The album was mind bending as we used to say.
I have an antique half speed virgin vinyl album of Ravels Bolero. Yes the build up to crescendo in both are wonderful especially with a great set of speakers! Thumps you right in the chest. Ear phones can’t do that.
Another album from that same time is The Moody Blues “Days Of Future Past”. On of the very first Thyme albums. The final song is Nights in White Satin, but you really need to listen to the entire album to grasp the power the final orchestra brings out.
Nothing like a crescendo. 0 to 100.
Grace Slick´s voice is a voice that both stands tall and soars. impossible not to fall in love with
The album this came from "Surrealistic Pillow" which is a terrific album, their work was hit and miss for me, but another great album is "Volunteers", brilliant track
This is my favorite Jefferson Airplane song ever. It is just so remarkable and it has been featured in quite a few movies or TV shows and it's always dramatic and just stops you in your tracks when you start listening to it cuz you know something momentous is about to happen! Also another fact which you did not mention is that Jefferson airplane changed their name later on to Jefferson Starship.
Excellent excellent job really enjoyed that analysis.
I just found this channel and I love it! The fantastic way she explains what a piece of music means to her is wonderful. This musician, really gets it!
Hesitation Blues ❤
If we are heading into `Trippy` regions, then another that I would submit is "Itchycoo Park" by the Small Faces- also from 1967.
A cute song, that one.
Amy needs to explore the bands from the 60s and 70s that all the later bands emulated. Airplane is a good start. Early Who and Kinks. All the great midwest bands from the 70s (Chicago, Styx, REO, Seeger, Kansas and even Uncle Ted)! Then there is Bad Co., Foreigner, and Frampton.
Don't think that trip hop got much traction on the US side of the pond? I would love her and you to listen to Portishead, if you haven't already?
@@mikeb7379 for all Portishead insist they are not trip hop. they pretty much define it for a lot of people,
Grace Slick is one of those artists who you just immediately know would have been just as famous had she appeared on Earth in any other generation.
Probably my favorite studio performance by a female rock singer. Ever. Glacé Slick’s voice here is absolutely magnificent. Magnificent.
So much attention on Slick when Ballin was one of the greatest voices in rock and the best song writer in the group
I thought of Ravel too. Great video. I'm enjoying your journey into rock, thank you.
She is a POWERHOUSE! GRACE SLICK❤❤❤
One of my favorite female vocalists.
I love your in depth commentary Amy. It brought so much more appreciation of this song for me…and I previously loved this song!
You might also check out an earlier version she did with The Great Society. There is a long instrumental at the beginning and then the vocals from Grace come in. The early version is live and raw compared to the Airplane. Both are great.
This is wonderful! You are putting in words the movements in music that I feel but can't really explain. Thank you for helping me see more in my musical horizon! I have a request if I may.. I would love to have you analyze Terrapin Station by The Grateful Dead 🙏
Her voice is practically synonymous with "the sound of the sixties".
I know this song so long and never realised the bolero comparison. now I will always remember that. thank you
Me too and now it seems so obvious lol
You mentioned Pink Floyd as your only experience with psychedelic music, and how this felt very different. One thing to keep in mind is that most of the Floyd you have heard (mainly the wall) is from when they had gotten less psychedelic. They had not completely abandoned it, but it is less an influence by that point in their career.
I think of Floyd as 4 bands; the first lead by Syd and having a very distinctive sound of it's own, the second Floyd was a more collaborative effort, the third Floyd was the prototype for Roger's solo career and the fourth Floyd was the post-Roger era. Each version of the band was forced to evolve by personnel changes or simply the need to grow. Each has it's pros and cons, but the only one I'd consider Psychedelic was the first, lead by Syd. After that they quickly began to evolve into a Progressive style and sound.
The only resemblance in sound to this music (Jefferson Airplane has it's own evolution story marked by name changes) to Floyd would be from Piper at the Gates of Dawn or other early recordings. Those would have been made in London around the same time, or just after what was going on in San Francisco (Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead). Two different Psychedelic scenes, developing in different parts of the world.
TOOL is Pink Floyd for the new millennium.
🤘🧙♂🤘
One of my favourites. My husband prefers the heavy metal version by "Sanctuary!" Jefferson Airplane's big hit was "Somebody to love," but "Today" is also very good. Grace also sang with "Starship" in the 80's with "Nothing's going to stop us now, " which was also a huge hit. Amazing voice.
“Today” and “Comin’ Back to Me” form a wonderful pair.
What a voice, goosebumps every time!!
One of the shortest classics of all time and one of the keys is you wish the journey could continue🎶🎶🎶
I've listened to a few dzn of your vids now Amy... Some are 30+ min.
But, THIS is my absolutely my fav so far! I learn so much about the way music works by listening to VRock.
For your covers series, you should do the song "Wooden Ships" by Crosby, Stills, & Nash and by Jefferson Airplane!
At the Halloween concert 1974 in the Omni, Grace came out to start the concert in a long black gown, barefoot & belted White Rabbit to the rafters! OMG I felt it was a life changing experience!
Airplane's/Starship's version of Wooden Ships are really worth a listen...
Every song on Surrealistic Pillow is amazing..
thanks for your enjoyment of this track and reminding me of the fantastic Grace Slick voice
Well you've reached 1966 with the Beatles and this is only one year later... the expansion
in rock was explosive in a couple of years, and by 1968 we had it all, acid, metal etc!
With it's mysterious mood White Rabbit was a classic for movies.
B.t.w. the very melodic and symphonic style of Pink Floyd began with the album
Dark Side Of The Moon - before that they were, to put it short, ...WEIRD!
Yes please listen to the first single :) Thank you so much! Your knowledge is so encompassing of all forms the arts (not just music), society, literature and philosophical thought which winds its way to a full appreciation and criticism.
Impossible to agree with Rolling Stone's 400+ ranking of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit in the most influential songs of rock music. I would place it in the top 50. 🤷
LOVE your videos. Classically trained musician here: Within Music Theory, this beginning progression can be described and "phrygian dominant" Kind of like a flat V7 chord > 6 chord (repeat several times) This progression is popular in many styles, flamenco, Turkish, Balkan, Heavy Metal... et al.
'I love this voice'.
Err, yes. It's entirely loveable 🙂
she didn't love it enough to keep her mouth shut or NOT PAUSE IT in the middle of the magic
she's a hackfraud
Speaking in terms of painting the song is the painting, the composer is the painter, and YOU are the brush in this moment! Love your interpretations and insights!!
This song is addressing a situation about parents reading Alice in Wonderland to their children then wondering why they gravitate towards drugs.
With a song like this it's hard to comprehend the full impact without understanding the societal context of the times it was released.
It's OK to appreciate it on its musical merits alone. But the impact was on the storytelling.
It's important to note two things. One is at the time of writing the song LSD was still legal. It became illegal in 1968 when authorities realized it became a major component to the counter culture. And it would thwart their efforts to win in Vietnam.
The other thing to note is Grace Slick wrote the song after an acid trip.