'After Bathing At Baxter's' and 'Sgt. Pepper's...'

[Nipper]

Hi guys!
I recall reading somewhere that the Airplane had ‘…Baxter’s’ in the can by summer ’67, but went back to the studio for additional tweaking after listening to ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’…
Does anybody know if it’s true?

[plasticfantastic]

I don't know if that's true, although I do know quite a bit about the Beatles. That would lead me to question it, but I can certainly see how it would be true. So no, I'm not quite sure. I've never heard it, but it seems plausible. Let me know when you hear though! Just out of curiosity, where did you read it?

[Nipper]

Plasticfantastic, to me it seems plausible, too. Sgt. Pepper is one of the greatest trippy albums and I think it might have influenced JA…
As far as I remember, I read it some years ago somewhere on this forum (it is a site for vinyl collectors):
http://www.recordcollectorsguild.org/in ... =index&c=4
On that forum there are very knowledgable record collectors. Some of them have been collecting vinyl for 40 years!!! And sometimes really interesting and unique information can be found there…

[Susan Butcher]

Some of the tracks on Baxters had been completed by mid-1967, but quite a bit was recorded later. The recording dates are on the CD issue.

[Nipper]

I don't have that CD issue... So thanks for the info Susan!

[Susan Butcher]

Here's the info from the CD. The first track to be recorded was "Ballad" on 27th June 1967, and the last were "Small Package" and "Spare Chaynge" on the 31st of October. So recording didn't even start until Sgt. Pepper had been out nearly four weeks. I don't need to tell you that four weeks was a long time by 1967's standards. Maybe the Beatles-influenced "tweaking" was the addition of crossfading between the tracks when the album was assembled. Not well done, I think. You needed to use two very closely matched tape recorders, otherwise it sounds clumsy.

[Nipper]

Maybe the Beatles-influenced "tweaking" was the addition of crossfading between the tracks when the album was assembled.

Most likely...

I have always liked crossfading between the tracks

Thanks again for the info Susan.

[redrabid]

Hi, Nipper, I too have a memory of having read that the Airplane went back into the studio after having heard "Sgt. Pepper's". But I also seem to remember that "Pepper"s" didn't influence the way JA recorded the songs on "Baxter's" (Susan is right, most of the songs had already been recorded), but the way they presented those songs: that is in five suits. (I probably read this in the liner notes of one of the many rereleases of "Baxter's". I gave a few of them away, so I can't check this. It is not mentioned in "Got A Revolution"). Paul McCartney visited San Francisco April 1967 and met JA. He played them a tape of "A Day in the Life" and they showed him around San Francisco.

[Nipper]

Hi, redrabid! Thanks a lot! It's really very interesting info!
Though I love the Beatles, I did not know that McCartney met the Airplane and played them that tape...

[redrabid]

If you like trippy albums, Nipper, give "Music In A Doll's House" by British band Family (1968) a listen. I know, I recommended this album elsewhere on this forum, but it is one of the most underrated/forgottten psychedelic albums ever. Soooo good. Produced by Dave Mason, by the way.
And that voice, that demonic voice of Roger Chapman! Haunting.

[Nipper]

Redrabid, thank you for the recommendation. I'll try to find this album.

[jimmie ray]

As a whole, Sgt. Peppers is over-rated - in terms of pschedelic efforts. I do like Paul McCartney's development as a bassist during this period, though. I'll take Abbey Road as a more significant and enjoyable album, any day.

[Susan Butcher]

I agree about Sgt. Pepper, JR. Paul's bass playing is great, and impossible to miss because it was overdubbed in the last stage of recording. But Pepper isn't terribly psychedelic, and the John content is low. I liked Magical Mystery Tour better, even if the album was cobbled together out of singles. Lots of weird sounds in that one!

[Nipper]

As a whole, Sgt. Peppers is over-rated - in terms of pschedelic efforts.

Everybody has different taste and his own definition of psychedelic music, of course…
Here is an interesting discussion about what is psych music:

http://www.recordcollectorsguild.org/in ... highlight=

[usedtobebabson]

I liked the "White" album. Maybe that's going to far for this discussion or maybe I did too much acid while it was out