''Long John Silver'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock band

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

, and their last album of all new material until 1989. It was recorded and released in 1972 as Grunt FTR-1007.

Recording history

After several solo projects for

Grunt Records Grunt Records was a vanity label founded in 1971 by Jefferson Airplane and distributed by RCA Records. Initially created to sign local Bay Area acts, the label later was used only for Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna releases. The label ended use ...

, the members of Jefferson Airplane (including Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Joey Covington and Papa John Creach) came together again in March 1972 for the first time in the studio since the '' Bark'' album was released in September 1971. Sessions at

Wally Heider Studios Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jeff ...

continued for nearly three months, but tensions were high and several songs were recorded by each member recording their own part separately. David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young participated in the recording sessions, but Crosby's vocals were stripped from the record at the insistence of his label. Joey Covington left the band during the sessions (accounts vary as to whether Covington was involuntarily dismissed); reflecting the balkanized milieu, veteran session drummer

John Barbata John Barbata (born April 1, 1945) is an American drummer who was active especially in pop and rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer. Barbata has served as the drummer for The Turtles, Crosby, Stills, ...

(formerly of

The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

) and

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the ...

's Sammy Piazza deputized for the rest of the recording process. Barbata ultimately replaced Covington, playing on all but three songs. Recording was completed in May, 1972; before the album's scheduled July release, RCA Records demanded that the band remove a line from the song "The Son of Jesus" electronically, which referred to a "bastard son of Jesus". Live performances of the song had the offending line intact.

Release and promotion

Released on the band's Grunt Records imprint, the album was Jefferson Airplane's least successful effort since their 1966 debut, only peaking at No. 20 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' album chart. In July, the band began a two-month tour of the United States, their first major tour since 1970. It featured a new line-up including Kantner, Slick, Kaukonen, Casady, Creach, Barbata and former

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

bassist

David Freiberg David Freiberg ( ; born August 24, 1938) is an American musician best known for contributing vocals, keyboards, electric bass, rhythm guitar, viola and percussion as a member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, and Jefferson S ...

as an additional vocalist/percussionist. A close friend of Kantner from the early 1960s

American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...

scene, Freiberg took over

Marty Balin Martyn Jerel Buchwald (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018), known as Marty Balin (), was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder/leader and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and ...

's harmony parts and selected leads on ensemble efforts (most notably "Wooden Ships") and "tried to keep the band together." The tour ended in September at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Winterland Ballroom Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...

, with Balin joining for an encore. Live performances from the Chicago Auditorium Theatre and Winterland were released on the live album ''

Thirty Seconds Over Winterland ''Thirty Seconds Over Winterland'' is an album by the American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane. It was recorded live in August and September 1972, at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago and the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. It was r ...

'' in 1973.

Original vinyl release

The original vinyl LP release (1972) featured an album cover that folded up into a replica of a cigar box. The record sleeve bore an image of cigars; this image was later used as cover art on CD releases. The inside bottom of the box was covered with a photograph of marijuana.

Track listing

Personnel

;Jefferson Airplane *

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, s ...

– vocals, piano *

Jack Casady John William "Jack" Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including " So ...

– bass *

Paul Kantner Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He cont ...

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist J ...

– lead guitar, vocals *

Papa John Creach John Henry Creach (May 28, 1917 – February 22, 1994), better known as Papa John Creach, was an American blues violinist who also played classical, jazz, R&B, pop and acid rock music. Early in his career, he performed as a journeyman musician wi ...

– electric violin *

– drums, tambourine, "against the grain stubble scraping" *

Joey Covington Joseph Edward Covington (born Joseph Edward Michno; June 27, 1945 – June 4, 2013) was an American drummer, best known for his involvements with Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Early life Though best known for his work w ...

– drums on "Twilight Double Leader" and "The Son of Jesus" ;Additional personnel *Sammy Piazza – drums on "Trial by Fire"

Production

*Jefferson Airplane – producer, arrangements *Pat "Maurice the Magnificent" Ieraci – production coordinator *Don Gooch – engineer *Steve Barncard – special thanks *Pacific Eye & Ear – album concept, album design *Bob Tanenbaum, Propella Rotini – illustrations *Bruce Kinch – photography *Borris – weed. AKA Mike Trudnich *Recorded at the Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco

Charts

Album Single

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long John Silver (Album) 1972 albums Jefferson Airplane albums Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios