Long John Silver (album)

Long John Silver
Studio album by Jefferson Airplane
Released July 20, 1972
Recorded March – May 1972 at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco
Genre Psychedelic rock
Length 41:25
Label Grunt
Producer Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane chronology
Bark
(1971)		 Long John Silver
(1972)		 Thirty Seconds Over Winterland
(1973)
Alternative cover
Paper sleeve that came with the original vinyl LP release
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[2]

Long John Silver is the seventh studio album by Jefferson Airplane, and their last album of all new material until 1989. It was recorded and released in 1972 as Grunt FTR-1007, and peaked at No. 20 in America.

Recording history

After several solo projects for Grunt Records, the members of Jefferson Airplane finally came together again in March 1972 for the first time since the Bark album was released. Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Joey Covington, and Papa John Creach all returned. Sessions at Wally Heider Studios continued for three months, but tensions were high and several songs were recorded by each member recording their own part separately.[3] Joey Covington left the band during the sessions; reflecting the balkanized milieu, both veteran drummer John Barbata (formerly of The Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) and Hot Tuna percussionist Sammy Piazza deputized for the rest of the recording process. The album was completed in May and scheduled for release in July, but not before RCA forced the band to scrub a line from the song "The Son of Jesus" electronically, which referred to a "bastard son of Jesus".[4] Live versions of the song were performed with the offending line intact.

Release and promotion

The album was released on Grunt Records, and climbed the Billboard charts to #20. The band geared up for a two-month tour of the United States, their first major tour since 1970. It started in July and featured a new line-up including Kantner, Slick, Kaukonen, Casady, Creach, Barbata and former Quicksilver Messenger Service bassist David Freiberg as an additional vocalist/tambourinist. A close friend of Kantner from the early 1960s folk revival scene, Freiberg took over Marty Balin's harmony parts and selected leads on ensemble efforts (most notably "Wooden Ships") and "tried to keep the band together."[3] The tour ended in September at Winterland, with Balin joining for an encore. Live performances from the tour at the Chicago Auditorium and Winterland were released as the live album, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland.

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

Side one
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Long John Silver"  Grace SlickJack Casady 4:22
2. "Aerie (Gang of Eagles)"  SlickSlick 3:53
3. "Twilight Double Leader"  Paul KantnerKantner 4:42
4. "Milk Train"  SlickPapa John Creach, Roger Spotts 3:18
5. "The Son of Jesus"  KantnerKantner 5:27
Side two
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Easter?"  SlickSlick 4:00
2. "Trial by Fire"  Jorma KaukonenKaukonen 4:31
3. "Alexander the Medium"  KantnerKantner 6:38
4. "Eat Starch Mom"  SlickKaukonen 4:34

Personnel

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1972 Billboard Pop Albums 20

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1972 "Long John Silver" Billboard Pop Singles 102

Notes

  1. ↑ Planer, Lindsay (2011). "Long John Silver – Jefferson Airplane | AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  2. ↑ Bangs, Lester (2011). "Jefferson Airplane: Long John Silver : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on March 12, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Tamarakin, Jeff (2003). Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-03403-0.
  4. ↑ Sims, Judith (December 7, 1972). "Jefferson Airplane Tries Shock Rock". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. (123): 14.
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