JA FINAL STUDIO GRUNT

Long John Silver is Jefferson Airplane's last studio album of all new material until 1989. It was recorded in 1972. 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. Joey Covington left the band during the sessions and John Barbata and Sammy Piazza handled the drums for the rest of the sessions. Recording was completed in May and the album was set for release in July.
The album was released on Grunt Records, and climbed the Billboard charts to #20. The band geared up for a tour of the United States, the first major tour for the band since 1970. The tour started in July, and the band's lineup was Kantner, Slick, Kaukonen, Casady, Creach, Barbata, and David Freiberg. Freiberg joined the tour to take over Marty Balin's harmony vocals, but also played tambourine and "tried to keep the band together." 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.


The original vinyl LP release (1972) featured an album cover that folded up into a replica of a cigar box. When folding the Lp cover into the cigar box it displayed as a wood grained box with the perfect dream image the lid inset. The cigars were in place as should be but lifting the cigars out one would find Long John Silver's Stash