Silver spoon (Kantner/Slick) (LP 870 - 872)

Paul Kantner/ Jefferson Starship  Blows Against The Empire (CD and Vinyl, RCA Records, 1970) ***** 

Paul Kantner/ Grace Slick  Sunfighter (Vinyl, Grunt Records, 1971) ***  

Paul Kantner/ Grace Slick/ David Freiberg  Baron Von Tollbooth and The Chrome Nun (Vinyl, Grunt Records, 1973) ****  

Genre: Grunt Records/ San Francisco rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy for Blows...; Roger Marbeck gifted Sunfighter; Marbecks Records for Baron... 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Hijack, Have You Seen The Stars Tonite?, Starship

Gear costume: Flowers Of The Night

Active compensatory factors: These albums are the product of an amazingly fertile Bay area rock scene. Like David Crosby's first solo album, they all feature members of Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills Nash, Jefferson Airplane/Starship and others.

The Kantner 1970 concept album emerged while the original Jefferson Airplane was falling apart. 

The name of the album is tricky as four years later Jefferson Airplane became Jefferson Starship as a band. In the meantime Kantner helmed these three 'solo' albums with that large collection of Bay area musicians - including principally Grace and David Freiberg.

It all gets a bit confusing but the albums, the songs, the playing - they all hold up!

Blows Against The Empire is superb from start to spectacular finish. Those voices! Paul and Grace were just magic together. Starship is a great example. The acoustic guitars and Grace's piano playing are standouts. The science fiction storyline holds things together. It's a classic!

Sunfighter came out straight after Jefferson Airplane's Bark - for a bunch of hippies these people had a great work ethic! It's another terrific album for JA fans to listen to, what with Grace's distinctive piano and the awesome vocal interplay between Slick and Kantner who were now parents of China Wing Kantner and the Bay musical family again coming to the party. It gets three stars because it's a fine album but it doesn't have the memorable songs needed to get to 4 or 5 stars.

Baron Von Tollbooth and The Chrome Nun is the third Kantner offshoot album from Jefferson Airplane and the songs are back to top quality again. It features all the usual Kantner/Slick strengths plus the vocals of David Freiberg - filling the Marty Balin harmony role, and the inspired choice of Craig Chaquico on three tracks. Then there's also the cameo by Jack Traylor who recorded for Grunt Records fleetingly (coming up later in the countdown). He contributes the song and vocals for Flowers of the Night.

Where do they all belong? It's back to the CD collection next. First up - Traveling Wilburys Vol 1.