After several solo projects for Grunt Records, the members of Jefferson Airplane 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 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 ; reflecting the balkanized milieu, veteran session drummer John Barbata and Hot Tuna's Sammy Piazza deputized for the rest of the recording process. Barbata ultimately replaced Covington, playing on all but three songs. 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". Live versions of the song were performed with 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 #20 on the Billboard 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 bassist David Freiberg as an additional vocalist/percussionist. A close friend of Kantner from the early 1960s American folk music revival scene, Freiberg took over Marty Balin's harmony parts and selected leads on ensemble efforts and "tried to keep the band together." The tour ended in September at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, 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 in 1973.
Original vinyl release
The original vinyl LP release 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.
