Jefferson Airplane, "Long John Silver" (Grunt, 1972)

Grace Slick always provided much of the star power for Jefferson Airplane, and for good reason. Take a look at photographs of her circa 1967, and you'll know why she was popular among young male listeners in particular.

Musically, Grace always shared the spotlight with her bandmates. Yes, she was the lead vocalist for the Airplane's two megahits, "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit." But she usually wrote about two songs per album in the band's heyday, giving Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and Jorma Kaukonen an opportunity to feature their contributions as well.

It wasn't until Jefferson Airplane's final studio album, "Long John Silver," that Grace stepped to the forefront, writing or co-writing five of the nine songs. That should have been good news for fans who enjoyed hearing her voice.

For the most part, it wasn't.

When co-founder Balin left the band abruptly following his friend Janis Joplin's death in 1970, his departure left a creative void that the remaining members had a difficult time filling. The following year's effort, "Bark," appeared to be less of a cohesive work than product to help launch the Airplane's own record label, Grunt. Then came "Long John Silver," recorded at a time when band members, as they'll admit, were pretty much going through the motions.

Slick always dealt in abstract lyrics - her most direct song, "Somebody to Love," actually was written by her brother-in-law, Darby Slick - and her compositions on "Long John Silver" for the most part follow the pattern. Perhaps the title track, apparently about the "Treasure Island" pirate, comes close to telling a coherent story: "Does the same thing that his father did, sailing around the Caribbean/Robbing king with his talking parrot, this time I think he's on the high side." Well, part of that seems coherent.

Then there's "Eat Starch Mom," a heavy-metal romp with music (and nonsensical title) by Kaukonen, that seems to be about a gearhead who doesn't like vegetarians. And "Aerie (Gang of Eagles)" just might address the plight of the then-endangered species against those who "can't fly ... without a rifle on your shelf."

One of the liveliest tunes on the album is "Milk Train," with the melody by way of Papa John Creach's spirited violin playing; by this time, the elderly gentleman was a full-fledged member of the psychedelic hippie band. A bringdown, on the other hand, is Grace's "Easter?", in which she attacks Pope Paul VI by name, causing great anxiety for executives at RCA Victor, the distributor for Grunt.

The execs really objected, though, to Kantner's "Son of Jesus," a song that was bound to be a source of controversy by its title alone. Paul was pressured to change one line, a conjecture about Jesus that seemed particularly blasphemous in its original form. (At least it made sense. The edited version does not.)

Kaukonen contributed just one solo composition, "Trial By Fire," that sounds like it would fit right in with "Burgers," the album he, Creach and Airplane bassist Jack Casady recorded as Hot Tuna at around the same time. Although it's a superior recording to "Long John Silver," "Burgers" climbed only to No. 68 on the charts.

The Jefferson Airplane offering hit the Top 20 and earned the band a gold record, proving that consumers tend to go for a name brand.

Or maybe they went for the gimmicky packaging of "Long John Silver": The cover of the original LP folds into the shape of a cigar box - although the substance to be smoked might not necessarily be tobacco, if the inside photograph of cannabis buds is any indicator.

Because of a combination of factors - the cover, the controversial subject matter and/or the generally lackluster quality of the album - "Long John Silver" went out of print shortly after its initial release. RCA has committed it to CD as part of an overall Jefferson Airplane reissue series in the mid-'90s, but fans would be better off sticking with the band's late-'60s output than listening to what it had to offer as it stumbled toward the finish line.