Credited to
Paul Kantner,
Grace Slick, and
David Freiberg, Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun was the first album made by these erstwhile members of
Jefferson Airplane since the breakup of that group. Like such other spin-off projects as
Blows Against the Empire and
Sunfighter, this one featured a supporting cast of San Francisco Bay Area musicians including present and former members of a variety of groups, such as
the Grateful Dead (lead guitarist
Jerry Garcia, percussionist
Mickey Hart, and lyricist
Robert Hunter, who wrote the words to "Harp Tree Lament"),
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (singer
David Crosby), and
the Flying Burrito Brothers (bassist
Chris Ethridge), as well as other former members of
the Airplane and future members of
Jefferson Starship.
The Pointer Sisters even guested on one track. Despite the co-billing, the album's guiding force was
Slick, who sang on every track and wrote or co-wrote six of the ten songs, though there was still room for the unbilled Jack Traylor to write, play acoustic guitar, and sing lead vocals on the song "Flowers of the Night," a celebration of monarchial overthrows throughout history. Perhaps more outside songwriting should have been employed, since the compositions here were second-rate. The public was catching on, too:
Kantner's
Blows Against the Empire had reached the Top 20, but Baron von Tollbooth didn't come near the Top 100. The team would attempt one more splinter project,
Slick's "solo" album
Manhole, before reorganizing as
Jefferson Starship in 1974 with the notable return of singer/songwriter
Marty Balin. ~ William Ruhlmann