Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun

Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and David Freiberg

Geoff says: "Five Stars!"

One of the truly great albums coming from the "Marin County Mafia" (my term) or what Paul Kantner has called the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (PERRO). One one hand this is essentially the rebirth of the Jefferson Starship, but it features so many guest artists, they aren't really "guests" at all: Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Mickey Hart, and David Crosby, to name a few. The core group of Kantner, Slick, Freiberg, Craig Chaquico, Johnny Barbata, and Chris Ethridge hold up most of the work, with only Ethridge not making it to the Starship lineup.

Of interest to Deadheads in particular:

• Guitar, pedal steel, and banjo work by Jerry Garcia
• A beautiful Robert Hunter song "Harp Tree Lament"
• Mickey Hart on "waterphones"
• "Your Mind Has Left Your Body" which reputedly was the basis for the "Mud Love Buddy Jams" during some Dead sets.

The songs:

1. Ballad Of The Chrome Nun

2. Fat

3. Flowers Of The Night

4. Walkin'

5. Your Mind Has Left Your Body

6. Across The Board

7. Harp Tree Lament

8. White Boy (Transcaucasian Airmachine Blues)

9. Fishman

10. Sketches Of China