Jefferson Starship "Mother Of The Sun (USA, Golden Robot Records, GOLDRR 123)"

Mother of the Sun is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Jefferson Starship. It was released on August 22, 2020, through Golden Robot Records.

This is the first album from the band to not include any contributions from founder Paul Kantner, who died in 2016. This is also the first studio album from the band in 36 years to include former bassist Pete Sears, who plays on three tracks on the album. After the recording of their last studio album, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty (2008), drummer Prairie Prince departed from the group and was replaced by 1982–84 drummer Donny Baldwin to perform on the tour. Baldwin, who had also performed with the offshoot band Starship from 1984 to 1989, has remained with Jefferson Starship since, and this is his first album with the group since 1984's Nuclear Furniture.

The first single from the album, "It's About Time", was co-written by co-founder and former vocalist Grace Slick, and "Don't Be Sad Anymore" was written by former vocalist Marty Balin, who died in 2018. A live rendition of Jorma Kaukonen's instrumental "Embryonic Journey", is featured on the album.

The album garnered mixed reviews from professional critics, but a generally positive response from fans. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said of the album "Whether it's a rocker or a ballad (and there are more of the latter than the former), almost everything on Mother of the Sun is overblown in a manner that's specific to the mid-'80s, when AOR airwaves were littered with '60s veterans flexing their muscles in an attempt to sound relevant." Many others noted this detail as a fault, but most praised the relatively uncharacteristic style of the album as being compatible with staying near their roots in the 1960s era San Francisco Sound.

Track listing

1. "It's About Time" Cathy Richardson, Grace Slick, Jude Gold 4:12
2. "What Are We Waiting For?" Richardson, Donny Baldwin 4:07
3. "Setting Sun" Richardson, David Freiberg 5:13
4. "Runaway Again" Richardson, Gold 4:48
5. "Embryonic Journey" (Live) Jorma Kaukonen 5:22
6. "Don't Be Sad Anymore" Chris Smith, Marty Balin 3:07
7. "What Are We Waiting For?" (Extended) Richardson, Baldwin 5:14

Total length: 32:05

Space imagery courtesy of NASA.

Recording information:

Jefferson Starship – producer

Greg Panciera – mixing

Greg Calbi – mastering

Jason Reed, David Freiberg, Jono Brown, Thomas Woodfill, Jeff Tamalier, Peter Deleon, Cathy Richardson, Jude Gold – recording

Nicholas Mohler – cover artwork

Kevin Baldes – photography

Hendrix Richardson – boy on cover

Jefferson Starship "Nuclear Furniture (USA, Grunt, PCD1-4921)"

Nuclear Furniture is the eighth album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released in June 1984 through Grunt Records. It was the final album by the band before the departure of leader Paul Kantner and the eventual transition of the remaining members of the group to become Starship.

Produced by Ron Nevison, the album was arranged with the help of Austrian producer Peter Wolf (unrelated to the J. Geils Band singer of the same name), who had previously worked with Grace Slick on her solo album Software. Wolf also contributed keyboard and synthesizer work to the album, although not an official part of the band. Wolf and his wife Ina also wrote the single "No Way Out", the first of many songs penned by the duo that took the future Starship in a more commercial direction.

As the album was being recorded, Paul Kantner became frustrated with the album's direction. Before the sessions came to a close, he stole the master tapes, put them in his car, and drove around San Francisco for a few days, and would not return them until the band mixed the album in a way more to his liking. Shortly after the album's release, Kantner left the band, and he only appears in the first promotional video produced, "No Way Out". After the departure of Kantner, the band lost the "Jefferson" moniker and became Starship; there would not be another studio album released under the Jefferson Starship name until after Kantner reformed the band in 1992.

Nuclear Furniture was released in 1984 and spawned the Top 40 single "No Way Out", which was also the first single by any incarnation of the band to hit No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album itself reached No. 28.

Joseph McCombs of AllMusic described it as a "competent but rather forgettable collection of radio-friendly dual guitar/keyboard period pop tunes." McCombs said that the juxtaposition between Kantner's politically-oriented songs and Thomas's more commercially-oriented songs "makes for an intriguing if uneven album."

Track listing

1. "Layin' It on the Line" L: Mickey Thomas, Craig Chaquico M: Chaquico, Thomas 4:09
2. "No Way Out" L: Ina Wolf M: Peter Wolf 4:22
3. "Sorry Me, Sorry You" L: Jeannette Sears M: Pete Sears 4:07
4. "Live and Let Live" L: J. Sears M: P. Sears 3:50
5. "Connection" L: Paul Kantner, Thomas M: Kantner 4:27
6. "Rose Goes to Yale" L: Kantner, Ronnie Gilbert M: Kantner 2:56
7. "Magician" L: Grace Slick  M: P. Wolf 3:23
8. "Assassin" L: J. Sears M: P. Sears 3:52
9. "Shining in the Moonlight" L: Chaquico, Thomas M: Chaquico 3:38
10. "Showdown" L: Slick M: Slick 3:22
11. "Champion" L: Kantner, Gilbert M: Kantner 4:40

Recording information:

Jefferson Starship – arrangements

Ron Nevison – producer, engineer, arrangements

Peter Wolf – arrangements

Maureen Droney – assistant engineer

Kevin Eddy – assistant mixing engineer

Mike Reese – mastering

Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator

Rod Dyer, Clive Pierce / Dyer / Kahn, Inc. – cover design

Tracks recorded at The Automatt, San Francisco

Over-dubs and mixing at The Plant, Sausalito

Mastered at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood

Bill Thompson – manager

Jefferson Starship "Windows Of Heaven"

Windows of Heaven is Jefferson Starship's first studio album since reforming in 1992. It was first released in Germany, but the band told fans to wait for a new American remixed version. The single "Let Me Fly" was released along with the American release, but did not chart on the Billboard charts. Grace Slick joined the band in the studio to record vocals on "I'm on Fire" which only appears on the American and Japanese versions. The track "Maybe for You" later reappeared on the 2008 album, Jefferson's Tree of Liberty.

Jefferson Starship "Freedom At Point Zero"

Freedom at Point Zero is a 1979 album by Jefferson Starship. It was the first album for new lead singer Mickey Thomas, and the first after both Marty Balin and Grace Slick left the prior year (Slick rejoined the band for their next album Modern Times in 1981). Aynsley Dunbar plays drums on this album; he had left Journey the previous year. The album cover was shot on location in the San Francisco Bay on board the USCGC Midgett (WHEC-726).

The single "Jane" peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #14 and spent three weeks at #6 on the Cash Box Top 100. "Jane" was featured in the 2009 video game Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, as well as the opening music to the film Wet Hot American Summer and its prequel series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. In October 2015, "Jane" gained notoriety within the video game industry after several DLC packs for Rock Band 4 downloaded as the song causing several versions of the song were mistakenly made available. It is also notable for being one of the few songs that was performed live by both the Paul Kantner-led Jefferson Starship TNG and the Mickey Thomas-led Starship. The song "Lightning Rose" predicts the concept of the Nuclear Furniture album, and in fact its character Lightning Rose would return on Nuclear Furniture as the key character in that album's concept.

Jefferson Starship "Earth"

Earth is a 1978 album by Jefferson Starship. The album was recorded in 1977, with the same band lineup as the previous album, Spitfire.

The band had not toured in 1977, partly due to Marty Balin's reluctance to commit to the band. The song "Count on Me" became a Top 10 single, peaking at No. 8. The album hit No. 5 on the Billboard charts. A US and European tour followed. A riot in Germany occurred after the band decided not to play without Grace Slick, who was ill. They lost their guitars and equipment during the riot and played one more tense show on German TV in Hamburg, after which Slick left the band for one album. Marty Balin led the band for one more show at a Genesis concert at the Knebworth Festival in England using rented equipment. When they returned to the US, drummer John Barbata left the band after a serious car accident. This would be the end of the 1970s line-up and several new members joined the band, as well as a new record producer. Success of this album led to Jefferson Starship being contracted to provide a song for the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Jefferson Starship "Spitfire"

Spitfire is a 1976 album by the rock band Jefferson Starship. Released a year after the chart-topping Red Octopus, it quickly scaled the charts, peaking for six consecutive weeks at #3 in Billboard and attaining a RIAA platinum certification. The album features writing contributions from members of singer Marty Balin's former band Bodacious DF, as well as Jesse Barish, who became one of Balin's frequent collaborators. Stereo and quadraphonic mixes of the album were released. "Song to the Sun" was included in the 1977 Laserock program

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Jefferson Starship "Red Octopus"

Red Octopus is a 1975 album by Jefferson Starship. Certified double platinum by RIAA in 1995, it is the best-selling album by any incarnation of Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off groups. The single "Miracles" was the highest-charting single any permutation of the band had until Starship's "We Built This City" a decade later, ultimately peaking at #3 on the Billboard singles chart; the album itself reached #1 on the Billboard 200. As with several other albums from the epoch, stereo and quadraphonic mixes of Red Octopus were released concurrently.

Following a guest appearance on the preceding Dragon Fly, Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin returned as a fully integrated member of the ensemble. Balin wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks on the album, including "Miracles." The group attempted to create a commercialized sound which was a total contrast to their past works, paving the musical direction of their next two albums.