[.ca] Jefferson Starship: The Definitive Concert

From Amazon.com:
Bombast was always a part of Jefferson Starship. The group's chunky, muscular riffing through the 1970s and '80s made it a rock powerhouse in a way that its earlier incarnation, the Jefferson Airplane, was never meant to be. But in the few years that Marty Balin joined two of his mates from the Airplane, Paul Kantner and Grace Slick, for its retooled edition, bombast was mitigated by a ripened sensuality and other pleasures. Between Balin's splendid love songs, Slick's sass, Kantner's lyrical castles in the sky, and guitarist Craig Chaquico's prankish versatility, the Starship was a fun, sexy, uplifting outfit. By 1983, however, with Balin long gone, Kantner on the way out, and shrill vocalist Mickey Thomas in the mix, the Starship looked and sounded like an anachronism. Sadly, that's what we have here on The Definitive Concert. Thomas seems to be screeching at a single frequency on "Winds of Change" and "Out of Control," while Slick spends much of the time delivering a wide-eyed stare into the camera that seemed trippy enough in 1967, but here looks insistent and vain. On the plus side, Slick's chilling power on "White Rabbit" is something to behold, and Kantner leads the band in a rousing, snakey rendition of "Ride the Tiger." But, for the most part, this "definitive concert" is a woeful reminder of better days. --Tom Keogh

Additional Features:
Song list: 1. Winds of Change 2. Ride the Tiger 3. Stranger 4. Black Widow 5. Find Your Way Back 6. Somebody to Love 7. Be My Lady 8. Girl with the Hungry Eyes 9. Out of Control 10. White Rabbit 11. Jane 12. Stairway to Cleveland

The wrong moment in this band's history:
Every great band has a "moment;" a time when they are at their most brilliant, most socially relevant, most musically profound. For the name-changing, member-changing band that was once known as Jefferson Airplane, this DVD is not only NOT that moment; it's not even close. Message to Grace: Have somebody collect film and tape from a much, much better time in your band's history. Somewhere around the release of "Volunteers" would be a good place to start. Have them work backwards from there, to the beginning. Then, have a talented director make a documentary out of it, with a small emphasis on interviews and history, and a big, big, big emphasis on the MUSIC. (That means LOTS of concert and studio footage...) Put it on DVD, promote it a little, and sit back and watch it sell, sell, sell. I'll buy one for me, and one for everybody I care about; because you did something really special, really important, really profound and quite beautiful during that time, something you should be proud of. Ditch this 80's BS, and give us something real. Please.

Real Review:
.... This JS concert, pretty much represents the band well for where they were, at the start of the 80's. They have always been a band that appeared to be on the verge of chaos and confusion, as foretold by even some of their own lyrics. All the elements are here and all the quirky individualities of each member...Grace's mysterious antics, Paul's leadership, Craig's guitar, Mickey's high octane vocals(see KNEE DEEP IN THE HOOPLA album)BUT most of all THE MUSICIANSHIP and GREAT SONGS!!! One thing people forget too, is that this band has always evolved and they represent each era perfectly!!! Even Paul Kantner being the sci fi buff that he is, needs to realize this. Everything evolves and the STARSHIP continued right through this show and on through the 80's!!!

Music OK; DVD bad:
What were they thinking? The music on this DVD is OK, in the three to four star range, but is has a juvenile begining and breaks between the songs. It comes from a 1983 concert when Grace Slick and Micky Thomas were the lead singers. This was the Jefferson Airplane/Starship "Corporate Rock" period when they were at their most popular. It wasn't one of the best periods in Rock and Roll. This bland arena rock was competing with Disco, creating an artistic void that was filled by Punk. Grace Slick is dressed up as a cross between Joan Jett and Pat Benatar. Paul Kantner looks pretty ridiculous, too. Compared to the Jefferson Airplane, and the early Starship, it is easy to take potshots at this eighties version. But, Slick and Kantner are excellent song writers and they recruited two excellent songwriters/musicians in Pete Sears and Craig Chaquico. They still were one of the better Corporate Rock bands of the period. This DVD is about 60 minutes long and consists of 14 songs, mostly the Starship hits of the eighties. There are also nice renditions of White Rabbit and Somebody To Love. The songs are played with alot of energy and there are some nice, but short solos for Sears and Chaquico. But, since the DVD is only an hour, only the hits are included, and the group never really opens up. During this period, Sears used to perform an amazing base solo that is sadly missing here. A full concert DVD would have been much better. The real problem with this DVD is the opening and breaks that come every 3 songs. There is this cheesy sci-fi set with this moron introducing the songs. It looks alot like Mystery Science Theatre 3000, only not funny and totally inappropriate. It is bad enough to have it at the beginning, but with it inbetween songs, it really breaks up the flow of the music.

How could this happen.....:
Jefferson Starship at the time(1983)had released 3 outstanding albums, Freedom at Point Zero, Modern Times, Wind of Change. If anyone had the opportunity to see the band with drummer Ansley Dunbar, You know how disappointing this video is. Unfortunately, when listening to songs like "Stranger" you could hear the bands new drummer(???)the mistakes and missed drum fills. It's a shame that the band never released any Video performance of the band with Dunbar. It's a good mix of song selection. Too bad they didnt fine tune the playing.(Why didnt they play "Save Your Love" "Lightening Rose" "RockMusic")

Hardly essential, but Starship fans will want it.:
It's the missing link between "Miracles" and "We Built This City". Starship's 1983 tour to support the "Winds of Change" album. The band is dressed really silly (hey, it was 1983!) and Grace seems to enjoy mugging for the camera more than performing for the audience but they pull off all of the necessary non-Balin tunes. Grace does a wonderful "White Rabbit", Paul rocks on "Ride The Tiger", and Mickey screeches his way through "Jane" and "Find Your Way Back". "Stranger" and "Girl With The Hungry Eyes" are highlights as well. However, this is definitely a product of its' time. Just be thankful that this was before "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now".