Ranking the Albums: Jefferson Starship

Join Pete Pardo & Armando Venditti as they rank their top 5 albums from US rockers Jefferson Starship. #jeffersonstarship
Listen to the music here: podcasts.progrock.com/2022/08...
💰Donate via Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/peterpardosseaoftra...
👕Order your SoT merch: www.t8cloth.com/pages/sot
🖥 Visit our website: www.seaoftranquility.org

[@melaniethurber5117]

I like Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship and Hot Tuna. Grace Slick was a great singer. Mickey Thomas is also a great singer. I like these different bands music it was great to see Armando on the show today. You should have him on more often. Thanks for the show Pete and Armando.

[@kevinconnell3896]

Hi Mel, just stepping out the door now. Her plane lands at 2 (late arrival). Hope you're doing GREAT today. Talk with you in a bit.

[@melaniethurber5117]

@@kevinconnell3896 safe travels. Had good iced coffee Lol.

[@MrRedrider1968]

Great job Pete and Armando! Very good point made Pete reflecting on Jefferson Starship as more underrated as well as Wings. Like you Armando, I have 3 older sisters. My oldest sister owned a copy of the Red Octopus LP. As a 7 year old in 1975, I have fond memories of hearing Miracles playing in heavy rotation throughout my house. 😝 I also heard the singles With your love, Count on me and Runaway on AM radio all the time. In 1993, I revisited Jefferson Starship on vinyl particularly the Spitfire album ♥️as my personal favorite. Modern Times, I discovered in early 1982,

[@ramonace4770]

No brainer for me, "Freedom at point zero" and "Winds of change". Craig Chaquico is killer! , his solos on "Jane" and "Awakening" are just off the charts. And Mickey Thomas, what a fantastic singer!

[@kyleturner1359]

My freshman (and sophomore) year in college was in the same dorm. Someone had painted a floor to ceiling mural of the Spitfire album cover on a wall in the hallway of my section. It was absolutely beautiful.

[@kolchak3578]

I’m more of a Jefferson Airplane fan. But this era of their music is a little overlooked and under-appreciated these days. Some really solid albums on your lists.

[@jamesrudd8705]

They are two very different bands. Airplane and Starship are not the same band.

[@davidgreenberg5517]

No mention of " Blows Against The Empire "; kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqmZfGWupt2pe80

[@SwanShadow]

Love me some Jefferson Starship. I attended the last show of the 1984 Nuclear Furniture tour before Paul Kantner quit mid-tour. But before that, they made some terrific music. All of their classic-period records are sublime. Freedom at Point Zero, in particular, is a criminally underrated album, despite the absence of Grace Slick. And Craig Chaquico is one of the least appreciated guitar heroes of our time.

[@roystonmason9125]

seriously !

[@lazarossamaras4427]

Thanks for this particular ranking. I only have Freedom and Red Octopus. I am going to buy whatever I can find.

[@steveclark9211]

Spitfire and Dragonfly are really good.

[@paulgreenan4395]

Freedom at Point Zero is almost flawless.Also modern times and nuclear furniture are favourites of mine.

[@davidgreenberg5517]

" Gold " is a solid best of that has a great bonus single, " Light The Sky On Fire ".

[@wolf1977]

I like it

[@davidfischer6923]

I like Jefferson Airplane And Jefferson Starship

[@ivanfortuny2244]

Great show of a Great Band the first 5 albums are Masterpieces.☮️

[@mikeandreach3777]

I was 7 when Red Octopus came out. I remember reading the lyric sleeve and listening to each song as my sister played the album. To this day, it’s my number one for these guys and at times, it’s been among my top 15 records all time.

[@kevinconnell3896]

Armando needs to be on SoT more often. His insights, demeanor & knowledge are unbeatable. My daughter just saw the Starship 'live' 2 weeks ago in Great Falls, said it was a terrific show. I was lucky enough to catch a short, acoustic set with Diana Mangano & Prairie Prince (with 2 other musicians) at a small club around 2000. Very relaxed, mingling with the somewhat small audience (Diana is very nice & soft spoken). My first 3 would be "Red Octopus," "Freedom at Point Zero" & "Windows of Heaven."

[@wolf1977]

Mickey Thomas is still singing with them right? And John Roth the guy from Winger on guitar?

[@kevinconnell3896]

@@wolf1977 Wolf, I called her, and she in turn called a friend who indicated one of the flyers listed Freiberg, Richardson, Baldwin, Gold & Smith augmented with 3 extra musicians.

[@wolf1977]

@@kevinconnell3896 OK thx, not the lineup I thought it was. David Freiberg's (Quicksilver Messenger Service) actually been with JS/Starship since like 1974, and also on some solo Kantner albums prior to that

[@kevinconnell3896]

@@wolf1977 Yeah, I'm unfamiliar with this line up other than Freiberg & Cathy Richardson. Cathy's been with them for a while now, I think. I got into Quicksilver quite heavily in the 90's after the 2 CD comp. "Sons of Mercury" was released. I'd never heard them before that, was quite impressed.

[@melaniethurber5117]

Hi Kevin I like Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship and Hot Tuna. Mickey Thomas is a great singer.

[@747jono]

Great show guys thanks 😊. Need to get these back in my collection, had the vinyls back in the day Cheers.

[@1970borntorun]

For me, the best Jefferson Starship record by FAR is Modern Times. It was incredibly-produced by the great, Ron Nevison, the songs are very strong, and it contains Craig Chaquico's 2 best guitar solos in "Stranger" and "Save Your Love". In fact, I ran into Craig way back in the early 90s at some Music Gear expo in SF, and he agreed that that those were in fact, his 2 favorite guitar solos he put to tape.

[@TheArchangel68]

Jefferson Starship are still a favorite of mine after all these years. My taekwondo teacher Byong Yu has a co-songwriting credit on 'Ride the Tiger', and I never knew that until just recently discovering it about a year ago.

[@ChromeDestiny]

Monica Clemans was the cover model on Modern Times and I believe she also appeared in the music video for Stranger posing alongside Grace.

[@frankaddington1773]

she was the then-girlfriend of Chaquico. She also got a songwriting credit on the 1982 song "Can't Find Love"

[@BlindArthurBlake]

Need to do one on HOT TUNA, one of the more underrated bands of all time...

[@markhaus2830]

Yes please! Hot Tuna!

[@bryanmcfadden4071]

Burgers and live from the Filmore 2 CD set are fantastic

[@wolf1977]

@@bryanmcfadden4071 There's A LOT to like from Hot Tuna...

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

They are on the long list!!

[@brucybabyy7355]

i bought " freedom " when it came out. other than jane i didnt care for the rest of it. i traded it in. a couple years ago i got the 5cd collection. man how tastes change over the years. i love it now.

[@charlesberry9683]

The guitar work on Save Your Love from Modern Times is amazing. Probably my favorite from them.

[@roystonmason9125]

should have been a single

[@erickenyon4457]

freedom at point zero my 1st J/S album & still my favourite, all the rest also great…

[@kevinmcgauhey9813]

Glad that Pete draws attention to the Winds of Change album. I always felt that was an underrated album, and I agree that the title track is a perfect example of how powerful the Mickey and Grace vocal combination can get. Two of the best singers in Rock and Roll. I actually like Modern Times better than any of these, for songs like Find Your Way Back, Stranger, the title track and Stairway to Cleveland. But some of these other albums are close behind. Freedom at Point Zero had monents on it that brought a lot of excitement to that era in music, and kind of told us "Rock and Roll is alive and well, if you had any doubts!" Not easy to rank the albums, and I guess I can't until I listen to Spitfire. How did I miss that one?

[@haintedhouse2990]

agree. as good as Mickey Thomas is it was great to hear Grace open the Winds of Change album with "winds starting to howl..." her voice still gives me chills - their vocal exchange on this title track was one of my favorites.

[@SJHUE]

Great video guys! Big fan of Jefferson Starship. My top 5 - 1.Freedom At Point Zero 2.Spitfire 3.Earth 4.Dragonfly 5.Modern Times - would be much lower but `Save Your Love` elevates it considerably! That song contains one of my top 3 guitar solos of all time. Been listening to `Winds of Change` a lot recently and that is moving up the list as we speak! I would actually recommend `Windows of Heaven` based on the quality of the Marty Balin compositions alone.

[@FredPena-rd5cf]

Winds of change is underrated. Its a really good rock record.

[@maninthebuff]

They were my favorite band growing up. My favorite song of all time, among any band, is St Charles, from the Spitfire album. It has a magical quality to it with great vocals. Also love Song To The Sun from that album. Also some great songs on Dragon Fly and Red Octopus. I wasn't such a big fan of Mickey Thomas, but there were quite a few driving tunes I liked during his era, but mostly because of Craig Chaquico's guitar work (Save Your Love, Can't Find Love, Quit Wasting Time, Sorry Me Sorry You.)

[@cecil1100]

great job fellas, for me Blows against the Empire is at the top, but that's not quite the same as post Airplane Starship, going to go back and listen to them all now. I'd probably be closer to Pete on my list but i do like the Psyche stuff more usually. and yeah i was 5 as well Armando when Miracles was everywhere. thanks for what you guys do these shows get people really digging great music

[@blackcatcentralmusic]

"Dragonfly" for me and especially "Hyperdrive". Grace's vocals are excellent on that tune. One album tends to be overlooked but it's not really a Jefferson Starship album: Kantner's "Planet Earth: Rock n Roll Orchestra".

[@roystonmason9125]

i love that album

[@davidsalaski9095]

"Freedom at Point Zero" is a perfect album. Jefferson Starship's greatest!

[@splifftachyon4420]

I've been avidly into collecting every Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship album and stuff by related bands such as Hot Tuna, KBC band as well as Paul Kantner's solo albums. I absolutely love them. Paul's solo album Blows Against the Empire (which did actually use the name Jefferson Starship on it, but wasn't really a Jefferson Starship album) is one of my all time favourites and one of my five desert island discs. I'd have a hard time ranking the Jefferson Starship albums as I think they all have quite a lot to offer, even the latter day ones like Windows of Heaven and Jefferson's Tree Of Liberty, as well as the post-Kantner release Mother of the Sun.

[@findmusic8797]

My top 7 (love the hits, mostly): 1. EARTH - Love Too Good, Count On Me, Runaway, All Night Long 2. RED OCTOPUS - Miracles, Play On Love, Sandalphon 3. SPITFIRE - Cruisin', Song To The Sun, With Your Love 4. FREEDOM AT POINT ZERO - Jane, Rock Music 5. MODERN TIMES - Find Your Way Back, Stranger 6. NUCLEAR FURNITURE - Layin' It On The Line, No Way Out 7. DRAGONFLY - Ride The Tiger

[@steveclark9211]

THANK YOU for ranking the albums of Jefferson Starship. I've been waiting patiently for this one. I like their early albums from 1974 through about 1982. I never was a big fan of Earth and Nuclear Furniture. I thought Paul Kantner's solo album, The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra, was better than Nuclear Furniture. Could you rank the albums of Hot Tuna sometime in the near future? Anyway, here is my Top Five ranking (favorite at the top): 1. Freedom at Point Zero 2. Spitfire 3. Red Octopus 4. Dragonfly 5. Modern Times

[@wolf1977]

I think Pete mentioned recently (or at least hinted) that a Tuna episode was coming!

[@markhaus2830]

Yes, Mickey Thomas can still bring it today at age 72!

[@jayberwanger]

I would love to see Pete interview Craig Chaquico.

[@mrfunball5204]

"That's for sure" off Dragonfly is one of my favorite tunes, killer bass, awesome lead and John Barbata's great in the pocket drumming 🎸💥

[@ArcangelofRock]

Personally, I grew up in an era.... early eighties;where the NWOBHM & Thrash & AOR were king! Thus; the only Starship albums I acquainted myself with: Nuclear Furniture,Winds of Change & Modern Times. Just loved that version of the band & Mickey Thomas was a great singer! Yet, even though psychedelia not my cup of tea.... listening to some of the J. Airplane material.... I can respect it's importance & sometimes greatness in the hallowed halls of Rock & Roll 👍.

[@jkbaca41]

Pete Sears was on a great writing streak during the Mickey Thomas years of Jefferson Starship. I actually prefer the radio edit of "Miracles" as it's the first one I had heard. Guys, if you listen to the lyrics you realize that they HAD to edit this song. You can't have someone singing about going down on a Woman on AM radio back then(at least that overtly), come on. I actually find that the radio edit/mix to be more precise, the background vocals better and Grace's vocals sit perfectly in the mix.

[@sotdude7]

Nah, give me the full uninterrupted version all day.

[@jkbaca41]

@@sotdude7 What's funny is that I would normally agree with you, but I guess we'll have to agree to disagree this time 😅.

[@JeffreyOakarPhotos]

Great video and I love hearing people talk about this incredibly diverse and ever-changing band. A few notes: With your Love peaked at #12. Although not as big as some of their other hits, that is still considered "big" as far as hits go. Two more notches and it's a top ten single. It actually equalled the more famous Runaway in the charts. Also, am I the only one who things Craig's guitar style mimics Boston and several songs like Find Your Way Back, Can't Find Love and Winds of Change? The tone is very Boston-ish. Would you agree?

[@Phibbus]

I couldn't understand why Pete kept saying Spitfire didn't have any big hits, and I was surpriesd to see "With Your Love" only reached #12. In eastern PA, that song aired constantly on all our local stations during the summer of '76, and I always associate it with all the Bicentennial hoopla leading up to the 4th that year.

[@haintedhouse2990]

the opening track on 'Earth' called 'Love Too Good' should have been released as a single. Grace Slick sounds awesome on the vocals and the band got into a smooth groove all through it.

[@user-yx8cx6bg1g]

"LOVE TOO GOOD" really is a cool, excellent track. I've had it as one of my favorites from Jefferson Starship since the stylus first fell upon it back in '78. I was just 12 then, but already well into rock n roll for 5 years This moving song has always seemed to be underrated through the years. There's a real mood and essence to this track. It comes off like Pink Floyd mixed with Yacht Rock and the best aspects of disco. Then, the lyric, which Grace delivers with subtlety and finesse. There's a real emotion to it as well, mainly due to the fact that not a lot of women sing to a man about how good he is, and that she doesn't deserve him. Cool to see someone mention this song as one of the best. Marc ⚡

[@thejoyofthemusicinmylife7897]

I am revisiting The Jefferson Starship catalogue. I just randomly played Earth which I did not give enough attention to upon release. I have decided to do a You Tube album review of that album. I enjoyed your overall ranking of their albums.

[@david.leikam]

It's interesting the parallel develop of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane/Starship. 🎶

[@wolf1977]

They all did a 50th Anniversary of the Summer Of Love show at Penn's Peak in 2017 (with Charlie Daniels - ?). Back in the day the Airplane & Dead did reportedly hang out together in Haight-Ashbury quite a bit (and not just for the music), and shared billing on Fillmore West shows & many other venues. Garcia played on an Airplane album (Surrealistic Pillow) before The Dead even released their debut... There's a great Airplane spin-off (sort of) band that no one really talks about much called Moby Grape - what a band! Kinda like Floyd's Syd Barrett, Skip Spence (also in Quicksilver Messenger Service) went off the rails psychologically. Grape has a very interesting story, featured one of the best guitar players of the 60's (Jerry Miller) & all 5 members sang & wrote (well). Mixed folk/blues/country/rock/ pop/jazz, really worthy of an SoT show!

[@purpletemple1]

That boxset is long out of print and very expensive now! Cheers guys!

[@darrylamaki2470]

Thanks for great episode, growing up in the late 70's Starship music were always on FM radio Pete, Any chance of you doing a ranking of Live Iron Maiden Albums with Chris,Rich or Martin? Aloha!!

[@saltofano337]

Thanks Pete and Armando - Starship and airplane among Among my favorites Here are mine 1. Dragonfy 2. Red Octopus 3. Spitfire 4. Modern Times 5. Freedom at Point Zero Hm Earth Winds of Change No stinkers in their catalog

[@wolf1977]

To me those first 3 are basically classic albums

[@ChromeDestiny]

5. Earth (I especially love Grace's Take Your Time, Count On Me is my favourite of Marty's 70's ballad hits, All Nite Long is great and Love Too Good sounds like a weird blend of Pink Floyd and Disco.) 4. Modern Times 3. Winds of Change 2. Red Octopus (The closest Airplane/ Starship got to a Surrealistic Pillow sequel imo.) 1. Dragonfly (Great blend of AOR and Prog with four very good Grace songs all better than her solo debut from the same year.) Honourable mention: Freedom at Point Zero. I think Grace and Paul's names are on Dragonfly because it was sort of a follow up to 1973's Barron Von Toll Booth and The Chrome Nun which was credited as Paul Kantner, Grace Slick and David Friedberg. That album is interesting because a few tracks have the final 70's lineup of Jefferson Airplane and a few tracks have the same lineup as on Jefferson Starship's Dragonfly.

[@magnuswettermark8293]

I have all Jefferson Starship albums. Everyone is good,but my favorite is freedom..! Its a killer album.

[@richardsullivan3376]

Freedom at Point Zero is one of my fav albums of all time. I love Winds of Change too.

[@timhewtson6212]

For the real debut album, what about 'Baron Von Tolbooth and the Chrome Nun'? It was sort of a testing ground for Jefferson Starship, but with a little added help from Jerry Garcia. If you have heard the stuff being written by Paul Kantner, David Crosby and Jerry Garcia, that was a kind of template for early Jefferson Starship - 'Baron Von Tolbooth,' 'Dagonfly,' 'Blows against the Empire,' and 'Red Octopus.'

[@haintedhouse2990]

loved 'Baron Von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun' - a good solid effort from Kantner, Slick & the gang. Sketches of China and Across the Board were 2 of my faves from this under-rated album.

[@VincentBautista365]

Craig Chaquico is of Portuguese decent, from Sacramento, California. My former boss, grew up two houses down from his. 😉

[@davidenders9282]

Pete, right on with Freedom at Point Zero. The starship just totally rocks out. I happened to see them live in a club in South Jersey soon after this release. stood right up to the stage, awesome show. My 2nd & 3rd are the following sequential releases, Modern Times at 2, Nuclear Furniture at 3. Modern Times is just an awesome follow up to Freedom. Killer rock, no filler. With the the deep cuts make this a great album, Save Your Love (top 3 favorite Starship songs), Wild Eyes, Stranger, Stairway to Cleveland. 4th & 5th you can put any of the rest of the albums in any order.

[@tonydoran5147]

Blows Against the Empire is my fav JS album by far!! ..

[@davidgreenberg5517]

Perfect que to do a Hot Tuna ranking!

[@LeatherRebel75]

I got to see Jefferson Starship in the late 90's when they had Marty Balin and Paul Kantner, but Grace Slick had already retired and was replaced by some younger woman. They focused on the earlier stuff that featured Marty, along with some Jefferson Airplane songs. It was a damn good show, and yeah, when they did Miracles, it was gorgeous!

[@wolf1977]

Balin's voice is money! Literally...

[@haintedhouse2990]

i was 16 when I saw Jefferson Starship live in 1974, showcasing the newly released Dragon Fly as well as Blows Against the Empire. Grace Slick opened the show with 'Sunrise' from Blows Against the Empire and they did all of side 2 - an amazing concert, you could tell everybody in the band was 'on' about the new Starship. good energy.

[@michaelbenz8092]

Craig Chaquico has some very enjoyable acoustic jazz guitar solo albums. (I was typing this just as Pete mentioned it.)

[@eltronics]

Thanks Pete and Armondo 1. Red Octopus 2. Dragonfly 3. Freedom at Point Zero 4. Modern Times 5. Earth HM: Wind of Change, Spitfire, No Protection

[@carstenselberg1255]

I'll go check them out

[@MrRedrider1968]

The model on the front cover of Modern Times (1981) appeared in the 2 featured MTV videos for Find your way back and Stranger. They always played those on MTV. I recall when the 24 hr channel came to my area in early ‘82. My ranking order: 1 Spitfire 2 Earth 3 Modern Times 4 Dragon Fly 5 Red Octopus

[@steffencambon4718]

I've had a weird fascination for JS over the last 20 years, and my ear has become hooked on the Mickey Thomas era (79-84), which to my sensibilities is getting better and better as I age. Whereas Jane was the "gate crasher", I now focus on woefully underrated album tracks like Assassin and Shining in the Moonlight (Nuclear Furniture) - with a bit more record company promotion and less internal band strife, all these albums form Modern Times to Nuclear Furniture would have charted higher and they would've had a few top 10 singles. It wasn't meant to be, and like Pete Pardo says, we have the benefit of going back and rediscovering these albums now. Nuclear Furniture is a solid concept album meant for the cold war, which is (unfortunately) all the more relevant now. It has aged terrifically, and critics still poo-poo it, but listen for yourselves if you haven't.

[@roystonmason9125]

they are not foreigner or boston where every song is a single

[@markhaus2830]

I saw the current lineup of Jefferson Starship in, I think it was 2018. They were pretty awesome, at least to my ears they were. Longtime member David Friedberg is still there and also drummer Donny Baldwin. Singer Cathy Richardson is fantastic and does a great job of filling Grace Slick's shoes. Go see them if you get the chance. They had Paul Kantner's blessing to continue after he passed. Don't confuse them with Starship, featuring Mickey Thomas.

[@chriskroll4166]

Miracles and with your love and count on me are three of the greatest pop rock ballads of the entire seventies. Marty balance vocals on those songs are par excellent. If those three songs were on the same album then that would be the greatest album by the starship hands down. The entire strength of that band was in Marty balance incredible soulful vocals. He was so underrated. 🤷

[@roystonmason9125]

BALIN and HE and GRACE SLICK equally skilled

[@chriskroll4166]

@@roystonmason9125 Who is HE ??

[@roystonmason9125]

@@chriskroll4166 HIS NAME IS " BALIN " GRACE SLICK is the original QUEEN of ROCK and ROLL

[@justamops]

I’m a huge ‘60s fan, but in this case, my favorite album is the one where they jettisoned the last vestiges of the ‘60s: Freedom at Point Zero. It’s hard-hitting, well-crafted, and catchy, Mickey’s vocals are great, and I absolutely love “Girl With the Hungry Eyes”. For me, that one is super-exciting - check out those drum fills from the great Aynsley Dunbar! It’s a Kantner song, and I’m sure a lot of folks think his contributions are just weird, but I’ve always felt an affinity for his utopian science fiction craziness. I think Blows Against the Empire is a classic, and I really like his overlooked 1985 album The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (which features all of the members of Jefferson Starship, among others). I’m glad I got to see him live twice, with latter-day lineups of Jefferson Starship.

[@joshcreasey]

My favorite from ‘74-‘78 is Red Octopus, from ‘79-‘84 is Winds Of Change.

[@georgemathie8123]

Such an amazing catalog so my top 5 are modern times, freedom at point zero, spitfire, winds of change and red octopus honorable mentions nuclear furniture, earth and love among the cannibals

[@michaelbochnia5686]

Red Octopus changed my musical taste at the time. This teen would listen to nothing but hard rock bands, Zep. Deep Purple, Sabbath. Then came the song Miracles and my mind and heart just burst. There was room for other muse after hearing that song....

[@wolf1977]

I remember first hearing "Miracles" on the radio, it definitely grabbed my attention as something different

[@ndesdsadfd]

It wasn't a proper Starship album but "Blows Agains the Empire" is my favourite post Airplane record. Never could get into proper JS but I'm gonna try again.

[@mbgaomo]

Love this band...My top 5 1 Red Octopus 2 Dragon Fly 3 Spitfire 4 Nuclear Furniture 5 Earth HM - Freedom At Point Zero, Winds Of Change

[@luisbarao]

Hi Pete. A ranking on Barclay James Harvest albums, please. Thanks.

[@stuartthomas5769]

Freedom at point zero for me . Bought it when it came out on the back of hearing Jane . Loved it ever since , not a bad track

[@ericsierra-franco7802]

Awakening!!!!!!

[@bertkarlsson1421]

Pete, can you rank the albums of Henry Cow? They don't have a huge discography so it shouldn't be that hard!

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

Yep, they have been on the list! Coming soon!

[@albarton7189]

Thoroughly enjoyed this show. Just wondering, would the earlier Jefferson Starship albums (Blows Against the Empire through Earth) be considered almost prog? “Hyperdrive” almost sounds prog to me. Maybe it’s because I always associated anything sci-fi related as prog. Any opinions?

[@johnwilson1689]

More Amando please. Don't even know the chap but he feels like we could be mates (that means bro Americans-LOL)!!

[@themusicden4696]

Thank you John. I enjoyed doing the show with Pete.

[@venturamichael50]

Nice shirt,Pete Pardo

[@thomasbeck2934]

Armando is the best. Glad to see he’s becoming more of a regular.

[@themusicden4696]

Thank you for the compliment Thomas. It was a fun episode to do.

[@3bwana]

As much as I love the Airplane I love the Jefferson Starship the same for different reasons and I’ve gotta agree on ‘Freedom At Point Zero’ as my all time Starship Lp. So good if for no other reason than I’m a huge fan of Aynsley Dunbar’s rock playing and this album features some of his best power rock drumming of the 70’s, just unbelievable tom work, not to mention the forever underrated David Frieberg on bass and co-writing on ‘Jane’, other great songs like ‘The Girl With the Hungry Eyes’ and ‘Rock Music’ plus Mickey Thomas and Paul Kantner’s great vocals and Craig Chaquico’s tasteful rock soloing throughout. The great Ron Nevison produced the album as well

[@davidschecter5247]

I would include BLOWS AGAINST THE EMPIRE if only because it used the "Starship" name. It's head and shoulders above all of the other albums combined.

[@roystonmason9125]

get real

[@iluvj50]

What happened to "Nuclear Furniture?" I don't recall albums being omitted in a countdown.

[@jamescouture3293]

I believe the girl on the cover was Monica Clemons

[@nicholasscott7860]

Future show idea : Softmore slumps (2nd albums that disappointed) and 2 softmore hits (2nd albums that did not disappoint) 3 miises and 2 hits. Could be good with Martin, or in the Prog seat or Hudson Valley).

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

Yep, we've already done those!

[@steelmonkey7609]

I don't think Grace Slick was on Freedom at Point Zero, I thought she left the band during that time, I could be wrong, does anyone know?

[@ChromeDestiny]

Yes, that's true. She left during the previous year to go solo and focus on sobering up after an incident in Germany. While they were making the follow up to Freedom at Point Zero, Modern Times she was invited by the band to guest on Stairway to Cleveland. Producer Ron Nevison recommended she add vocals to Stranger as well and it led to her rejoining full time in '82.

[@franciskocher200]

Nice show.Thanks guys.😄👍

[@stuartsdrucker7345]

Very tough, since there's at least four different musical eras I associated with classic JS (1974-1984), not to mention the JS/TNG period in 1992-1998 that has many underrated Marty Balin and Paul Kantner songs. So, to reflect these different eras, rater than rate in order, I'll cite my favorite albums from each one: 1) 1974: Dragon Fly - where much of the very late JA evolved into first the touring band for PK and Grace before recording this album of original music, but offered a fine Marty song (Caroline) that represented a long form style and chord structure the band never quite did again. Worth it for Hyperdrive, Ride the TIger, That's for Sure, and All Fly Away at a minimum, and Papa John's violin 2) 1975-1978 - Spitfire - IMO the most "band" oriented of the Marty era Jefferson Starship. St. Charles, Dance with the Dragon, Ozmandias/Song to the Sun, Hot Water just rock. And while not a typical JS song, I'll go with Love Lovely Love as a great vocal that makes me think of Baretta for some reason 3) 1979-1980 - Freedom at Point Zero - Mickey Thomas' first album, and Jane aside (with some subtle PK rhythm guitar that vaguely echoes the Airplane days), it had the underrated Awakening, and no less than four PK songs. Lightning Rose is just awesome, but I like the title cut too 4) 1982-1984: Nuclear Furniture - a somewhat heretical choice, since it's the last thing from a cohesive band album. But other than the irritating "Layin' It On the Line" and "Magician", but the MTV material aside, I love Mickey & Grace on "Sorry Me, Sorry You", Rose Goes to Yale, Showdown, Connection, and Assassin. Very different song types though And as someone that followed JS/TNG from the beginning, as it evolved into the Cathy Richardson led band continuing the legacy of PK's touring band (and has a David Freiberg vocal that has to be heard to be believed on Setting Sun from Mother of the Sun), I'll add Windows of Heaven to this list as one of my five favorite Jefferson Starship family albums. Marty's vocals on "Let It Live" and "See the Light", PK's "Let Me Fly" and "The Light", "Blessings", are all underrated songs.

[@jimhawkes]

5. Dragonfly 4. Spitfire 3. Red Octopus 2. Nuclear Furniture 1. Freedom At Point Zero HM: Blows Against the Empire.

[@lening9]

1) Red Octopus 2) Dragonfly 3) Freedom at Point Zero 4) Spitfire 5) Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship - Blows Against the Empire 6) Earth 7) Winds of Change 8) Modern Times 9) Windows of Heaven 10) Nuclear Furniture 11) Mother of the Sun 12) Jefferson’s Tree of Liberty

[@FundamentalsUK]

FaPZ kills, great album. Micky Thomas was a possible for Toto, before Bobby Kimball, apparently.

[@terryjohnson5275]

The only one I've got is Freedom at Point Zero, which I really like but I never went any further, dont have any Airplane either , as to be honest I'm not a big fan of psychedelia (e.g. my least favourite Floyd is the debut, and I'm glad the Nice reduced to a threepiece).I do have a couple of Starship albums - Hoopla and No Protection and a best of CD that has a couple of Jefferson Starship tracks on it. So time to go check em out I suppose, along with a ton of other stuff I've got on a list to check out.

[@davidgreenberg5517]

Cover of " Modern Times " is Chaquicos' gf, Monica.

[@garyjoyce2160]

Love the first 8. Jefferson starship albums. Like PETE my no 1. 1️⃣9️⃣7️⃣9️⃣. Freedom at point ZERO. Armando/ PETE. A bang up job as usual. Thx guys 👍💯

[@garyjoyce2160]

FYI. I like. Jefferson STARSHIP far better than AIRPLANE ✈️ but WE all hear things Differently. 👍💯

[@garyjoyce2160]

FRIDAYS show on you tube. JANE/ tremendous version to see. 👍💯

[@purpletemple1]

My 3 fav albums are the ones with Aynsley Dunbar on Drums. He really makes them extra special: Freedom at Point Zero, Modern Times & Winds of Change. Red Octopus is great too. Cheers.

[@Shawn-1971]

That drum sound on Modern Times is epic.

[@billkirk5386]

You're aware that Dunbar molested China Kantner when she was 9 years old right? Paul almost killed him.

[@andymudrock322]

Hello Pete And Armando. Just wanted to let you guys know how much I enjoyed this podcast. I've got all of Jefferson Everything going back to 1966 and haven't listened to most of those albums for a long time. It's Sunday today and a good day to kick back and listen to some of these records. Also, since it's Sunday, if anyone who reads this post would like to feel pure joy for a few minutes, then go to you tube and type in "Bill Hader epic lip sync Skeleton Twins. It's Jefferson Starship related. I've seen this clip countless times and it never gets old.

[@joshcreasey]

Top 5 for me: 5. Freedom At Point Zero 4. Nuclear Furniture 3. Dragon Fly 2. Red Octopus 1. Winds Of Change HM’s: Earth, Spitfire, Modern Times

[@vincentleroy5661]

Great show Pete and Armando. For me: 1. Nuclear Furniture 2. Red Octopus 3. Wind of Change 4. Modern Times 5. Earth

[@charliejackson6482]

For once I couldn't agree more

[@NGC2392Eskimo]

Spitfire #1, Red Octopus #2, Dragonfly #3.

[@kennbrown4638]

1. Dragon Fly 2. Freedom at Point Zero 3. Red Octopus 4. Spitfire 5. Earth

[@worpswede]

1.) Red Octopus 2.) Freedom At Point Zero 3.) Modern Times 4.) Earth 5.) Spitfire

[@DonHornsby]

Great episode. I am surprised that no one mentioned "Blows Against The Empire." One of my favorite songs - is "Have You Seen the Stars Tonight?"

[@wolf1977]

Mine too...I consider Blows a Kantner solo album

[@jamesrudd8705]

That is a Kantner solo album.

[@Starman2112ofKings]

1. Modern Times 2. Freedom At Point Zero 3. Winds of Change 4. Red Octopus 5. Earth 6. Dragon Fly 7. Spitfire 8. Nuclear Furniture 9. Don’t care after that😁

[@Shawn-1971]

That would be mine. I'm suprised Modern Times isn't higher on people's list.

[@Starman2112ofKings]

@@Shawn-1971 yes I agree they both talked about what a great guitar player Craig is but neither had Modern Times in the top 5? To me that’s the hardest rock album they have and Craig shines on his playing especially the solos on Stranger and Save Your Love

[@747jono]

Pete me not 150 but probably 40 either not opened or not played yet one day lol 😆.

[@chriswoosley1697]

Spitfires...St.Charles ,..can't say enough great things about that magical song,yes ,.the great background vocals....its Kantner that brings the magic to those B.G. Vocals,..them and VH's Michael Anthony...take the title for best B.G.Vocals in bands,.....St.Charles,the outro to the song,is like a panzer tank....the soloing ,the killer drums,on the outro...perhaps one of my fave songs of all time,...its perfection in every way.....that woulda been a huge hit,.....oh well ,who cares ...i hate hits,.................Also........Mickey Thomas did all vocals on that song....album. with Elvin Bishop.......Stranger off M.T.1981,...Is a great kick ass song....killer bassline,,..... big hit here....and Caroline is great.......Hyperdrive is Slicks masterpiece over anything...those vocals/sci fi lyrics .....incredible.....Cant find love was played TO DEATH for years here in Louisville ,great song,..and Winds of Change,...another classic

[@peterm.fitzpatrick7735]

Technically speaking, wasn't "Blows Against the Empire" the first Jefferson Starship album? Released in 1970 with a plethora of musicians including Jerry Garcia and, I think, Graham Nash, if I am not mistaken? Totally non-commercial, it still rates as a Jefferson Starship album in my opinion.

[@themusicden4696]

Because they have 11 albums, we decided to tackle our Top 5 albums.

[@wolf1977]

Blows was originally released as "Paul Kantner and Jefferson Starship" so I guess you could argue it''s a JS album...

[@splifftachyon4420]

It is the first album to use the name Jefferson Starship on it, but is generally considered a Paul Kantner solo album. He had numerous guests appear on it. Dragonfly was the first album with a cohesive band called Jefferson Starship. By the way, I'm not dissing Blows Against the Empire by any means, I love it. It's one of my five desert island discs, but I think it falls more in line with Paul Kantner's further solo albums like Baron Von Tollbooth and Chrome Nun, Sunfighter, and the BAtE's spiritual sequel, Planet Earth Rock n Roll Orchestra. PERRO, as it was called, was the name of a loose collective of Bay area musicians that recorded several albums together, including BAtE (another amazing album they did was David Crosby's solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name).