Product: Jefferson Starship [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 2.0
Really definitive, really dated, really could have used Marty instead of Mickey
Apparently there's no video available from the Marty Balin / Papa JohnRed Octopusera. Too bad...when the first Starship album,Dragon Flywas released (Blows Against the Empirewas a Kantner solo project), it was such an improvement over the final Airplane albums that the future seemed bright indeed. The final Grace and Marty album,Earth, showed that the second incarnation of the Airplane / Starship / whatever might be running out of steam. The first Mickey Thomas album,Freedom at Point Zero, wasn't bad, but it soon became obvious that the Thomas-fronted version of the band was going after the MTV crowd with a vengeance.As theJefferson Starship. Platinum & Gold CollectionCD illustrates, there were a few tunes from the Thomas era that could be considered "Greatest Hits," but when it comes to this DVD...an exercise in Grace being back in the fold and Mickey filling the Marty chair...it's not the band's shining hour.Jeff Tamarkin's excellent bioGot a Revolution! : The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplanereminds us of the fact that the peak (or valley) of Grace's alcohol abuse problems came during the Starship years. If you compare her stage presence here with the Airplane Grace found on theFly Jefferson AirplaneDVD, it's easy to see that she's become more annoying and less or a rascal and a rebel. It's also painfully easy to see how this edition of the band was able to morph into the hit-making unit (minus Kantner, of course, and "Jefferson" in their name, which he won the rights to in a court battle) that created the wretched "We Built This City."The single greatest impression that I walk away with after watching this DVD is the fact that the band had been more enjoyable, more authentic, more film-worthy in the past. This crew had a job to do...make records, play concerts, make money, all while attempting to keep the "Jefferson" brand alive. This is commerce, not art. I own it because I'm a fan from theSurrealistic Pillowdays.But a new listener, one who may be a casual fan? If you liked the wretched "hair pop metal" that was MTV's bread and butter in the 80s...if you still have fond memories of that special Loverboy or April Wine concert you attended...this might be the DVD for you. If not, maybe the aforementionedFly Jefferson AirplaneDVD is the one you should buy.For those of you who love this stuff, Mickey Thomas still continues touring to this day as "Starship"...with no players from the original "Jefferson Starship" or "Starship" bands. He's become his own cover band, playing the songs you loved...or liked...or maybe didn't care for at all.