Product: Jefferson Starship [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 2.0
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.