Jefferson Starship - Freedom at Point Zero

If push ever came to shove and I had to honestly list my favourite songs "Jane" would be near the top. I can't really describe what it is about the song that just crushes all my buttons, but it did - and still does. When this came out in '79 the sheer number of killer songs that were out that year was astounding (look it up, make your own list). The album though was a different thing all together. Freedom At Point Zero was an album a buddy of mine had, and I remember listening to it once. Expecting more than it could possibly deliver I was profoundly disappointed. I don't know if I even made it to the second side. I borrowed the record and put the song on a mix tape, and then gave it back - he didn't want it back, but I didn't want it either. When the band had another hit with "Find Your Way Back" a couple years later I never even bothered trying to find the record ... I had written the band off. Fickle I know, but my roots didn't go back to their airplane days, I wasn't interested in the past.

Of course over the years I'd end up with a best of CD and had to admit that when they were good, they were really good. But as far as I was concerned, they were also masters of filler.

Still when I found a copy of Freedom At Point Zero for a buck  I snatched it up. With the benefit of a few decades of experience and accumulated trivia I was in a better place to listen to this. Regardless, Jefferson Starship was retooling, and former members Marty Balin, and Grace Slick had left the band. This would be the first album singer Mickey Thomas would be on, and it was his voice that propelled "Jane" into the stratosphere. Drummer Aynsley Dunbar also joined the band. Aynsley had been with Journey and left after Infinity was released. Oddly it was with Infinity and the addition of Steve Perry that Journey would move away from their fusion roots. The rest as they say is history.

One of the things I found irritating about the packaging was trying to figure out the song order. The back jacket list the order one way, the lyric sheet had the songs in another. The font of choice on the insert was hard to read so bouncing around trying to find the right lyric was a pain ... of course, the record had the running order, but it too was hard to read while it was spinning. I've attached pictures for your viewing pleasure.

The things we find fault with.

Before I get too deep, let's see who was behind this one. From the band photo, the band left to right:

• Paul Kantner - rhythm guitar / vocals
• Pete Sears - bass / keyboards / vocals
• David Freiberg - bass / keyboards / vocals
• Mickey Thomas - vocals
• Aynsley Dunbar - drums / percussion
• Craig Chaquico - lead / rhythm guitar

It's interesting to me that both Pete and David seemed to play the same role in the band. 

The album was produced by Ron Nevison, who had a pretty good ear and had worked with bands like The Babys and Survivor.

That was a pretty long preamble let's drop the needle and take a listen. I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be as bad as I thought it was. I was pretty dismissive back in the day, not to mention not really all the discerning.

"Jane" opens things up, and I'm transported back in time. This song is still the shit. Then again, I knew that going in ... it was all that came after that was in question. The next two songs, "Lightning Rose (Carry the Fire)" and "Things to Come" were written by Paul Kantner and they were actually pretty solid. "Lightning Rose (Carry the Fire)" was especially good. I found myself paying attention. "Awakening" closes out the first side, and coming in at close to eight minutes there are any wasted moments. I actually got up and played it again before turning the record over.

Okay, I'm going to have to revise my thinking on this one. This is not what I expected.

Side two opens with another Kantner composition, "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" that's a pretty solid rocker with a new wave feel. It segues into "Just the Same" co-written by Craig Chaquico and Mickey Thomas is just killing it on vocals. "Rock Music" is another one of those "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" things ... "Mama said be a doctor son." Except it isn't country, and my initial impression was pretty dismissive (surprise, surprise - I have changed over the years but somethings don't change) but a couple of times through and I kind of like this one. 

The album closes with the title track. It opens with Aynsley hitting a lot of things before the band joins in. Lyrically, I really have no idea what's going on ... it sounds important. Musically it's a mishmash of a bunch of bits and pieces that are fitted together and frankly works. The '70s may have been coming to a close, but that didn't mean they had to leave all of that wonderful excess behind ... at least not yet. Although the song clocks in at over four minutes it felt short.

I'm still trying to process this one. It was far better than I remembered, and there were quite a few really great tracks here. Aside from "Jane" which I'd absorbed into my musical DNA decades ago, I found myself drawn to "Lightning Rose (Carry the Fire)" it is strangely compelling. It's very much a '70s mid temp rocker, but there's something about it that just works. The other one is the album's opus "Awakening." The track seems to have everything and I kept coming back to this one. 

To say I was pleasantly surprised by this one is an understatement. Of course, it wouldn't always be wine and roses in a few years this lineup would have to jettison the Jefferson moniker and be simply Starship - they'd release arguably their most successful album with Knee Deep in the Hoopla - now that was an album that was hit and miss.

Still when they were good, they were really good.