Product Description

The fantastic voyage of Jefferson Starship is without equal in American rock history. Rising from the remains of the legendary Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship combined the best of the classic Airplane sound with the refined elements of contemporary high-energy rock. Charter members Grace Slick and Paul Kantner join co-lead singer Mickey Thomas and the rest of the band in a rousing rendition of Airplane and Starship greatest hits. Songs: Winds of Change, Ride the Tiger, Stranger, Black Widow, Find Your Way Back, Somebody to Love, Be My Lady, Girl with the Hungry Eyes, Out of Control, White Rabbit, Jane, Stairway to Cleveland.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52350 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-01-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 63 minutes

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

Customer Reviews

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.

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".

Definitive of what?
A bad idea?
I agree with Kireviewer, if you care about the music, it's hard to get past the dumb opening, a host who even Will Rodgers couldn't like, a set apparently built in a high school shop class, and the many annoying interruptions. They took a too short concert, and turned it into a bad, too long music video. I guess the mindless filler was necessary to get the length up to the claimed 1 hour. The music is OK, but it was neither the band's best period, nor their best work.