Freedom At Point Zero
	Produced by Ron Nevison
	Released on November 1979
	US CHART POSITION #10 . . . GOLD RECORD (3/10/80) . . . UK CHART POSITION #22
	Find it at GEMM
BZL1-3452 cover [high resolution gatefold photo]

K aptain Kantner returns to the helm of the starship, writing or cowriting five of the tracks on here (four more than when we last saw him on Earth). He also jettisoned some of the crew; Mickey Thomas replaced the two-headed beast of legend, while The Aynsley Dunbar inhabited the traps. The singing change isn’t as troubling as you’d think, since Mickey Thomas sounds like a mixture of Marty Balin and Grace Slick. Dunbar is an upgrade wherever he goes. And the starship finally found a full-time job for David Freiberg (bass) and Pete Sears (keyboards), which allows Sears to settle into the synth role and deliver some of his best work to date. Any discussion of Freedom At Point Zero begins with “Jane,” its disco bridge notwithstanding the best rock song they’ve written since “Ride The Tiger.” Kantner’s “Girl With The Hungry Eyes” was an unlikely hit, Craig Chaquico’s “Rock Music” should have been one too. But for prog fans, it’s “Awakening” that’s likely to open eyes. I usually take pains to point out that Jefferson Starship is not a prog band, but this track would have felt right at home coming from Kansas. The rest of the record is solid, from the BOC soundalike “Just The Same” to the small amount of celestial magic found in “Things To Come.” The Chaquico/Kantner/Sears songwriting axis is stronger without Balin and Slick mucking up the waters, making Freedom At Point Zero their strongest record since, dare I say, Red Octopus. Unfortunately, Starship returned to its original orbit around the ego of Grace Slick soon after, and what seemed like freedom turned out to be only a boys’ night out.

BZL1-3452 inner gatefold	BZL1-3452 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. JANE    (lyrics & music: David Freiberg/Jim McPherson, music: Paul Kantner/Craig Chaquico)    4:00
2. LIGHTNING ROSE    (Paul Kantner)    4:36
3. THINGS TO COME    (lyrics: Paul Kantner/China Wing Kantner, music: Paul Kantner)    4:49
4. AWAKENING    (lyrics: Jeannette Sears, music: Pete Sears)    7:59
5. GIRL WITH THE HUNGRY EYES    (Paul Kantner)    3:28
6. JUST THE SAME    (title: Eric Van Soest, lyrics: Craig Chaquico/Jeannette Sears, music: Craig Chaquico/Eric Van Soest)    5:17
7. ROCK MUSIC    (lyrics: Craig Chaquico/Jeanneatte Sears, music: Craig Chaquico)    3:35
8. FADING LADY LIGHT    (lyrics: Jeannette Sears, music: Pete Sears/Markl Unobsky)    3:39
9. FREEDOM AT POINT ZERO    (Paul Kantner)    4:25

CREDITS

CRAIG CHAQUICO -- lead/rhythm guitar
AYNSLEY DUNBAR -- drums, percussion
DAVID FREIBERG -- bass, keyboards, vocals
PAUL KANTNER -- rhythm guitar, vocals, keyboards
PETE SEARS -- bass, keyboards, vocals, organ, electric rhythm guitar
MICKEY THOMAS -- vocals
Steven Schuster -- horns
Tower of Power horn section -- horns (1)
Ron Nevison -- engineer
Michael Clink -- engineer
Robin Van Soest -- calligraphy

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