Nuclear Furniture
	Produced by Ron Nevison
	Released on June 1984
	US CHART POSITION #28 . . . GOLD RECORD (1/11/85)
	Find it at GEMM
BXL1-4921 cover [high resolution photo]

T his is the first Jefferson Starship album I’ve really sat down and listened to. The hour passed pleasantly enough during the dozen-plus sittings, but when it came time to bend my critical eye at the piece, I found it a bit wobbly. Mutations and permutations led to several factions within the group, each advancing their own vision of the band. Paul Kantner wants this to be a concept album about nuclear war, Craig Chaquico wants to rival the likes of Asia and Journey, Pete Sears wants to show off his synthesizers and Peter Wolf wants to be a member. Grace Slick remains in her quasi-mystical state, an unflappable constant in a sea of conflicted interests. It’s not the mess that it might appear, since Jefferson Starship are good in any guise, but Nuclear Furniture doesn’t build up momentum over the course of its sides. Half of the material could have been carved out for a good story about nuclear war: “Layin’ It On The Line” (a great arena rock track), “Connection,” “Rose Goes To Yale,” “Showdown,” “Champion.” Kantner trips back to Lightning Rose for a fist-clenching close to the record that suggests something important has transpired here, but it’s an illusion. The other half of the record features serviceable songs about life and love, with the Sears gaining the upper hand here (“Live And Let Live,” “Assassin”). What’s it all mean? That Jefferson Starship could be counted on to make credible, relevant ‘80s music on the sum of their parts. That includes the biting guitar solos, the loopy epics, the dual vocalists, the moody synthesizers and the little bit of magic that Starship still had in the bottom of their bag. Nuclear Furniture shows that the band wouldn’t take retirement lying down, and that’s a good thing. On a sour note, though, the cover is almost as lame as Kansas’ Vinyl Confessions (and that’s being chairable).

BXL1-4921 back cover	BXL1-4921 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. LAYIN' IT ON THE LINE    (Music: Craig Chaquico/Mickey Thomas, Lyrics: Mickey Thomas/Craig Chaquico)    4:09
2. NO WAY OUT    (Music: Peter Wolf, Lyrics: Ina Wolf)    4:22
3. SORRY ME, SORRY YOU    (Music: Pete Sears, Lyrics: Jeannette Sears)    4:07
4. LIVE AND LET LIVE    (Music: Pete Sears, Lyrics: Jeannette Sears) 3:50
5. CONNECTION    (Music: Paul Kantner, Lyrics: Paul Kantner, Mickey Thomas)    4:27
6. ROSE GOES TO YALE    (Music: Paul Kantner, Lyrics: Paul Kantner/Ronnie Gilbert)    2:56
7. MAGICIAN    (Music: Peter Wolf, Lyrics: Grace Slick)    3:23
8. ASSASSIN    (Music: Pete Sears, Lyrics: Jeannette Sears)    3:52
9. SHINING IN THE MOONLIGHT    (Music: Craig Chaquico, Lyrics: Mickey Thomas, Craig Chaquico)    3:38
10. SHOWDOWN    (Music and Lyrics: Grace Slick)    3:22
11. CHAMPION    (Music: Paul Kantner, Lyrics: Paul Kantner, Ronnie Gilbert)    4:40
    
    Arranged by Peter Wolf-Ron Nevison and Jefferson Starship

CREDITS

DONNY BALDWIN -- drums, percussion, vocals
CRAIG CHAQUICO -- lead guitars, rhythm guitars
DAVID FREIBERG -- keyboards, vocals
PAUL KANTNER -- rhythm-electric-acoustic guitars, banjo, vocals
PETE SEARS -- bass, keyboards
GRACE SLICK -- vocals
MICKEY THOMAS -- vocals
Brian Macleod -- Simmons electronic drums (7)
Peter Wolf -- synthesizers, keyboards, Linn drum programming
Ron Nevison -- engineer
Pat Ieraci (Maurice) -- production coordinator
Rod Dyer, Clive Piercy of Dyer/Kahn, Inc. -- cover design

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