Knee Deep In The Hoopla

Jefferson Starship | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: SonyBMG Special Markets
• ASIN: B000YMOA64
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,855 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We built this city...on rock and rolllllllllllll!, June 25, 2005

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knee Deep in the Hoopla (Audio CD)

Another high school memory comes from hearing Starship's irresistible and cheery "We Built This City," as my classmate, Brad Liscom, was really into Starship then. I had him copy that song and "Sara," the two singles that became the constantly revamped group's first #1 hits. What makes this album no hoopla are the 80's style synths, Mickey Thomas's soaring vocals and Craig Chaquico's fiery and grinding guitars. True, these made be considered the final surrender and incarnation of Starship into the pop mainstream, but that's what I grew up on.

"We Built This City" embodies the oppression the band feels by the corporate mindset and by police and other authorities, but also rock as the symbol of high school youth. Slick's lines of "Someone always playing corporation games/Who cares they're always changing corporation names" are sadly still relevant today. The mid-song DJ monologue also adds to the mix, with a reference to the Bay Area, Starship's home base, when Les Garland refers to San Francisco as the city that rocks and never stops. Two weeks at #1? Four would be satisfactory for this song, which unseated Jan Hammer's "Miami Vice Theme" before giving way to "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin.

Two of the songwriters here include Bernie Taupin, Elton John's songwriting partner, Martin Page, who with Taupin wrote Heart's "These Dreams," and Peter Wolf (more on him later down).

"Sara, Sara, no time is a good time for goodbyes." Set to a steady drum machine, the bittersweet ballad "Sara," is bolstered by Chaquico's guitars and the keyboards, which lend to the sorrowful atmosphere. I recall the video, where Rebecca de Mornay played the title character, a pretty but shallow blonde temptress.

I got peeved when the third single, "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight," only reached #26. Maybe it was the video for the song, a solid electronic drum beat, Chaquico's solo, or the airy female vocals before the last bits of the choruses take over with a thundering sound, but I was quite taken with this upbeat number.

If the fourth single, "Before I Go," and certain songs throughout sounds like something from Heart's 1985 comeback, well, it's because Peter Wolf (no, not the J.Geils' Band lead singer) but a keyboardist did synth work on that classic album, on which incidentally, Mickey Thomas and Grace Slick did backing vocals on "What About Love." Anyway, this song sounds like a cross between "Nothin' At All" and the future "All I Want To Do" by Heart, with the constant backbeat drum machine and a catchy chorus. Its #68 showing was way too low. At least Top 20, come on!

If I were to choose a candidate for a fifth single, it'd be "Hearts of the World Will Understand," with prominent lead vocals by Slick. Perfect 80's pop, soaring harmony vocals, a mid-song monologue by Slick, and the intense drums and guitars of the group. Next up would be "Rock Myself To Sleep" with its pounding drums, hard-edged guitar chords, and also sung mostly by Grace Slick.

"Love rusts when it rains on romance/Hailstones heavy on this empty heart." Some bombastic synths pepper the somber ballad "Love Rusts," which is accompanied by airy synths and a host of backing vocalists, including Simon Climie of Climie Fisher fame, Martin Page, Ina Wolf, who co-wrote "Sara" with Peter Wolf, and Siedah Garrett, who sang with Michael Jackson on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" from his Bad album. Some parts of this song have a moody and oppressive aura, due to the bass synths.

Where songs like "Find Your Way Back" and "No Way Out" showed Starship moving closer to the mainstream after years as Jefferson Airplane and then as Jefferson Starship, Knee Deep In The Hoopla finally has the group getting its laurels and being embraced by my generation, by me because of "We Built This City" and due to a sound similar to but less grinding than Heart. So thanks, Brad, wherever you are, for introducing me to them, because I built my collection on rock and rollllllllll.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bad rap, decent work, January 12, 2006

By 

80s Guy (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knee Deep in the Hoopla (Audio CD)

Starship caught a bad rap, even my own father, when I was about 9, asked "what the hell happened to Grace Slick to sing this crap" but it's a good album.

Grace WAS the oldest FEMALE vocalist with a #1 hit. When "We Built This City hit #1-she was 46 years and 17 days old. The previous record was Tina Turner from the year before (she was 45 years 10 months when "What's Love Got To Do With It" topped the charts). Then Grace broke HER OWN record in '87 with "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" at almost 48 years old!

To Cher's credit, she DID break the record in 1999.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great album!, August 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Knee Deep in the Hoopla (Audio CD)

I think Michael Giersher should stop listening to whatever crap he listens to (probably Mmmmbop) and get with the freaking program. We Built This City is one of the most popular and easily recognizable songs on the radio!

There's no feeling better than playing Rock Myself to Sleep full blast and shouting along!

Sarah is a great ballad that makes me sad everytime I hear it.

Michael, why don't you stop trashing good music or I'll start trashing your idols (the three 6 year olds that make up Hanson).