Customer Reviews

Windows of Heaven

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This 1999 comeback album from Jefferson Starship took me by surprise. I had heard about its release back in '99 and was fairly skeptical about it. I finally picked up late last year and was very pleasantly surprised after listening to it.

This is very much a new band..not a return to the 1970's and most certainly not the band of the 1980's. Paul Kantner has once again reinvented the Starship into a fresh and energetic band for these new modern times. Joining him is longtime musical comrade Marty Balin, singer Diana Mangano, guitarist Mark "Slick" Aguilar, drummer Prairie Prince, keyboardist T. Lavitz and bassist Jack Casady...yes that Jack Casady. Grace Slick even makes a guest appearence on one song.

The songs themselves are full of energy, in which seven of them are written by Kantner and three by Balin. If I had one word to describe this album...electric. There's a wonderful rush of energy to these songs, and a great sense of freedom to the lyrics. Standout songs include The Light, Borderland, Let Me Fly, Shadowlands and See The Light. Kantner doesn't pull any punches in his songwriting and Balin still sounds terrific. Diana Mangano is a real find. She may not be Grace, but is still a wonderful and expressive singer. Mark Aguilar is a splendid lead guitarist and Prairie Prince (longtime drummer for The Tubes) adds a great kick to this new Starship. Jack Casady is Jack Casady..nuff said.

This was an album that was sorely overlooked upon its release, but if you've seen it and hedged upon getting it...think again..you'll be in for something new here. They also still sound great in concert..just having seen them live for the first time earlier this year. Kudos to Paul Kantner for relaunching the Starship once again. Keep on flying!

This is a good, but not great album. It is another Jefferson Airplane/Starship reunion album. Basically, the group is Paul Kantner and Marty Balin with several good backup musicians. The album is more like a combination of Kantner and Balin solo material than it is a group effort.

The group features a female singer, Diana Mangano, who does a pretty good Grace Slick imitation. However, she is only a backup singer and doesn't do any leads. The musicians include original Jefferson Airplane bass player Jack Casady, keyboardist T. Lavitz (from Dixie Dregs) and Slick Agular, who plays a firey guitar. The backup band adds a deeper dimension to some songs, but is blurred out in others. Casady is especially interesting on some of the earlier tracks.

The CD starts out very strong, alternating between Kantner and Balin songs. Paul Kantner was one of the most important song writers of the sixties, and he is still fairly potent. The Balin songs were written by Jesse Barish, who wrote most of the best material Balin has sung. But, all of the Kantner have basically the same structure and format and basically say the same thing. After a while, the Kantner songs start sounding alike, and it just gets boring and repititious. The later Balin tracks were written by Balin and are not as good as the earlier Barish tracks.

None of the tracks are bad, and most are pretty good when taken on their own. The problem is that there is not enough variety on this album. The strength of the old Jefferson Airplane/Starship was that there were always at least 4 excellent songwriters/singers in the group. Kantner can't carry a whole album by himself, and the addition of Balin wasn't enough.

Note that the import version of this CD has 3 extra tracks. I haven't heard them, so I don't know if they make the import worth seeking out.

Jefferson Airplane evolved into Jefferson Starhip in the seventies. The group was a Marty Balin creation, but Kantner eventually took over and has been the leader since the late sixties. Balin, Slick and other members would leave and then reappear, but Kantner was always present. In 1985, Kantner finally left Jefferson Starship and took the name with him. The rest of the group (with no original members) continued on as Starship.

In 1989, Jefferson Airplane reunited and released an album entitled Jefferson Airplane. It contained most of the "original" group, Kantner, Balin, Casady, Jorma Kaukenon and Grace Slick. The ablum went nowhere and got bad reviews. It really isn't too much different than Windows of Heaven. The group broke up again.

In 1995, the group reunited again, this time as Jefferson Starship. Only Jorma Kaukenon was missing from the 1989 reunion group. The group toured and released a live album of hits and new material. The album was called Deep Space/Virgin Sky. The greedy, sleazy record company removed the new songs and rereleased the CD, this time calling it Miracles (Live). This reunion group has basically stayed together, only Slick was replaced by Mangana. Shadowlands was originally on Deep Space/Virgin Sky.

The saga continues. By 1998 Paul Kantner had long left Jefferson Starship behind. Mickey Thomas and Grace Slick had carried on under the moniker of just Starship. Kantner had gone on to form the KBC band with Marty Balin and Jack Cassidy former Jefferson Starship / Airplane members. At some point Mickey Thomas obtained sole right of the use of the Starship band name, but Kantner still apparently had the rights to use Jefferson Starship. So, to make sure everyone was confused the Mickey Thomas version of Starship was still out touring in 1999 Kantner put this version of Jefferson Starship together for this reunion album. The band features the 3 main members of the KBC band (and original Jefferson Airplane) along with newcomer Diana Mangano on vocals, Slick Agular on guitar, T Lavitz (Dixie Dregs) on keys, and Prarie Prince (The Tubes) on drums. It was a formidable lineup and for the most part they put out an artistically successful album. This album reminds me a lot more of The Starship's early to mid-70's output (i.e. "Red Octopus", "Spitfire", "Dragonfly", "Earth") than it does the later 70's early 80's Mickey Thomas led band. Paul Kantner is fully in charge here writing the majority of the songs with a couple of Marty Balin ballads thrown in as well. I have always been a fan of Kantner's writing but I can understand people who would not like it. He is in prime form here with his patented mix of sci-fi, space / prog, and social / political commentary. Many of the songs feature multiple vocal leads which has been an Airplane / Starship trademark for years. The quality of Balin's songs will probably depend on how much like his writing style. Personally I don't really care for much of what he does and the songs on this album don't do much to change my opinion. Vocalist Diana Mangano has a great voice, but unfortunately is not given enough to do in my opinion. I think that bringing her to the lead more would have been a beneficial move. The bottom line is that if you like the mid-70's version of Jefferson Starship and / or Paul Kantner's solo works you will probably enjoy this reunion effort from the band.

There are several issues of this recording, some of them with more songs than others. I recommend checking each issue for the track listings. The German import has the most songs (15), but the mixing is not as good as the domestic release, though three songs have been omitted. However, the domestic release has "I'm On Fire", a powerful song with Grace Slick as a guest vocalist. I suggest buying both the German import and the domestic, and then add the missing tracks to the domestic issue. Here's my review: I had the good fortune of listening to the import release of the new recording "Windows Of Heaven" by Jefferson Starship. I found it refreshingly new, yet very reminescent of the earlier JS recordings. Yes, there are some pop oriented tunes which feature Marty Balin ala "Miracles" that may have a good chance of climbing up the charts. Songs like "Goddess" and "Ways Of Love" are sweet, yet still have an edge of rock to them. Those songs along with other Balin rockers like "Let It Live " and "See The LighT" blend well with Paul Kantner's epic orieted songs like "Let Me Fly", "Windows Of Heaven" and "Millenium" that still have there roots in science fiction, politics and society, looking toward the good in humankind, towards the heavens, toward the brighter future, to the "frontiers of light". This refitted crew inlcudes the dynamic voice and charisma of Diana Mangano, a fresh and powerful female vocal that evokes memories of our beloved Grace Slick. This new recording is indeed a renewed and energized incarnation of Jefferson Starship which manages to recapture some of it's distinctive sound and artistic integrity. After all these years of change, they seem to have come a near full circle, ready to take off once again.

If your a fan of the Jefferson Airplane, Paul Kantner, or Marty Balin then this should be a must for your collection. Likewise if your a fan of 60's type message music. Kantner continues to say the heck with commercialism and gives us a lot of interesting messages in politics, the environment, and the complexities of the modern world. Marty has a great song here in "Goddess." The music is great, the message is great, and the album is solid all the way thru.You get hard rock, some experimentation, and some nice ballads.If the radio stations had played it I think interest in the band would have been regenerated.
Jack Cassidy has since left the group and their recent live albums are not nearly as good in quality. This is the last studio album of new material from these rock masters. I would agree with another reviewer that Diana Mangano should be given more of the singing role. Prarie Prince is with the New Cars now so I wonder if Starsip can ever get clearance to fly again. It's a shame this album was overlooked and I suggest you buy it.

WINDOWS OF HEAVEN is Jefferson Starship's album to herald the millennium, and it's a great one. There are a couple of Marty Balin ballads- "Ways Of Love" and "Later On"- but they pale next to the other songs, which have roots in science fiction, politics, and the human condition. Much of the album seems to have a message about how we have neglected the environment, other people, and ourselves, and how all of that needs to change. If the songs seem a bit preachy and heavy-handed, at least it should shatter the complacency of the listener and inspire him/her to do something about the conditions affecting them. This is a great return for JS after numerous albums of commercial pap.

If you're a fan of the Airplane of the first phase of Jefferson Starship, you owe it to yourself to check out this recording. This 1999 offering by Jefferson Starship (the next generation) may take a couple of listenings, but by the second or third hearing you'll be hooked. Marty Balin still writes and sings of Love. Paul Kantner still writes and sings about science, politics, space and love. PK's song are the stronger offerings. And as an extra bonus, Grace Slick guests on "I'm On Fire". Other strong cuts include Shadowlands, Let Me Fly, and Windows of Heaven.

Windows of Heaven overall is a great album. The only thing holding it back is the fire that this band has in a live situation...If you like "Shadowlands" and " I'm On Fire" ..you'll love the live versions on "Deep Space/Virgin Sky". I just wish this album was a more accurate reflection of what this band of capable of. Other great tracks include "Let Me Fly" where Paul and Diana Mangano demonstrate their cohesiveness as singing partners. Kantner's "Future Squared" and Balin's "Later On" and "Goddess" are also great tracks.

Isn't it great that Jefferson Starship is lead once again by Kantner...who is probably one of the most dynamic personalities from the 60's who has the forsight to make innovative music that cannot be catogorized by any particular genre...You couldn't put the Airplane into a particular category in the 1960's...and you can't put Jefferson Starship in the 90's in the a category....Overall, Windows Of Heaven is proof that good music need not be catagorized! Buy this album....and definetly see Jefferson Starship on tour...for full impact!

I had the good fortune of listening to the import release of the new recording "Windows Of Heaven" by Jefferson Starship. I found it refreshingly new, yet very reminiscent of the earlier JS recordings. Yes, there are some pop oriented tunes which feature Marty Balin ala "Miracles" that may have a good chance of climbing up the charts. Songs like "Goddess" and "Ways Of Love" are sweet, yet still have an edge of rock to them. Those songs along with other Balin upbeat rockers blend well with Paul Kantner's epic oriented songs that still have there roots in science fiction, politics and society, looking toward the heavens, toward the brighter future, to the "frontiers of light". This refitted crew includes the dynamic voice and charisma of Diana Mangano, a fresh and powerful female vocal that evokes memories of our beloved Grace Slick. This new recording is indeed a renewed and energized incarnation of Jefferson Starship which manages to recapture some of its distinctive sound and artistic integrity. After all these years of change, they seem to have come full circle, ready to take off once again

I posted a review some time ago, but I just wanted to add that I still keep listening to "Windows of Heaven" and haven't gotten bored with it yet. If you like Jefferson Airplane and the earlier incarnation of JS, I'm quite sure that you will enjoy this recording. There's even a track that has Grace Slick! Also, JS tours fairly frequently, so check out their web site for concert dates and locations.