Starship
Loveless Fascination
Loud & Proud Records
2013
I’m sure that Starship as a name evokes memories to those who lived, danced, sang and fell in love in the 80s by listening to a bunch of classics such as: “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, “Sara”, “Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter Tonight”, “It’s Not Enough”, “We Built This City”, and (as Jefferson Starship) “Jane”, “No Way Out”, “Winds of Change”, “Find You Way Back” and the list goes on! Oohh what an era and how “magical” things were back then! Anyhow, this ain’t a review about the old days but for the brand new album by Starship after 24 years!!! No matter how unbelievable it may sound it is damn right! Starship featuring Mickey Thomas are back again! The band’s latest album, “Love Among the Cannibals” was released in 1989! I bet not even the more confident fan of the band could have seen that coming!
Mickey, who’s at a great shape, has been around the scene all this time though. He has released a few solo albums and has worked on several projects, but never before was a new Starship album on the pipeline. I guess he was waiting for the perfect time and the right personnel to do it as great as he could… and he has chosen correctly, judging by the final result. Taking about personnel, all the credits go to bassist/producer Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Dio, Foreigner) for delivering such a great production and most of all for his wonderful songwriting. Yeap, you got it! Jeff is the main songwriter here and he gave a more “rocking” character to the album, without eliminating its pop-rock/AOR elements.
“Loveless Fascination” features no fillers at all and all the tunes are good & listenable although it lacks a “big classic hit”. That’s not necessarily bad cuz’ the album has a remarkable consistency; every track is more or less at the same level and time flows easily and nicely when listening to it. For instance the opener “It’s Not the Same as Love” is a reminiscent of “Jane” & the magnificent duet between Mickey and Stephanie Calvert, “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” will remind you of their other great hit “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”. Definitely, every listener will have their favorites so my own are: “How Do You Sleep?”, “What Did I Ever Do?”, “Where Did We Go Wrong?”, “How Will I Get By?” & “You Deny Me”. I’ve spent a week (in a row) listening to the damn thing and I didn’t grow tired of it at any point. This is exactly the kind of pop-rock/AOR music you would expect to hear on a (web) radio but you never do, cuz’ (web) radio is full of rubbish! Succinctly, “Loveless Fascination” is an remarkable new release by a legendary band… let’s not wait for another 24 years to hear something new from them…
Mickey, who’s at a great shape, has been around the scene all this time though. He has released a few solo albums and has worked on several projects, but never before was a new Starship album on the pipeline. I guess he was waiting for the perfect time and the right personnel to do it as great as he could… and he has chosen correctly, judging by the final result. Taking about personnel, all the credits go to bassist/producer Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Dio, Foreigner) for delivering such a great production and most of all for his wonderful songwriting. Yeap, you got it! Jeff is the main songwriter here and he gave a more “rocking” character to the album, without eliminating its pop-rock/
“Loveless Fascination” features no fillers at all and all the tunes are good & listenable although it lacks a “big classic hit”. That’s not necessarily bad cuz’ the album has a remarkable consistency; every track is more or less at the same level and time flows easily and nicely when listening to it. For instance the opener “It’s Not the Same as Love” is a reminiscent of “Jane” & the magnificent duet between Mickey and Stephanie Calvert, “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” will remind you of their other great hit “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”. Definitely, every listener will have their favorites so my own are: “How Do You Sleep?”, “What Did I Ever Do?”, “Where Did We Go Wrong?”, “How Will I Get By?” & “You Deny Me”. I’ve spent a week (in a row) listening to the damn thing and I didn’t grow tired of it at any point. This is exactly the kind of pop-rock/