Freedom at Point Zero


Freedom at Point Zero is the fifth album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released in 1979. It was the first album for new lead singer Mickey Thomas, and the first after both Grace Slick and Marty Balin left the previous year. Aynsley Dunbar plays drums on this album; he had left Journey the previous year. The album cover was shot on location in the San Francisco Bay on board the.
The album spawned the hit single "Starship song)|Jane]", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 14 and spent three weeks at No. 6 on the Cash Box Top 100. "Jane" was featured in the 2009 video game Grand Theft Auto IV: [The Lost and Damned], as well as the opening music to the film Wet Hot American Summer and its prequel series Wet Hot American Summer: [First Day of Camp], while also being featured in the 2023 comedy thriller film Cocaine Bear. It is one of the few songs that was performed live by both the Paul Kantner-led Jefferson Starship TNG and the Mickey Thomas-led Starship. The song "Lightning Rose" predicts the concept of the Nuclear Furniture album, and in fact its character Lightning Rose would return on Nuclear Furniture as the key character in that album's concept.

Critical reception

Record World called the single "Girl with the Hungry Eyes" a "ferocious rocker." It said of "Rock Music" that "Mickey Thomas' frenetic vocals rip over roaring guitars." The Globe and Mail wrote: "Starship has been making music for the eighties since about 1967. Now that the eighties are here, it's only logical that this band should remain at the forefront of the style it pioneered."

Track listing

Personnel

Jefferson Starship

  • Mickey Thomas – lead and backing vocals
  • Paul Kantner – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
  • Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
  • David Freiberg – bass synthesizer, backing vocals
  • Pete Sears – bass, piano, electric piano, organ, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Aynsley Dunbar – drums, percussion

    Additional personnel

  • Steven Schuster – saxophone
  • Tower of Power – horns

    Production

  • Ron Nevison – producer for Gadget Productions, Inc., engineer
  • Michael Clink – engineer
  • Mike Reese – mastering
  • Pat Ieraci – production coordinator
  • Paul Dowell – amp consultant
  • Ria Lewerke-Shapiro – art direction, design
  • Gary Regester – photography
  • Tyrone Q. Thompson – star scout
  • Bill Thompson – manager
  • Recorded and mixed at The Record Plant, Los Angeles - Sausalito
  • Mastered at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood

    Charts

Certifications