There is always a tendency when bands have had various incarnations for people to say things like a particular band is 'not really' that particular band. It's not really Van Halen, it's not really Guns n Roses, it's not really Megadeth. So, is this really Starship? Or Jefferson Starship, Or Jefferson Airplane? Well......that's for you to decide. All I can tell you is that beyond a shadow of a doubt it definitely is Mickey Thomas. Better than I've ever heard him. Just listen to 'Technicolor Black and White'. What a song! Punchy bluesy riffs with a tie in to all that we love about classic rock.

This album comes together so well - it's an absolute gem and some people have said that this is akin to the Jefferson Airplane days. That's admirable when a that kind of thing can be recreated, as a lot of bands, old and new, find this impossible without some of their key players. Some, of course, simply do not wish to do so. Fair play.

The only thing I don't like and have a real issue with is that the lady who is labelled as a vocalist, Stephanie Calvert, is given no substantial chance to really do anything. There are a couple of brief outings where she is allowed to show her talents but her total lead vocal time on this album, which lasts just over 45 minutes, is probably not even 3 of those minutes. It's a real shame, because it's like being teased - I wanted to hear more. Ok - I confess part of this is because I am thinking of Grace Slick and I want to compare Stephanie to her, which probably isn't fair of me - especially given the nostalgic value I hold to 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now'. I'm allowed. I was 6 and I had a major crush on Kim Cattrall in Mannequin.

However, in any case the fact remains that we hardly hear anything - maybe they should have billed her as a backing vocalist because that is pretty much all we get from her aside from those 2 minutes. However, I don't know how she could top Mickey - but then since she hasn't even been given a chance it's hard to tell. That is why this album isn't getting a higher rating. If you have two vocalists you should use them both. If they had and it was of the quality of the sliver that we were given - I could have rated this in the 80s or higher.