Nuclear Furniture

1984 studio album by Jefferson Starship

Nuclear Furniture

Studio album by

Jefferson Starship

Released| June 1984
Recorded| 1984 at the Automatt, San Francisco
Genre| Hard rock, AOR
Length| 42:46
Label| Grunt
Producer| Ron Nevison
Jefferson Starship chronology
| Winds of Change
(1982)  | Nuclear Furniture
(1984)  | Deep Space / Virgin Sky
(1995)

|
|

Nuclear Furniture is the eighth album by American rock band Jefferson Starship, released in June 1984 through Grunt Records.[1] It was the final album by the band before the departure of leader Paul Kantner and the eventual transition of the remaining members of the group to become Starship.

## Background

[edit]

Produced by Ron Nevison, the album was arranged with the help of Austrian producer Peter Wolf (unrelated to the J. Geils Band singer of the same name), who had previously worked with Grace Slick on her solo album Software. Wolf also contributed keyboard and synthesizer work to the album, although not an official part of the band. Wolf and his wife Ina also wrote the single "No Way Out", the first of many songs penned by the duo that took the future Starship in a more commercial direction.

As the album was being recorded, Paul Kantner became frustrated with the album's direction. Before the sessions came to a close, he stole the master tapes and drove with them around San Francisco for a few days, and would not return them until the band mixed the album in a way more to his liking.[2] Shortly after the album's release, Kantner left the band, and he only appears in the first promotional video, "No Way Out". After the departure of Kantner, the band lost the "Jefferson" moniker and became Starship; there would not be another studio album released under the Jefferson Starship name until after Kantner reformed the band in 1992.

## Reception

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Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [3]

Nuclear Furniture was released in 1984 and spawned the Top 40 single "No Way Out", which was also the first single by any incarnation of the band to hit No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album itself reached No. 28.

Joseph McCombs of AllMusic described it as a "competent but rather forgettable collection of radio-friendly dual guitar/keyboard period pop tunes." McCombs said that the juxtaposition between Kantner's politically-oriented songs and Thomas's more commercially-oriented songs "makes for an intriguing if uneven album."[3]

## Track listing

[edit]

Side ANo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Layin' It on the Line"| Mickey Thomas, Craig Chaquico| Chaquico, Thomas| 4:09
2.| "No Way Out"| Ina Wolf| Peter Wolf| 4:22
3.| "Sorry Me, Sorry You"| Jeannette Sears| Pete Sears| 4:07
4.| "Live and Let Live"| J. Sears| P. Sears| 3:50
5.| "Connection"| Paul Kantner, Thomas| Kantner| 4:27

Side BNo.| Title| Lyrics| Music| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Rose Goes to Yale"| Kantner, Ronnie Gilbert| Kantner| 2:56
2.| "Magician"| Grace Slick| P. Wolf| 3:23
3.| "Assassin"| J. Sears| P. Sears| 3:52
4.| "Shining in the Moonlight"| Chaquico, Thomas| Chaquico| 3:38
5.| "Showdown"| Slick| Slick| 3:22
6.| "Champion"| Kantner, Gilbert| Kantner| 4:40

## Personnel

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* Mickey Thomas – lead (1–5, 8, 9, 11) and backing vocals, spoken word (11)
* Grace Slick – lead (3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11) and backing vocals, spoken word (11)
* Paul Kantner – lead (5, 6, 11) and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, banjo (11), spoken word (11)
* Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, spoken word (11)
* David Freiberg – keyboards (2, 6, 8, 9, 11) Moog (5, 8), piano (9), backing vocals, spoken word (11)
* Pete Sears – bass, synthesizers (1, 3–5, 10) piano (5), backing vocals, spoken word (11)
* Donny Baldwin – drums (1–6, 8–11), hand claps (1, 9), roto toms (1, 4, 5, 11), backing vocals, spoken word (11)

Additional personnel

* Peter Wolf – synthesizer programming, LinnDrum programming (1, 4, 9)
* Brian MacLeod – Simmons drums (7)

Production

* Jefferson Starship – arrangements
* Ron Nevison – producer, engineer, arrangements
* Peter Wolf – arrangements
* Maureen Droney – assistant engineer
* Kevin Eddy – assistant mixing engineer
* Mike Reese – mastering
* Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator
* Rod Dyer, Clive Pierce / Dyer / Kahn, Inc. – cover design
* Tracks recorded at The Automatt, San Francisco
* Over-dubs and mixing at The Plant, Sausalito
* Mastered at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood
* Bill Thompson – manager

## Singles / music videos

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* "No Way Out" (1984)[4]
* "Layin' It on the Line" (1984)
* "Sorry Me, Sorry You" (1984)

## Charts

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Chart (1984)  | Peak
position

|

US Billboard 200[5] | 28

## Certifications

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Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United States (RIAA)[6] | Gold  | 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

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1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 430\. ISBN 9780862415419.
2. ^ Tamarakin, Jeff (2003). Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-03403-0.
3. ^ a b Joseph McCombs. "Nuclear Furniture". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
4. ^ RHINO (July 29, 2013). "Jefferson Starship - No Way Out (Official Music Video)". YouTube.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
5. ^ "Jefferson Starship Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
6. ^ "American album certifications – Jefferson Starship – Nuclear Furniture". Recording Industry Association of America.

* v
* t
* e

Jefferson Airplane · Jefferson Starship · Starship

Members|

* Jefferson Airplane members
* Jefferson Starship members
* Starship members

Discographies|

* Jefferson Airplane discography
* Jefferson Starship discography
* Starship discography

Studio albums|

| Jefferson Airplane|

* Jefferson Airplane Takes Off
* Surrealistic Pillow
* After Bathing at Baxter's
* Crown of Creation
* Volunteers
* Bark
* Long John Silver
* Jefferson Airplane

|

Jefferson Starship|

* Blows Against the Empire (with Paul Kantner)
* Dragon Fly
* Red Octopus
* Spitfire
* Earth
* Freedom at Point Zero
* Modern Times
* Winds of Change
* Nuclear Furniture
* Windows of Heaven
* Jefferson's Tree of Liberty
* Mother of the Sun

Starship|

* Knee Deep in the Hoopla
* No Protection
* Love Among the Cannibals
* Loveless Fascination

Live albums|

| Jefferson Airplane|

* Bless Its Pointed Little Head
* Thirty Seconds Over Winterland

|

Jefferson Starship|

* Deep Space/Virgin Sky
* Greatest Hits: Live at the Fillmore
* Across the Sea of Suns

Archival releases|

* Live at the Monterey Festival
* Live at the Fillmore East
* At Golden Gate Park
* Last Flight
* Sweeping Up the Spotlight
* At the Family Dog Ballroom
* The Woodstock Experience

Compilations|

| Jefferson Airplane|

* The Worst of Jefferson Airplane
* Early Flight
* Flight Log
* 2400 Fulton Street
* Jefferson Airplane Loves You
* The Essential Jefferson Airplane

|

Jefferson Starship|

* Gold

Starship|

* Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979–1991)

Singles|

| Jefferson Airplane|

* "My Best Friend"
* "Somebody to Love"
* "White Rabbit"
* "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil"
* "Volunteers" / "We Can Be Together"
* "Wooden Ships"
* "Mexico"

|

Jefferson Starship|

* "Miracles"
* "Play on Love"
* "With Your Love"
* "Count On Me"
* "Runaway"
* "Jane"
* "Find Your Way Back"

Starship|

* "We Built This City"
* "Sara"
* "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"

Related articles|

* Grunt Records
* Hot Tuna
* KBC Band
* The Matrix (club)
* The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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