As the title suggests, the 'Ship moved defiantly closer to the mainstream spotlight on this set of Balin-focused material. The jazzy-dreamy "With Your Love" was a moderate hit. Generally, there's enough variety to keep things interesting but there are disturbing lapses in taste, especially at the end of the album. We get it – there's a lot of love to go 'round in "Love Lovely Love". Thanks, guys. We love you, too. Well, sort of....

Virtually everything in the last five years came to a head on this boldly-titled and generally well-executed release from Jefferson Starship. By now, they were firmly planted in arena rock territory despite the major hit single "Miracles" having distinct soft rock vibes along with moderate echoes of past glories. Naturally, it was composed by Marty Balin, who joined the group as a full-fledged member. But his other contributions are in line with the general sound of the record, which was more upbeat than the previous one. Like the old Airplane days, all the known contributors get roughly equal billing, although it's mainly Grace Slick and Balin sharing the spotlight in front. Speaking of Slick, she's fairly restrained yet charmingly direct, and somehow much more of a presence, as a result. Her lead vocal on "Play On Love", for example, is really good. The good vibes – sometimes really good vibes – continue to emanate from the 'Ship. How long would it last?

Rising out of the ashes of the old Jefferson Airplane along with a confusing mish-mash of related albums from Airplane members was, naturally, Jefferson Starship. This actually doesn't sound much different than early 70's Airplane records, but it's more polished, and less overtly political, with moderately heavy spiritual/Eastern overtones. Marty Balin returns with "Caroline", a winding, breathlessly wordy epic somewhat reminiscent of the following year's "Miracles", but definitely a bit much. A good part of the material follows that dramatic blueprint, with Papa John Creach's violin usually an interesting, sometimes maudlin backdrop. The other new additions were David Freiberg and hot shot guitarist Craig Chaquico. In general, if the band is over-the-top with this mysticism stuff, at least they were more energized, and not down in the doldrums thanks to some failed poly-sci-fi fantasy that never came to fruition. Fairly good start from these guys.

Yeah, they went there. As the 80's became reality, the Dead made a serious attempt at a very radio-friendly rock record. But it was fairly obvious, from the jump, they had some trepidation, because their overall "anything goes" mood couldn't help but come through. But maybe you can tell that by the cover. What a bunch of hams. If nothing else, the Garcia-led tunes are great here.

Somewhat notorious as "Disco Dead"...in reality, it was just late 70's pop Dead. And truthfully, it wasn't too bad! The material feels more natural this time around, escaping that scholarly trap they all too often fell into, focusing on either straight-ahead blues rock or soft-rock and yes, disco, in the case of the rambunctious title track. Which, compared to much of the Dead's studio output from the 70's, was a delight. None of this even comes close to their work at the beginning of the decade, but if you are looking for a diamond in the rough in the Dead catalog, this may be your go to.