STARSHIP - Mickey Thomas - Loveless Fascination (2013)


STARSHIP is back with its first new studio album in more than 20 years; "Loveless Fascination". The fresh 10-track collection finds frontman
Mickey Thomas and his group mixing more rocking material with the band’s
classic eighties melodies which made them famous.
And this works greatly for Starship 2013, rounded out these days by
guitarist John Roth, bassist Jeff Adams, drummer Darrell Verdusco,
vocalist Stephanie Calvert and keyboardist Phil Bennett.

"Loveless Fascination" boasts a straight-forward classic Melodic Rock
style with nods to the eighties, yet with a modern serrated edge
courtesy of Jeff Pilson's production.
Pilson (Foreigner, ex- Dokken) not only makes Starship sound rockin' and
kicking, he also has written all the material, minus "You Never Know",
the great midtempo AOR moment on the disc penned by the exquisite
Richard Page (Mr. Mister).
So expect quality Melodic Rock here, edgy and almost Hard at places with
a polished delivery but plenty of nerve and some terrific melodies.

"It’s Not the Same as Love" takes you back to 1985, dancing the night
away, as this song, if it were released then, would have been a smash FM
radio hit.
Then the extremely melodious - and one of my favorites - "How Do You
Sleep?" brings memories of Tommy Shaw circa Ambition (1988), title track
has a guitar rhythm that rocks, while "Technicolor Black And White" is
one of the harder moments driven by a sharp riff, big leads by Thomas
and a solid rhythm section.
Elsewhere, "What Did I Ever Do" finds Mickey exploring the darker tones
that age have opened up in his voice. "Don’t Deny Me" and "Where Did We
Go Wrong", at least musically, might come closest to recapturing the
sweet romanticism of Starship’s mid-1980s era of chart domination, but
even here, Thomas sings with a far more visceral emotion.



"Loveless Fascination" is a fantastic US Melodic Rock that largely exceeded my expectations.
Mickey Thomas is intact, and I'd say better than ever. It is refreshing
to hear an artist find that magical balance of sticking to his sound,
yet pushing it forward and creating something fresh and new.
Thomas had help in crafting the record, however, as it's Jeff Pilson who
was beside him every step of the way writing killer songs, producing
with a crisp (really great) sound and even playing on many tracks. They
made a formidable team, as everything on the album, the songs, the
lyrics, the vocals - even the artwork, is top notch.
"Loveless Fascination" is one of the albums of the year folks, get it pronto.

01. It's Not The Same As Love
02. How Do You Sleep?
03. Loveless Fascination
04. What Did I Ever Do?
05. Technicolor Black And White
06. Where Did We Go Wrong?
07. How Will I Get By?
08. You Never Know
09. You Deny Me
10. Nothing Can Keep Me From You

Mickey Thomas - Vocals
Stephanie Calvert - Vocals
John Roth - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jeff Adams - Bass, Backing Vocals
Phil Bennett - Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Darrell "Pelican" Verdusco - Drums
Guests:
Mark Abrahamian - Guitar
John Wedemeyer - Guitar
Chris Frazier - Drums
Mark Schulman - Drums
Jeff Pilson - Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals

Produced & Engineered by Jeff Pilson

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