"Layin' It on the Line" by Jefferson Starship

Song#:  2040
Date:  09/08/1984
Debut:  82
Peak:  66
Weeks:  6
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Nuclear Furniture would be Jefferson Starship's eighth and last under that iteration of the band's name. It would be another gold seller for them thanks to the #1 Rock track "No Way Out" (#23 Pop) and this second single that got to #6 at Rock. The song was able to make it onto the Pop chart, but it lost its struggle to climb out of the basement within a few weeks. It would be the band's last single to reach the Pop chart. A third single titled "Sorry Me, Sorry You" would be their final entry on the Rock chart getting to #50. After this album, Jefferson Starship was no more. Paul Kantner left the band and along with him the legal rights to the name. Five of the remaining members would then move on as a new entity simply titled Starship. They would make a splash with their debut LP later in '85.

ReduxReview:  I've always liked this slice of commercial-leaning arena rock. It has a solid verse and the chorus has a terrific hook. It sounded great on the radio. I was really shocked when it took a quick exit from the Pop chart. I thought for sure this song was easily going to make the Top 20. Rock radio embraced it then and even today the song still find its way into the classic rock rotation. I always include it in my workout playlist.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Later on in 1992, Kantner would begin to revive the band and the Jefferson Starship name. Initially known as Jefferson Starship: The Next Generation, the tag name would be dropped a couple years later. Although the band included various former members of Jefferson Airplane/Starship, the only person from the Starship transition phase to appear with the band was Grace Slick. By 1998, the band was ready to record a comeback LP. Titled Windows of Heaven, the album received some good notices, but it couldn't make any headway on the chart. Ten years later, they would issue another disc called Jefferson's Tree of Liberty.

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