Knee Deep in the Hoopla explained

Knee Deep in the Hoopla
Type:studio
Artist:Starship
Cover:Kneedeep2.jpg
Border:yes
Released:September 12, 1985
Recorded:1984−1985
Genre:AOR, pop rock
Length:40:28
Label:Grunt/RCA
Producer:
Next Title:No Protection
Next Year:1987

Knee Deep in the Hoopla is the debut studio album by American AOR band Starship, the succeeding musical project to Jefferson Starship. It was released on September 12, 1985, through record label Grunt.[1] Four singles were released from the album: the No. 1 hits "We Built This City" and "Sara", "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (No. 26 US Hot 100) and "Before I Go" (No. 68 US Hot 100).

Content

AllMusic retrospectively described Knee Deep in the Hoopla as the Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship project's "most overtly commercial effort to date".[2]

The track "Desperate Heart", written by Michael Bolton and Randy Goodrum, also appears on Bolton's album Everybody's Crazy, released the same year. Two songs sung by Grace Slick were recorded for but left off the album: Slick's own "Do You Remember Me?" (released on The Best of Grace Slick) and the Peter Wolf–Jeremy Smith composition "Casualty" (included as a bonus track on the 1999 remaster). Jeannette and Pete Sears wrote a song for the album called "One More Innocent", but it was rejected for its political lyrics.[3]

Cash Box said of the track "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" that "Mickey Thomas’ sensational lead vocal keeps this cut aloft with exhilerating sonic flight" and that "It slices like a double bladed sword, and backed by searing rock guitars and a churning rhythm."[4] Billboard called that song "exemplary American AOR of the '80s, interrupted only by an ethereal bridge."[5]

Release

Knee Deep in the Hoopla was released on September 10, 1985, through record label Grunt. Four singles were released from the album: the No. 1 hits "We Built This City" and "Sara", "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" and "Before I Go". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Personnel

Per liner notes[6]

Additional personnel

Love Rusts backing vocals

Production

Singles

Charts

Year-end charts

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FMQB. 25.
  2. Web site: Knee Deep in the Hoopla – Starship Songs, Reviews, Credits . McCombs . Joseph . . March 12, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215174038/https://www.allmusic.com/album/knee-deep-in-the-hoopla-mw0000195853 . December 15, 2017 . live .
  3. Web site: We Built This City. jeannettesears.com. Sears. Jeannette. January 3, 2012. October 22, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150926143345/http://www.jeannettesears.com/jefferson-starship/we-built-this-city-making-the-muppets-dance/. September 26, 2015. live.
  4. Single Releases. Cash Box. April 5, 1986. 2022-08-04. 11. 2022-01-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220120132327/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1986/CB-1986-04-05.pdf. live.
  5. Billboard. April 5, 1986. 2022-08-03. 71. Reviews.
  6. FL85488. Knee Deep In The Hoopla. 1985. liner notes. Grunt.
  7. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 291.
  8. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1986. Billboard. July 9, 2021. July 7, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190707233531/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1986/top-billboard-200-albums. live.