Knee Deep in the Hoopla

"We Built This City"
Knee Deep in the Hoopla
Studio album by Starship
Released	September 10, 1985
Recorded	1984−85
Studio	Record Plant, Sausalito; Music Grinder, Los Angeles;
Genre	AOR, pop rock
Length	40:28
Label	Grunt/RCA
Producer	Peter Wolf; Jeremy Smith; Dennis Lambert (executive producer);
Starship chronology
Singles from Knee Deep in the Hoopla
	"We Built This City"; Released: August 1, 1985[1]; "Sara"; Released: December 1985; "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"; Released: 1986; "Before I Go"; Released: 1986;

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 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".

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]

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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
People	negative[4]

Knee Deep in the Hoopla has received a negative response from professional music critics.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"We Built This City"	Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, Peter Wolf	4:53
2.	"Sara"	Ina Wolf, P. Wolf	4:48
3.	"Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"	Steven Cristol, Robin Randall	3:41
4.	"Rock Myself to Sleep"	Kimberley Rew, Vince De la Cruz	3:24
5.	"Desperate Heart"	Randy Goodrum, Michael Bolton	4:04

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Private Room"	Craig Chaquico, Mickey Thomas	4:51
7.	"Before I Go"	David Roberts	5:30
8.	"Hearts of the World (Will Understand)"	Stephen Broughton Lunt, Arthur Stead	4:21
9.	"Love Rusts"	Taupin, Page	4:57

Remastered CD bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Casualty"	P. Wolf, Jeremy Smith	4:34

Personnel

Mickey Thomas – vocals
Grace Slick – vocals
Donny Baldwin – drums, electronic drums, vocals
Craig Chaquico – guitars
Pete Sears – bass guitar, synth bass

Additional personnel

Peter Wolf – keyboards
Les Garland – DJ voice on "We Built This City"
Peter Beckett, J. C. Crowley, Siedah Garrett and Ina Wolf – additional backing vocals on "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" and "Love Rusts"
Kevin Dubrow – additional vocal on "Rock Myself to Sleep"
Dave Jenkins – additional backing vocal on "Desperate Heart"
Simon Climie, Lorraine Devon, Phillip Ingram, Martin Page, Chris Sutton and Oren Waters – additional backing vocals on "Love Rusts"

Production

Peter Wolf – producer, arrangements
Jeremy Smith – producer, engineer
Dennis Lambert – executive producer
Skip Johnson – production coordinator
Bill Thompson – manager
Bill Bottrell – mixing engineer on "We Built This City".
Tom Size – additional engineering
Paul Ericksen, Dana Chappelle, David Luke, Maureen Droney – assistant engineers.
Stephen Marcussen – mastering engineer
Raess Design (Ted Raess) – art, design
Bill Robbins – photography
Recorded at The Plant Studios (Sausalito, CA); The Music Grinder (Los Angeles, CA).
Mixed at Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, CA).
"We Built This City" re-mixed at The Soundcastle, L. A.
Mastered at Precision Lacquer (Los Angeles).

Singles

"We Built This City" (1985)
"Sara" (1986)
"Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (1986)
"Before I Go" (1986)

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1986	The Billboard 200	7

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	"We Built This City"	The Billboard Hot 100	1
1985	"We Built This City"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
1985	"We Built This City"	Adult Contemporary	37
1986	"Sara"	The Billboard Hot 100	1
1986	"Sara"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	12
1986	"Sara"	Adult Contemporary	1
1986	"Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"	Billboard Hot 100	26
1986	"Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	25
1986	"Before I Go"	Billboard Hot 100	68

References

RIAA Gold and Platinum Database
McCombs, Joseph. "Knee Deep in the Hoopla – Starship | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
Sears, Jeannette (January 3, 2012). "We Built This City". jeannettesears.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
"Pick and Pans Review: Knee Deep in the Hoopla". People. November 11, 1985. Retrieved March 12, 2019.

External links

Knee Deep in the Hoopla at Discogs (list of releases)
Starship: Too Old to Rock?, Los Angeles Times

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[RIAA-1] RIAA Gold and Platinum Database

[AllMusic-2] McCombs, Joseph. "Knee Deep in the Hoopla – Starship | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2019.

[3] Sears, Jeannette (January 3, 2012). "We Built This City". jeannettesears.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.

[4] "Pick and Pans Review: Knee Deep in the Hoopla". People. November 11, 1985. Retrieved March 12, 2019.