No Protection (Starship album)

No Protection
Studio album by Starship
Released	July 6, 1987[1]
Recorded	1986–1987
Studio	Washington Monument (San Rafael, California) Lighthouse, Goodnight L.A., Soundcastle Recording (Los Angeles) Fantasy (Berkeley, California) Manzanita (Arrington, Tennessee)
Genre	Arena rock pop rock
Length	49:44
Label	Grunt RCA
Producer	Keith Olsen Narada Michael Walden Peter Wolf
Starship chronology
Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985) No Protection (1987) Love Among the Cannibals (1989)
Singles from Semi Protection
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" Released: January 19, 1987[2] "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)" Released: June 15, 1987[3] "Beat Patrol" Released: September 1987 "Set the Night to Music" Released: February 1988[4]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]

No Protection is the second studio album by American rock band Starship. It was released on July 6, 1987, by Grunt Records and RCA Records. The album featured the number-one single "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", and the top-10 single "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)", the former of which appears in the fantasy comedy film Mannequin and the latter of which was a tune originally performed the previous year by one-time Manfred Mann's Earth Band frontman Chris Thompson for the soundtrack to the film Playing for Keeps. Third single "Beat Patrol" was #46 on Billboard's Hot 100.

This was the last album which was released through Grunt Records, and the final Starship album to feature vocalist Grace Slick, who left the band in 1988 and rejoined Jefferson Airplane for their reunion tour and self-titled reunion album, Jefferson Airplane, in 1989. The Diane Warren-penned ballad "Set the Night to Music" was covered in 1991 as a duet between R&B singer Roberta Flack and reggae singer Maxi Priest, released as a single from Flack's album Set the Night to Music. Cash Box said that the single "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)" is "a soaring, anthemic rocker with a winning chorus."[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Beat Patrol"	Johnny Warman	Peter Wolf	4:25
2.	"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"	Diane Warren Albert Hammond	Narada Michael Walden	4:30
3.	"It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)"	Robbie Nevil John Van Tongeren Phil Galdston	Keith Olsen	4:17
4.	"Girls Like You"	Craig Chaquico Steve Diamond Mickey Thomas	P. Wolf	4:16
5.	"Wings of a Lie"	P. Wolf Ina Wolf	P. Wolf	4:58
6.	"The Children"	Martin Page Clif Magness	P. Wolf	5:40
7.	"I Don't Know Why"	Grace Slick Jeff Pennig Michael Luna	P. Wolf	4:08
8.	"Transatlantic"	Anton Fig Galdston	Olsen	4:17
9.	"Say When"	David Roberts	Olsen	4:23
10.	"Babylon"	Slick Tommy Funderburk Larry Williams	Olsen	4:37
11.	"Set the Night to Music"	Warren	P. Wolf	4:47
Total length:				49:44

Personnel

Per liner notes[7]

• Mickey Thomas – lead vocals (1–6, 8, 9, 11), backing vocals (1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11)
• Grace Slick – lead vocals (1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11), backing vocals (1–6, 8, 9, 11)
• Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, backing vocals (5, 8–11)
• Donny Baldwin – electronic drums (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11), drums (5–7, 9, 11), backing vocals (2, 4, 7–11)

Additional personnel

• Pete Sears – bass (2)
• Peter Wolf – keyboards (1, 4–7, 11), synth bass (1, 5, 6), bass (4, 7, 11)
• Larry Williams – keyboards (3, 8–10)
• Bill Cuomo – keyboards, bass (3, 8, 9)
• Alan Pasqua – keyboards (3, 8, 9)
• Walter Afanasieff – keyboards (2)
• Corrado Rustici – Charvel MIDI guitar (2)
• Narada Michael Walden – electronic drums (2)
• Bongo Bob – drum sampling, percussion (2)
• Bret Bloomfield, Maxi Anderson, Siedah Garrett, Sharon Hendrix, Phillip Ingram, Clif Magness, Jeff Pescetto, Oren Waters, Ina Wolf – backing vocals (1, 4–7, 11)
• Tommy Funderburk – backing vocals (3, 8, 9)
• Kitty Beethoven, Jim Gilstrap – backing vocals (2)

Production

• Peter Wolf – producer (1, 4–7, 11)
• Keith Olsen – producer (3, 8–10)
• Narada Michael Walden – producer (2)
• Brian Malouf – engineer for Peter Wolf
• Ed Thacker, Dan Garcia, John VanNess – additional engineers for Peter Wolf
• Brian Foraker – engineer for Keith Olsen
• David Frazer – engineer for Narada Michael Walden
• Bino Espinoza, Dana Chapelle, David Luke, Steve Holroyd, Steve Krause, Ron Dasilva – assistant engineers
• Starship – arrangements (3, 8, 9)
• Larry Williams – arrangements (10)
• Skip Johnson – production coordinator
• Bernie Grundman – mastering engineer
• Raess Design (Ted Raess) – art direction
• Jeff Katz – photographer
• Lisa Marie Avila – make up
• Recorded at Lighthouse Studios, Goodnight L. A., Tarpan Studios, Soundcastle Recording Studio, Fantasy Studios, Manzanita Studios
• Mixed at Image Recorders
• "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" mixed at Tarpan Studios
• Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering
• Michael Hill – reissue liner notes
• Dalita Keumurian – reissue project director
• Bill Lacey – reissue audio restoration
• Paul Williams – reissue coordination vocal

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1987) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 43 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 64 European Albums (Music & Media)[11] 22 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 12 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 20 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 6 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 7 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 11 UK Albums (OCC)[17] 26 US Billboard 200[18] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1987) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] 55

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20]	Gold	50,000^^
United States (RIAA)[21]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "FMQB" (PDF). p. 44.
2. "FMQB" (PDF). p. 42.
3. "FMQB" (PDF). p. 47.
4. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 431. ISBN 9780862415419.
5. Viglione, Joe. "No Protection – Starship". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
6. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. June 20, 1987. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
7. No Protection (liner notes). Grunt. 1987. FL86413.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 291. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0852". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Starship – No Protection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
11. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 31. August 8, 1987. p. 24. OCLC 29800226. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 11, 2022 – via World Radio History.
12. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Starship – No Protection" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Starship – No Protection". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Starship – No Protection". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
16. "Swisscharts.com – Starship – No Protection". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
18. "Starship Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
19. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0918". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
20. "Canadian album certifications – Starship – No Protection". Music Canada. November 12, 1987. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
21. "American album certifications – Starship – No Protection". Recording Industry Association of America. November 5, 1987. Retrieved September 25, 2020.