Tracklist front / back album covers
Side one
1. "Find Your Way Back" 4:15
2. "Stranger" 4:44
3. "Wild Eyes (Angel)" 4:02
4. "Save Your Love" 5:58
Side two
5. "Modern Times" 2:36
6. "Mary" 3:37
7. "Free" 4:34
8. "Alien" 4:42
9. "Stairway To Cleveland (We Do What We Want)" 3:58
Jefferson Starship Band Members / Musicians
Mickey Thomas – lead (all tracks) and backing vocals, spoken word (9)
Paul Kantner – lead (9) and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, Oberheim 8-voice synthesizer (9), keyboards (2), spoken word (9)
Craig Chaquico – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, synthesizer (1, 6, 7), steel drums (6), spoken word (9)
David Freiberg – bass (1, 2, 6, 8), piano (2), synthesizer (2, 5), organ (3), backing vocals, spoken word (9)
Pete Sears – bass (3-5, 7, 9), piano (1, 3, 4, 8), synthesizer (2, 4, 8), Moog (8)
Aynsley Dunbar – drums, percussion, marimba (6), synthesizer (7)
Grace Slick – co-lead vocals (2), backing vocals on (3, 4, 8, 9)
Ron Nevison – producer for Gadget Productions, Inc., engineer
Michael Clink – engineer
Mike Reese – mastering
Pat Ieraci (Maurice) – production coordinator
Bill Murphy / Rod Dyer, Inc. – album design, art direction
Ryoko Ishioka – cover concept
Monica Clemans – cover model and eyes
Leon LeCash – photography
Bill Thompson – manager
Recorded and mixed at The Record Plant, Los Angeles - Sausalito
Mastered at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood
Modern Times is the 6th album by Jefferson Starship and was released in 1981. Grace Slick appeared on this album after a three-year absence. She returned near the end of the recording sessions, providing background vocals on some tracks as well as lead vocals on the single "Stranger" as a duet with lead singer Mickey Thomas. Although not appearing in the band picture on the gatefold cover, she is listed on the back cover of the LP with the credit "Introducing Grace Slick" and her picture is on the lyric sleeve with the note "Grace Slick courtesy of Grace Slick." She joined the band officially for the 1981 tour. MTV debuted in 1981 and this was the first Jefferson Starship album to have promotional music videos. It was also the first album to feature a charting single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, which had premiered earlier in the year. The single "Find Your Way Back" reached No. 3 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
The song "Stairway to Cleveland" was inspired by a harsh review that Rolling Stone had given the album Freedom at Point Zero, inspiring Paul to wrap lyrics around a phrase he had heard from Paul Warren: "Fuck you! We do what we want!"
