dave9199

Ironically I just flew American Eagle this weekend & did read that article. Unfortunately, I don't remember anything to post about it. I just remember a chart showing several companies (Mosaic was one) and what they reissued stylewise.

The Humility Of Pain is the title of album #33. The cover is shot looking through a short tunnel into what looks like an alleyway or the backs of some homes. No people are in the photo. I believe this is from the same area as the last one. Musically, it’s the same drunken playing & vocals than the last one. This and I Threw You Away could be thought of as similar just as Living In A Moon So Blue (#5) & Staring At The Cellophane (#6) are; volume 1 & 2 of a session maybe. I wish I had more to say about the songs, but I can’t even guess at what Smith is talking about. Maybe it’s a feeling I’ve never known so how could I write about it. I will say that though the music is essentially the same as the previous album, the lyrics aren’t as dismal, though their delivery certainly is. The only theme I think I picked up on is in I Can’t Leave A Clue of moving into the future, but without his past affecting him: I Can’t Leave A Clue It’s about two things Power and luck And they come from the love and knowledge Embrace your chances for a miracle You got it at your doorstep Just open the door And when it’s open There be so much more Right now I have a quest To destroy what I did I wanna see the future I’ll go through that door And leave my belongings You know how heavy they are I can’t ever show that I can’t ever leave Oh, close (?) And this part from Share My Life: There’s only one thing to see You’re missing somebody You’re missing me There’s nothing to weigh you down I don’t have a past Let’s make the jump into eternity You’ll find you’re future And we’ll forget about that You Know You Need seems to say that Smith doesn’t like clutter; mental or physical, he likes only what he needs exactly like his music; sparse. You’ve got to clean out the house Take out all the things you don’t want You know you know to go beyond everything And not be bored with your world You’ve got to look around And an interesting bit from the same song could be fit to be a message to a friend & fans: I don’t need to discuss my life We’re talking about it now I know that you’ll hear me

Album #32 is called I Threw You Away. The cover shows a street in Europe with a church in the distance. This cover is recreated in the documentary Jandek On Corwood by one Paul Condon who lives close by & is on the Jandek list. This is the first in a series of albums that are just the darkest, most unmelodic & harrowing of Smith's entire discography. To pick one song that would give you a good idea is the first one, Blues Turned Black. Acoustic guitar & howling (& I do mean howling) vocals done in a cracked yodel-like manner. This just sounds like a suicide note put to music. Blues Turned Black Let me tell you about my blues My blues have turned black Black, black, black, black And my rotting stinking flesh Black, black, black, black I couldn’t stay high I’m in some cemetery I don’t know where I am It’s been so many years I lost so many tears I don’t know who I am It was all a moment in the ocean of time I thought I had to go And then I really was gone I was gone, gone, gone, gone I lost the way I went way on tears It was all I could do Keep on keeping on I walked and I walked and I walked and I walked I didn’t see nothing in the midnight blue My blues turned black Black, black, black, black Inside I’m a zombie Outside I’m unknown Black, black, black, black That rotten stinking flesh Maybe you can’t see it But I know it’s for real My blues have turned black I forgot how to feel My blues have turned black I’m gone, I can’t come back And yet, I like this song because it was the first one to sound like this. There is just no hope at all in this song...anywhere. A lot of singing is done between guitar strums so that there is nothing to hold it up...just nothingness which must be what Smith was going for on this album. Just a look at the song titles sums it up: Blues Turned Black It Seems Forever I Threw You Away Frozen Beauty The World Stops It's really rough. And to top it off, the whole album sounds like this. Not that this idea is at all different from Ready For The House (#1) or Six & Six (#2) or any others you could name, but he's older and any sense of fun or humor or light heartedness (yes, they are there) has been sucked out. Another way to describe it is that the album sounds like Smith was drunk & feeling horrible inside & out when he recorded it. There’s really not much more to add to this. There are only 5 songs on the album, a harmonica makes an appearance on the title track and the song The World Stops, & the recording quality has gotten better. This is what I expected early Jandek to sound like from the descriptions I had read. Starting with this album, I get angry at times listening to it which shows Smith is a master at drawing people out of themselves; just read his reviews, but I swear that this is different than his earlier stuff. This is a whole ‘nuther ball o’ wax. I’ve always found positives on every album, but starting with this one, I get upset that I can’t do that as much, if at all. If you’re curious to hear what this sounds like, go to Aquarius Records. They have a clip of Blues Turned Black.

All self released stuff with a band during the 90's (4 albums & 3 EPs), then 2 albums playing everything on my 4-track. 4 more songs and I can record my 3rd "solo" album.

Since the 3 acapella album are split between two ranks of 5; I thought I'd list them if anyone wanted to get just one. Here's my ranking for them: 1. This Narrow Road 2. Put My Dream On This Planet 3. Worthless Recluse You have to hand it to Smith, he follows his muse wherever it takes him. The long personal pieces are the bravest thing he's ever done. Not the best, but the bravest.

He's using the last show to promote his next one. Now that's business savvy!

One of the few NOT written by Roger Waters, but Richard Wright.

Album #31 is the last acapella album and is called Worthless Recluse, again another good title and makes you laugh when you first read it. The cover shot looks from the same time and maybe place as This Narrow Road (#30). Smith is standing in front of a big red barn and...is smiling again!!! He looks older with a grey button down sweater on and also looks shorter because of the way the picture it set up & cropped (he's got to be at least 6'). There was a mention on the Jandek board that this cover was the only one to have another living thing in it; in the background a cat is walking out of the barn. It's a very un-typical cover, but this is an un-typical album. There are 13 pieces on this album, with only one being long & most others falling between 1:09 & 2:17. The fidelity is better on this one. The first piece called The Clothes is the shortest and is spoken in a halting manner. This manner is expanded on In The Cave where Smith takes pauses between each line of roughly 4 to 15 seconds with his sing-speak making this one time out to 5:53. Interlude sounds like an actual moment where Smith wanted to interact with someone but couldn't. He makes it sound light hearted with the sing-speak: Last night I saw you again I couldn’t believe my eyes You were in a car, on the passenger’s side I saw the corner of your eye from where you saw mine It was an interlude It lasted several parts of time As I marched by the car where I could see you were And I saw you before, you were very close to being the same Just a little bit far away, from me, physically So I hopped to my car I packed the entire image into my mind I took it for a lark Another trick somebody played on me You Wake Up Deadmen brings Smith's more intense voice out as up to this point, the album seems lacking in the feeling of the non-autobiographical pieces on This Narrow Road. His reading style is slower & seemingly not as involved, like his mind was on something else, but I may be mistaking this for what is a lighter mood and different subject matter. You Wake Up Deadmen brings back the intense tone for the first time on the album. The title piece is the longest at 17:10 & the most interesting. It seems to refer to a time when Smith went to New York to have Random House books look over 7 novels he had written & then burned. In a letter to Irwin Chusid (author of Songs In The Key Of Z in which a chapter is devoted to Jandek) by Smith himself he states: Regarding the book burnings...our expirence living in lower Manhattan was...necessary. Of course, we took the printed matter to the countryside for an unfettered, proper cremation. Stirred into ashes into the ground. As for Random House...they called me in...twice...I got tired of waiting two weeks and demanded the manuscripts. The countryside dirt was hungry. Here's some excerpts: Consciously I play the game of making money Back in my brain, is the cold northern cities And the cold that makes me jump up and down I just can’t seem to kill this pain today I can’t afford to do me in And it makes me wonder whoever is happy in this world I can’t see them, are they there? Ooh, coming on years since I met you Half the time I saw you Half the time one of your eyes looked past my shoulder What was there? Was it better than my eyes? When you let me see you Nothing looked better Even, unfortunate or not, me Maybe that’s why now, I view myself in the dream And finding myself, and it hurts And the dream is more fun Anything beats the pain of being me and knowing I’m alone And putting off doing something, whatever it is I guess, something, like Living in the northern city doorways Heading north, to the woods, to clean earth Back where the police invite you to The back seat of their car, check you out I don’t like fighting, especially when I’m fighting me I’m staying up late and I don’t really know why I hope I can live till tomorrow and the next day without eating I’m fed up with eating for a while I know it, it’s only weakness That binds me at the supermarket counter Trading green paper for something to do Blessed are the sociable, that say stupid things And get close to their neighbors It takes a worthless recluse to shrink from groups It takes a half-hearted chicken recluse To live among people The best of them disappear And that’s what it’s all about That’s why I can’t make it I’m not strong enough to disappear It takes a supernatural being to disappear I’m not that good This human thing in me wants me to be a hero I want people to think I’m great I want people giving me so much money That I have an airplane, a boat and car and house that’s everywhere And the network to support all this So where is it? Stuck in the dream, because I don’t have the courage to disappear I know it’s the only way to salvation, but The old nag human me still wants to play with money, people and things To make a name in the world Disappearing to God’s eye And away from the eye of the world Is the big step Weaklings like me have to hang around, and play, and fudge, and delay For fear of the big step I’m just lucky I even know about it The only reason I do know Is I begged god to tell me about it On my knees, screaming with pain On the sixth floor, in New York City So I’m telling you about it Everyone doesn’t have to live in northern doorways To take the big step Or go to the woods, or ice We all have our way to go, but everyone knows Now that I’m telling you That there is something to do A big step to take Into the eye of God Play human if you have to But at least know And don’t kid yourself Behind that big piece of delicious poison All you dead and dying Disappear to your own eye So that you don’t see yourself Live the half-life Step inside the dream At times it sounds as though Smith revels in his own weaknesses and can't seem to see around them. Maybe he didn't realize that there is a way around, but you have to want to go. He sounds like he rocks back & forth; one step forward, one step back. But he goes forward because he wants to be heard or famous or rich also. Ironically, he's got at least part of what he's wished for, but I have no idea how much money he makes from his cd sales. I feel this to be the least intense of the 3 acapella albums. Smith really hits hard when talking about his life and those pieces are always the best. This album seems to have the least of it. The non-autobiographical pieces on This Narrow Road sounded more intense than these pieces do. The title track being the best offering on this album.

Chaney! Good to see a post from you. Hope you get to post a review soon.

Here's my ranking for the 6th set of 5: KEEPERS 1. New Town 2. The Beginning PERSONAL OPINION 3. This Narrow Road 4. Put My Dream On This Planet 5. "I Woke Up" FOR COMPLETISTS ONLY none I had to change this from playing it safe to what I actually feel. I had the acapella albums in completists, but they are such strong albums, I now recommend them to anyone willing to listen. The Beginning is like Lost Cause (#21); great songs and an experimental piece at the end which would be filed under completists only. "I Woke Up" is good, but with it's focus on beatish poetry, there's a lack of melody there. The hardest ones are the acapella albums. I put Planet under Road because it's got only 3 pieces on it whereas Road has 11. They both have a long, intense & unapologetic first track so it's your call as which one to choose, if you needed to. Road gets my vote simply for One Last Chance, but Planet is more focused on this type of theme throughtout if that's what you like more. But the overall albums to go with here are both New Town & The Beginning. If you wanted to pick one out of the third set of 10, well, you'd have 4 albums to choose from: Graven Image, Lost Cause, New Town & The Beginning. They are all great, but one doesn't easily stand above the other.

The second acapella album, and album #30 is called This Narrow Road. The cover shows a smiling(!) Smith and the beginnings of thinning hair though the picture is, as usual, blurry and it's hard to say for sure, but he is smiling! The album sounds like it's predecessor in fidelity and could've been done on the same day as it still sounds like it's raining in the background. I think a review from Aquarius Records that says either this album or the first piece is the nadir of his career. They couldn't be more wrong. The first piece, One Last Chance, is the only long one on the album and is, so far, the longest he's ever released at 29:21 (this album is also his longest at 57:24, but the live show from October 2004 might eclipse this). Part of the main theme of this piece is the same as I Need Your Life from the last album. That of needing to be right. I can't say I know what Smith is getting at here, but it's the most important thing to him on this piece. His sing-speak is very much in the blues vein of repetition to hit home his feelings. Here's some excerpts: I was in a fix before I was really in trouble It was sharp and quick It took me by surprise And you helped me then It was a matter of time But this time it’s different It’s been a growing thing It wasn’t sharp and quick No no no no It didn’t take me by surprise It came along slow and soft It crept and I saw it all along the way It came on bit by bit And I knew it all along The only difference is now It’s gone too far It’s gone too far It almost seems irreversible I need another chance I wanna do it right Cause when I looked at myself It was going all wrong Give me another chance Give one more chance And let me do right Once and for all All time eternally I wanna be right eternally I don’t have to be alone I can be alone I don’t have to be alone But I can be alone But I don’t have to be alone It doesn’t matter Right is right It comes from outside, not from the outside I wanna be right from the inside out I want you to see I want them to see I want to be right for everyone to see I wanna be right Give me another chance Cause I looked at myself And I saw bad I looked at myself and I said “Oh, is it too late?” Is it too late? Oh, please don’t let it be too late Don’t let it be too late Help me reverse this trend Help me stem this tide Help me put my hand down and say “Stop, turn around, Go back to from where you came” Let me take the good Let me put it in myself Let me digest the good Let me eminate the good Let me be in control Don’t let this sickness take me over Don’t let these things get me down Don’t let these things take effect Don’t let em change me And I don’t mind if I change But let it be good Let me change to the good Every time I change Every second I move Every time I turn around Kill the bad, kill em Kill the bad Kill the bad Generate the good in me Kill the bad things I got inside me Let them die They don’t deserve, let em die Just kill em It ain’t like killin’ no It’s annihilation, extermination, Elimination elimination Eliminate the bad Cast the bad Eliminate the bad I want to be good I wanna be right There’s only one judge of that I know I wanna be right I gotta see myself right I got to see myself If I’m not right, why not? Cause I did bad Yeah, I did bad And I’ll tell you this Bad is different for everyone that is different And that’s everyone and everything So your bad’s not my bad But I got bad and you bad Unless I don’t know you like I know me But I know me, and I got bad, and I got wrong And I don’t like it And I want to eliminate it I want it gone before I’m gone I want bad to be gone before I’m gone I don’t want to be gone I want bad to be gone so I can be I don’t be right I wanna be right Give me another chance Give me another chance I won’t let you down, not this time Three strikes and you’re out And I had one And I hit a home run But I stopped after first base And hey, they, They pushed me, they They pushed and pulled But they couldn’t pull me any farther than that Must of been fear I think it was fear Cause I had it made I had the whole home run But I missed it Second time up I hardly even swung I didn’t even try I quit trying I knew what I should be doin Every once in a while I’d touch my little toe in the water But I never did jump in I never did dive in to that water And that’s what I know I gotta do now Cause if I don’t do it now I’m gone Because wrong is at the point It’s at the point of smothering me Smoldering me, drowning me, Putting me out And I need to burn my flame I need to ignite I need to spark I need to beam I need to shine my light Give me another chance to shine my light I don’t want to go down I don’t have to go down Not if I got some will And I got some power And I got some strength And I got some control And I’m the driver And I’m in charge I can do it I can do it Hey, I got to do it If I don’t do it, I’m done It’s either do or be done I’m not over yet I’m not over I’m never gonna be over I’m never gonna end I shall not end I’m not gonna be gone I’m gonna be forever Eternally I shall be And I’m not saying That I always was I’m saying I shall always be And I make this decision now I shall be I want to do right And there is no eye in this universe That can tell me What right is, because I know what right is And I know what wrong is By this time I know Give me another chance Give me another chance I surely need your help I surely need your help To conquer death To conquer evil To conquer bad I wanna be in charge I wanna control my destiny I wanna live up to my standards I know it can be done It came sharp and quick And you helped me And I conquered all Now it’s come slow and soft And I need your help For the last time Cause if it’s not this time I believe it’s never And I can’t face that I don’t have to face that I demand your assistance It only takes one word And that word is yes Give me your yes And I’ll give you mine I gave you mine I forgot it, and I’m sorry But you hit me hard When Smith gets to the part about eliminating the bad, his sing-speak stops and he is just talking. This is the most honest Sterling Smith you'll ever hear. One of the things that stuck out to me from years of therapy was if suicide is considered, or even attempted, what is really happening is the person does not actually want to die, but just want that part of them that feels bad to die so they can live & feel better. Smith is saying this exact idea; get rid of the bad, but not die. This sounds like this is one of Smith's main messages throughtout his entire discography. These albums get to the heart of it more than anything which is why people have such a hard time with them, it's too much, but you know everyone will have to deal with whatever it is they're pushing away at the moment. Life has all the time in the world to wait for you; you, on the other hand, don't have that kind of time. Being creative, I was very nervous about my creativity sliding away when starting on medication. It does if you let it, but it forces you to look for it from another part of you rather than a pit of misery. It gets better, but it can take years to adjust. It's worth it though. Smith knows what happening to him, but he has to do something about it, others can only help. Again, it could sound like he's talking to God and maybe he is. The rest of the album is much lighter and no way near as gut wrenching. The pieces fly by since the remaining 11 are between 1:02 and 3:34. The second piece has a great title: Killer Cats In The Caribbean. This still revisits the desire to feel right: Oh mosquitoes on the big leaves Waiting for you arm to appear Hungry for your blood Walking up the mountain in a swarm I’ve got to be doing something wrong But where do I turn to be right? It doesn’t seem anywhere is right for very long Am I right? Or am I missing something? Yes You Are has Smith talking about earthly desires for, I think, the first time: Let me give you my only heart In a manner of speaking I think you’re really something I’ve got no time to spend Talking all around the subject But let my body tell you Just what I think about you What else do I have? Not much I made it grow and helped it along And helped take it down some too I’d love to lift you up Show the world to see Before anything gets hold of you Ripping and tearing You really didn't need that But if you do I know how it done The words of I Need To Be make me think that on One Last Chance, Smith is speaking to a close female friend or lover rather than God (and he's singing in a happy tone on this one too): Oh she looks so good I’ve got her real good in my mind I’ve told her a thousand times God knows she understands Every day she marches into my eyes Roam around my brain I’ve got his journey I’m thinking of Where she’ll help me all the way I need to walk this narrow road The time is almost overdue One last stab at inspiration While one last thread holds the bridge Another fair and I’m really for the woods Do I have a house to live in? Am I to be a people’s person? Do I walk away with an aimless shrug Eyes always looking over the next meadow? Or do I win your heart? Make you see me as a real friend Where’s the place I need to be? What’s that power I know I got? Lord God I’m looking for it Just Like The Floor is spoken in an urgent, hyper tone which on one line at the end it sounds like he chokes on his own energy and can't get the words out; you can hear him breathing heavily. It really grabs your attention, but the most intriguing line is this: Weakness makes me sick But I love it Ten O' Clock Shadows is definetly written out as he reads this instead of sing-speaking. It's just like a poetry reading. Now, if you've read this and think his poetry to be not good, his reading style does get you. At one point he pauses 21 seconds between these two lines: I’ve gone through the ages, spent And recommend in the almighty name That's twice as long as the spaces between the pieces. On these acapella albums, the gaps in between are 10 seconds long (as compared to 7 or 8 on the rest). So you think it's a new piece starting. Two more lines finishes the piece. The last one, I Knew About Them, starts with these lines: I decided to live for man instead of God I don’t know how it happened I learned when you live for man, you die for man I didn’t have to die It takes a lot longer to die than to live It then talks about letting old clothes go, but these words stuck out to me. They are just plainly spoken. Well, what can you say. Again not for most people, but more for Jandek fans in that aside from the first piece, he speaks about other things in a variety of ways. But I think because of One Last Chance, most fans might not like it as it's the rawest Smith ever gets. It can color the whole album if you don't like it, just like The Electric End on Lost Cause (#21) or the song The Beginning from the album of the same name (#28). It's only for those who like to take a chance.

The next 3 albums are the acapella albums; no music, just Smith sing-speaking or reading his words. These seem to be the most troubling in his entire discography to most, but I feel the opposite. I think these albums are not Jandek, but Sterling Smith, the human being. This is him stripped bare and wanting not only to reach out, but to feel something back. After these, I can't think of him anymore as Jandek, he's Sterling Smith now. These will probably be long reviews as I'll most likely post chunks of his words so...beware! Album #29 is one of his best titles, Put My Dream On This Planet. The cover is an obscured dark & blurry motion shot of what is Smith sitting down & leaning forward with his arms crossed at his knees and his black hat that he has been seen in recently. This whole album sounds like it was recorded on a voice activated recorder because of the volume drops between lines, but I think that just noise reduction. You can hear the tape hiss in between and it sounds like it was raining that day also. These are hard to review as I can't listen to them & type at the same time in case I miss a good line. The album only has 3 tracks on it. The first one, I Need Your Life, is 28:43. The fidelity sounds like an old blues recording which fits the words & feel of the album very well. His voice is mainly very low compared to his singing voice, but he also utilizes higher pitches. I think this may be the main part of the first piece: You let me move around But you got me still And you know it And you let me up But then you go and push me down And you hurt me And times you hurt me bad And I’ve got one fear In my life And that fear is that I’m slippin’ I’m slipping And I see it And I feel it And I know it And I know, it doesn’t have to be this way Tell me what I’m doing wrong Tell me Tell me what I’m doing wrong Because I want to be right I want to be good I don’t want to be bad I know some people like to be bad And they sing about being bad And they say “I’m bad” You know, I want to be good I want to be right I want to be good and right I don’t want to have to fight and lose Please let me win Let me win this war I’m on your side I’m on your side What else I gonna do You push me down You let me up I don’t want to be down I don’t want to be down Please Please Let me up Let me win Let me get this war taken care of I’ll be on your side Where else am I gonna be Uhh, I love you I surely do If you want me down I’ll be on the ground But let me feel Like I’m not losing ground Let me win Let me be on top somehow some way I don’t need to be conventional Let me up Let me up Oh please let me up You know it’s been so long It’s been so long I’m trying to remember It’s not easy I see myself slipping I don’t want to slip Let me up Let me up I need to be up I need to be right I’m willing to work Ah, work, work I’m willing to work I love you I love you Ahh, I love you I love you Please let me win Let me win Somehow let me win I need to win Let’s not have any misunderstanding I need to win I’m asking, please don’t push me down I need to win your love And I’ll do anything I don’t know if I’m hurting myself I surely hope not But I feel like I may be slipping I want some help So I don’t have to go down The main themes are repeated throughout, I need your life, let me up, don't push me down, I need to be right. I would guess Smith at least has depression (a safe bet, huh?). I say that because I also have been diagnosed with it. You can spot someone with just a gesture on their part. I think Smith feels guilty for "feeling bad", thinking it's his fault when it's not. It's beyond his control and he'll never get rid of it. The only thing he can do is manage it. It's Your House is the next track and it's a little shorter at 22:14. The most interesting thing about this piece is the phrase ready for the house is repeated multiple times and that is the title of his first album. Another interesting point is that the piece is called It's YOUR House and except for a brief time around 20 minutes in, the house is always his, not someone else's. The possessive phrase is rammed home so much but is not reflected in the title. Here's some excerpts: Another day on the road Carrying my load Heavy, now So so much weight Did I wait too long? Keep me strong Let me build my house For you to come in Take away this thing Let me build my house I’m ready for the house I’m ready for the house And I don’t complain Even though it hurts You know I tell you all about it but I don’t mind livin in my dream I don’t mind livin in my dream But let me tell you, you know, I know you know I’m ready for the house You gave me my dream You know I’m workin’ I’m working, I’m trying I’m not sloughin’ off, I’m givin’ it all I got And you know, I’m ready for the house I’m ready for the house I’m ready for the house The house is mine It’s in my mind They say mind over matter Well let that be Let it be my mind That creates the matter That builds my house Out of granite And cast iron I love my house Like I love my mind I’ll take it over anybody else’s house I’ll take it over anybody else’s mind You couldn’t sell my anybody else’s being I’m not interested You know I’m a loner I don’t like anything but my dreams And doin’ right by you And you set my example Let me build my house Let me build my house Let me build my house Then step my foot inside my dream Put my dream on this planet Put my dream on this earth Then see if I can have some fun I’ll build a house I’ll build a house you can be proud of I’ll live in it, I’ll die in it I’ll worship in it And I’ll be good ’Cause I wanna be good You can have all your bad I’ve seen it, and I don’t want it I love good, I love righteous And I need to be that way The house seems to represent security from something and it twists between sounding real & metaphorical. It's his dream house and I think the word dream is used both ways here. His dream isn't even on the same planet as he is so if he's here, bring it to him if he can't get to it. There is also the revisiting of the desire to be good & righteous. It would also be easy to say the two pieces are Smith talking to God. The last piece is incredibily short at 1:17 and is called I Went Outside: I Went Outside Cold dark and lonely I look round for my shoes [4x] I put them on I went for a walk In the snow and ice So cold That's it. Obviously, this album is not for everyone; hell, it's not even for Jandek fans, it's for Sterling Smith and it really is a work of art. Get one of these 3 acapella albums only after you've digested what came before it, or if you like hearing people read their poetry. Speaking of that, I don't hear any rustling of paper or turning of pages during this album so I'd guess this whole album might be improvised. I back that up with the pauses he takes during & in between lines, it sounds like he's thinking. Plus doing that will bring out very deep thoughts that might not be otherwise vocalized. I also think there are times he needs or is compelled to create very honest work & then pulls back after feeling he may have revealed too much for his own comfort. That's why he's still around doing the same thing after all this time. I think he's made some strides forward with the live show & his first advertised show as Jandek in May 2005. He'll be 60 this year and Sterling, if you read this, I would love to see, or be a part of, a book about your life that lays it all out. The truth, the reasons why, the family background. I don't think it would take away one iota of your mystery or fan base. I think you could tell people the truth and a lot of them will still choose NOT to believe it because they've got too much invested in their myth. You've made the most interesting piece of mystery since the Paul-Is-Dead rumor & that still continues. You could have it come out on Corwood after you die, that way you won't have to deal with any backlash. Become a member of this board & send me a message. I'd love to know if you're interested. Also thanks to Seth Tisue's site A Guide To Jandek for the lyrics I've used and to the people who actually transcribed them.

Happy birthday to the biggest Rahsaan Roland Kirk fan I know.

I saw this last night for the first time too. I liked it a lot, but I expected it to be more intense (i.e. more of Lars being a dickhead). I'm not a Metallica fan, but I've always thought a look at the psychology of being in a band was/is fasinating. I think this movie makes up for the Napster debacle with the fans with Lars especially. Just as someone said earlier, it shows them as human beings. That's what everyone is all the time anyway, right? Best was the Dave Mustaine scene and I find it brave of him to have it filmed.

I used to have this on an audio tape when I was about 10 or 11. I loved it. I also had the Animal puppet when you could move his eyebrow(s). He was my favorite Muppet.

Jandek's next album (#28) is called The Beginning. The cover is his most obsured picture to date. It's from the same roll as On The Way (#17), a picture of the drum set from another room, but there's not enough light for much of anything to be seen. This might be the picture after that on that roll of film. It's even more lacking in definition & it brings to mind the Spinal Tap quote of the Smell The Glove album cover; "How much more black could it be and the answer is none...none more black." The album starts with It's February which sounds like an Am chord with a string or two out of wack. Vocally sounds improvised, but is a nice introduction. You Standing There is the same song from the last album, but the feel of the song is entirely different. The guitar playing is much more faster, wilder & percussive. His vocals are mild & not in the foreground, but there is reverb across everything (not a fast repeating as in past albums) giving it a dreamy feel. It sounds like a totally different song & I have to say I didn't catch it on the first couple of listens. I Never Left You Anyway utilizes the single string style rather than strumming, leaving even more space in the song when he's not singing. Falling Down Deep has a real melodic chord interspersed with the normal off notes, but getting anything melodic from Jandek sounds great no matter what other notes are in there. It sounds like he's experimenting with playing a chord and melodic runs around that chord, but the notes don't necessarily have anything to do with that chord. A ghostly 15 second held note from Jandek also grabs your attention towards the end. The past does get revisited with the song A Dozen Drops which are the first words of the song known as Nancy Sings from Chair Beside A Window (#4), which was also done as John Plays Drums on Your Turn To Fall (#7), & Birthday on The Rocks Crumble (#8). The sound of the recording sounds like a bootleg compared to the rest of the album, but eventually comes back to the same fidelity. It uses the same tuning and playing as the rest of the album. Only the first two lines of Nancy Sings are sung and a few minutes later the title God Came Between Us (from Lost Cause, #21) is mentioned. Two thirds of the way through, he switches to single note picking to the end which sounds totally disconnected from what came before. The last song, which is also the title track, is a 15:29 instrumental workout on piano. This is the only time he has used this instrument. The piano is as out of tune as Jandek's guitar, but the thing here is he plays mostly the white keys so it has a sembelance of melody no matter what he does. He does play chords while free forming melody lines with them. It doesn't sound like anything was written beforehand. When ideas come out and he plays louder, then when that idea ends he gets quieter while trying to pull the next idea out of his fingers. He has his moments when slamming his hand down is the thing to do, but most of the time, he's playing. Only towards the end does he discover the black notes and uses them as a glissando (Is that the correct term? Like a harp does.), but for only that purpose. He returns to the white notes until the end when (you guessed it) the tape cuts off. The sound of this piece is nostalgic to me as there was an out of tune piano in my cellar that sounded just like this and I would play it the same way. Memories... This is a good album, though it's set up the same way as Lost Cause in that the last song is a long, hard-to-deal-with-if-you're-not-the-type-of-person-who-listens-to-this-stuff experimental piece, but the first half of it has good songs. I would guess if you liked the first half, you'd like the piece The Beginning, but anyone could say that it's noise, it rambles & has no set structure. He's just banging on a piano. My response would be, "Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?".

#27 in the Corwood series is called New Town. The cover has the best picture of Jandek's drum set; nice color shot, not blurry, the whole set is shown. The neat thing is the silencer on the OUTSIDE of the bass drum. I've never seen that before. It's a pink sparkle (though this may be from the pink curtain behind it), one rack tom, floor & snare set up for lefty, but with the hit-hat on the right side, one cymbal attached to the bass drum & a regular chair. Could be from the same roll of film as Your Turn To Fall (#7) & Interstellar Discussion (#9, where the drum set has more of a cream color). The album starts with the title track, New Town. This is another great song. He works with the notes of and around the major fourth and fifths of E major (yes, this song has a tonic chord!!!). Even the off notes work here while the singing is very timid. This is an example of what I said about absorbing the experiences of playing with others & incorporating it into his solo playing. More of this, I want more of this; jagged, yet melodic. Steal Away Home goes back to a more out of tune guitar and a distant feel to the vocals. The harmonica is back for the instrumental Street Walk with whatever strings can be played on guitar while alternating between the two. You Standing There has his trademark sound from his earlier albums. The next song, Desert Voice, also stays with the single string style Jandek has favored since "White Box Requiem" (#25) which can be boring or interesting in a hearing-the-thought-process way. During the middle of it, he repeats a note so he can turn pages over & look for the lyrics to the song; very Syd Barrett. The Real You seems to have a recording problem which only adds to the atmosphere; the sound wavers really fast for a second or so, like every time the tape goes around and hits a certain spot, it makes the sound shake. The odd thing is it affects the guitar, but I don't hear it on the vocals which I assumed were done at the same time. Time Will Come has the same percussion as Pending Doom from "I Woke Up" (#26) along with vocal & harmonica. It sounds like a small cardboard box played with a drumstick. What You Are, which closes the album, works with the same notes as New Town, but adds more minor key notes. If New Town was an album made after a move, Jandek is in timid form here, feeling his way around a new place before he feels comfortable enough to relax. This is good as it brings out a different sound from him. Maybe Glad To Get Away (#24) was the break from everyone and was needed to feel free artistically. Jandek is vocally mellow on New Town with the title track being my hands down favorite. Another good album.

I've only met .:.impossible, though he seems to have forgotten me from his list. He contacted me when he was moving to RI and I was in Providence at that time. I sent him the Providence yellow pages so he could call about jobs. At first he couldn't figure out why I would send them. How are the vibes you got? Say hi to Shawn!

"I Woke Up" (#26) has quotes around the title just like the last one, "White Box Requiem". Why, I don't know, but it's interesting in a minor way as no other titles are featured this way. The cover shows a discarded couch outside with a bush growing over the top. The bush behind it always looked, to me, like a bigger couch coddling a smaller couch. This is the last album (until the live first live show in October 2004) to feature someone else on the recording. We don't find out his name and it was suggested on the Tisue site that the name of Mike was said during the last song, but you really can't hear what is said and anyway, it's not Jandek speaking on that song. So for lack of anything more concrete, I will call him "Mike". The album starts with First Awake Moment which has Jandek's usual guitar along with "Mike's" fast read poetry & singing. Harmonica is introduced toward the end. It doesn't sound like Jandek's playing so I'm assuming it's "Mike's". Slow harmonica and single notes of guitar start off Alone On That Mountain until "Mike" comes in to recite some poetry intersperced with harmonica. Get Back Inside features Jandek on the accordian sounding organ. Not a waltz this time, but a more open & atmospheric melodic sound is there with "Mike's" random harmonica cutting across. Long Long has the reappearence of drums, but it's "Mike" playing a light cymbal driven beat with brushes. Jandek takes his first vocal on the album altering with harmonica bursts. The rhythm of this is in Jandek vocal delivery instead of the drums. The same instrumentation applies to the next song, Joab, but it sounds like they have switched instruments. Since Jandek plays drums mainly with one hand, I suppose he could be playing harmonica at the same time, but it doesn't quite sound like his style. Jandek returns to the guitar with fast reverb for Equaled In Life with "Mike" on vocal & harmonica. Take It Easy starts with the lyrics and guitar which is rare as there is usually 20-40 seconds of guitar playing before the first lyric. It sounds like a jam in progress. This is Jandek's only other vocal on the album & with the chords he's making, the one thing you couldn't do to this music is take it easy. But this is a good, moving & percussive song. Just Die has Jandek on guitar & harmonica at the same time & "Mike" singing. The projection of his voice is no match for the volume of the harmonica playing. Pending Doom is a vocal & percussive driven chant with "Mike" on monotone vocal delivery and Jandek banging on something. That's all there is. Sleepless Night features Jandek on what sounds like an un-Jandek-like harmonica, or he's playing the organ on this. I'd say organ as it doesn't have the sound his harmonica playing always has. It reminds me in feel of Pink Floyd's Outside The Wall. Today ends the album with reverb drenched guitar & vocal before getting abruptly cut off. No songs on here jump out, but it is an interesting album as Jandek plays with someone he's never played with before & hasn't since. It's nice just to hear interaction happening again. "Mike" brings a more poetry-read vocal which hasn't been featured on previous albums which brings to mind Sonic Youth's NYC Ghosts & Flowers which had half of it's songs driven by beat poetry lyrics. Not bad at all, but not one that gets remembered as much as others through no fault of it's own.

Here's my ranking of the 5th set of 5: KEEPERS 1. Graven Image 2. Lost Cause PERSONAL OPINION 3. Glad To Get Away 4. Twelfth Apostle FOR COMPLETISTS ONLY 5. "White Box Requiem" The first half of Lost Cause is definately a keeper, but the whole second half is the song The Electric End, which as a song would go under FOR COMPLETISTS ONLY. It would seem a tough call but the songs are that good so just a warning on that one. Twelfth Apostle seems it could go either OPINION or COMPLETISTS, but since I like the overall sound, I put it in OPINION. With his albums being all solo, except for Lost Cause, there isn't as much variance anymore between them which is unfortunate. Even so, Graven Image is the one to get from this 5 unless you like 19 and a half minute noisefests, then go with Lost Cause also.

"White Box Requiem" (#25) has been said to be, at one time, one of Sterling Smith's favorites. This album has the most instrumentals he's done on one album which makes his statement more interesting since he's such a word person. The cover has a 60's mutton chopped Smith, grainy & out of focus possibly from being enlarged too much. This was also the first album to break the 45 minute time mark by a couple of minutes. That's nothing major, but I've never talked about the 8 to 10 second gaps between songs on most albums. That's a lot of space, but then again, that's what Jandek is about. To make this one fit on a 45 minute tape side I had to take out as much dead space as possible and since you get about 46:30 on a tape side, I just made it fit. That's about 45 seconds of silence during the album. Just wanted to mention that as I've never run across it by any other artist. And this is something he still does even on his most recent albums. This album came out in 1996 and Glad To Get Away (#24) came out in 1994 which makes 1995 the only year, aside from the break between the first two albums (1979 & 1980), since 1981 that Jandek did not release an album. Some may say that's a good thing. I just think his consistancy is amazing. Back to the album at hand. The Glade is a short (1:23) single picked note piece with reverb as an introduction. The first notes to White Box sound like a continuation from The Glade. In the lyrics to White Box, Jandek states what is written on the box: The box said do not open under pain of death It had my initials there where I signed my initials there on it On that white box I saw initials there Concrete Steps sticks with instrumental single note plucking for 3:43. Eternal Waltz is a faster paced instrumental clocking in at 4:29, and there is an actual repeated riff in this one. The longest song & instrumental here is Walking In The Meadow at 7:45. More single note plucking. By this point, you start to think about skipping this song. Obviously Smith liked it enough to put on nearly 8 minutes of it. It does get pretty hypnotising as it sticks to high notes, that's the positive I came away with from it. Or it can be like fingernails on a blackboard depending on your point of view. I hate the sound of fingernails on a blackboard so I'll go with the former description as I like to get hypnotised by music. (Yes master, I will untune my guitar). Evening Sun starts with an actual riff that's kind of funky in a weird way. Didn't Really Die ends the album with a sudden cut off that always suits a Jandek song and always shakes you up as you don't expect it. The vocals tend to stick to a few melodic notes which makes the song quite nice. This is not an easy album, but it seems to have a couple of themes in a few of it's titles: The Glade & Walking In The Meadow. There's also Second Thoughts, Thinking & Wondering. It almost seems like he had something on his mind and the instrumentals reflect the act of thoughtfulness or reflection & rather than writing words to everything, he let his mind (& fingers) do the talking. The giveaway to this is that the title Second Thoughts shows up in two other songs. This seems to be an album of conflict & pensiveness & also gives the best of idea of Jandek without lyrics, if you wanted to know in the first place. Interesting, but not for everyone (and what Jandek album is?). Maybe that’s why Smith likes it, he worked through something while writing/recording it.

It's lonely here on the outside. Album #24 is called Glad To Get Away. The cover shot is a picture from a narrow driveway looking at the house across the street. Graven Image had the same shot except it was more to the right with a telephone pole staring at you two-thirds of the way to the right. Looks like the photographer took a step to the left and shot this cover. I'm not a car buff, but I can tell the cars are from the 60's, maybe 50's. The cover of this album was used for the cover of the DVD which is a close cropped shot of the top floor of the house across the street so that it looks like an entirely different (but similar) picture. This was also the first cd release, all previous being on vinyl until Corwood started reissuing them starting in 1999 though 2002, or 2003 (and the only cd that says Made In Canada, the others, presumably, being made at Houston Records where he's made the rest). What's it sound like? Walk this way... The songs are relatively short; 14 songs between 2 & 4 minutes. It starts with the bent string rhythm of Bitter Tale then proceeds onto the song Hey Mister Can You Tell Me: Hey Mister Can You Tell Me Hey mister can you tell me Is there a knife stuck in your face Have matchbook covers been your mirrors Do you feel your hand in your own pocket Hey mister do you count the shadows that fall before you Hey mister can you tell me Is there a knife stuck in your face Do you have the shivers underneath your skin Hey mister can you tell me Where it is you’re going Hey mister you got the blues written over your face Looks like you’re never going to be in your place The way you’ve been carrying on is a disgrace But you know it’s the only way to be, yeah Now you can go and look in any corner And you can buy a ticket to a movie And you can walk out at night And you can buy your own groceries Hey mister can you tell me Is there a knife stuck in your face The guitar sounds more tuned to Western tuning, but there's a healthy mix of random notes in the song also. Ezekiel uses the bent string sound of Bitter Tale, but with more lyrics. Definately a death blues feel to the album, but not as desperate as some of Jandek's previous albums. Morning Drum works again with an Em type of structure mixed with a high E string descending riff. Rain In Madison uses the Em structure with some great blues based imagery: Rain in Madison Rain’s pouring down in the window And I’m sitting here in Madison Trying to figure out where you are Yes, I’m sitting here in my car Drove a long long way But I didn’t have no rain until today I was way out far where it didn’t rain much I could see pretty clearly But now today there’s all this rain I guess it’s the end I guess I just really didn’t know And now we’ve got to stay here Or else get all wet You know you can’t bring no Electric devices out into the rain Van Ness Mission plugs in the fast repeating reverb unit for more atmospherics. You might expect something with a title like Nancy Knows, but it's an instrumental of more bent string free form. Take My Will is the best song on the album, along with Rain In Madison. Jandek sticks again with the Em structure and also keep a melody line for the lyrics which really brings out the death blues sound on this one the most. This might place as one of my favorite songs in his whole discography: Take My Will Jesus take my will Jesus take my will Take mine and give me yours Take mine and give me yours In six minutes I’m gone Gone to ride the next train Pack on my back And the two dollar bill Jesus take my will Take mine and give me yours So I’ll be placing my call Just to let you know I won’t be here no more Jesus take my will Take mine and make it yours Jesus take my will Take it and make it yours While I like this album, it's a lot like Twelfth Apostle where the songs don't stand out as much as they do on Graven Image. But what great about it is the overall death blues feel of almost every song. Good one to take a chance on.

Due to the overwhelming response I've gotten since starting these reviews back up (2 in all), I've decided to keep reviewing. Album #23 is called Graven Image. It starts with a short song called Remain The Same in which our hero speaks and slightly sings in a low key way that I don't recall hearing him do before. It's like a song-speak and only 1:36. The album works off of a Em type of tuning with lots of off center notes all over the place & it works really well. His lyrics feel very folky against this type of tuning. Ghost Town By The Sea revisits Point Judith (a real place in RI) from the album Six & Six (#2). The lyrics attempt the same discriptive ambience as the earlier song, but isn't as ghostly sounding as that one. My favorite song on the album is called A Real Number. It sounds like an accordion being played on this instrumental, but it also sounds like a small organ driven by air. I remember one like this at my house with a volume pedal. I'd go with that being played because of the volume dynamics at the end of the song. If this song proves anything, is that Jandek can play an instrument & is fully aware of melody & rhythm. The title is completely true. It's a great song and I wish there were more like it. It has a waltz feel and a simple melody line that brings to mind a happy oompah dance. The next song, Be Going Down, is played with a broken bluesy & percussive feel. Hardly any words, but I always like his percussive playing. Nothing You Lack is a fully realized song despite it's bizarre lyrics: Nothing You Lack Best that you forget me Cause I talk too much And all the like of such All the time Got a merciful mind Is a streaking giraffe Costing four cents a pound If you lay on the ground A monkey jumps on your back Hey, there’s nothing you lack Except a big red sack To put your head in And leave it there For centuries to spit on They scream from the mountains I can’t hear your ear There’s all in the way Those movies are ugly Janky is the fun song on the album with just vocal & harmonica: Janky Sure is clanky that hobnail Janky Cleaning my boots in the pebbles and the sun Along come Janky he sure is clanky That Janky is clanky all the time Clanky Janky, clanky Janky Butter me up some bread right now Don’t wanna be clanky but here comes Janky Janky is clanky I’ll have you know That Janky is clanky all the time Clanky Janky Clanky Janky Phillip Was Mentioned has all of the elements of the album stacked on top of one another. There's the basic song & vocal, then overdubbed onto that is the accordion/organ from A Real Number playing something different and there is also a harmonica playing totally random. The main song ends and it leaves the accordion/organ & harmonica (I think played at the same time) to play out the last minute of the song. Quite a lot of info in one song. Closing uses a guitar phrase similar to Nothing You Lack but more thought out while he sings a melody that works really well with the riff being played. He then takes a few minutes to relate the trials & tribulations of fishing: Fishing Blues Sometimes I wonder if I’ve even got a song But you can always sing the fishing blues And all that time there ain’t no news Just see how long that you can’t wait When you don’t have no living bait You’re washed ashore the sun is hot Row back again to another spot Throw your dead bait again Ain’t caught no fish since don’t know when Oh my God I got those fishing blues Oh this ain’t no pleasure cruise Row back again to sit and wait And on the hook is my death bait The beginning of Going Away My Darling makes you think your cd or the recording gets suddenly slowed down before you realize he's playing slide on his guitar. Because of the way his guitar is tuned, it's quite a melodic line used for the song which is fortunate since this is the longest song on the album at 5:13. The album ends with Going Away which is nothing like the last song. It reworks the Em ideas used throughout the album. Graven Image has what Twelfth Apostle lacks, more fully realized songs. Jandek sounds more inspired on this one also. It's the first realization, post-electric and other musicians, that he has learned from that time and did incorporate a stronger sense of melody when playing solo. The tuning of his guitar on this one helped a great deal in making songs more melodic. This is another great album & though I didn't mention every song, it doesn't have any bad ones on it. This is a good one to get for solo Jandek that's not as abrasive as he can be.

Album #22 is called Twelfth Apostle. (Is twelfth spelled right? For some reason I didn't think there was an f in it). The first all solo Jandek album in a while finds him going back to the basics. He works into a dynamic on You're Not Even Alive of playing louder while singing then backing off in between lines. Native Land has an interesting line, "It's not my fault I live in a vault." Two-thirds through the album, the fast repeating reverb gets turned on for the guitar & vocals for a change in the albums sound. More ghostly when he plays quiet, but much louder when played harder. Whiskers approximates a sound akin to that title (that sentence is a keeper!). Guitar with slide and seemingly playful lyrics. He tends to put these at the end of the album to fill out the tape & they do help you come up for air at the end, though this album has one more song after it that goes back to the overall sound. Y'know, I listen to these albums as I review them and while I like this one, it's hard to write anything about it because of the lack of change in it. I like it as a whole sound, but ask me to pick a song that sticks out, that's very hard. Whiskers is the only one that does that. I don't want to have a review that reads like a diary (e.g. He plays a high note here, this song he plays all open, my phone rang during this song, it was a wrong number). His albums get more & more static, but not just yet. There's still some great ones coming up as I listened to the 2nd 20 twice before writing any of this compared to listening & reviewing each one for the 1st 20. If you want to describe Jandek in the terms of jazz, he plays nothing except blue notes.

Thanks very much Peter. It's always nice to know someone is enjoying the reviews. I could send you a sampler if you like so you know what you'd be getting yourself into. PM me with your address if you want one.