Jandek

[dave9199]

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.

Edited April 5, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

"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.

Edited April 5, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

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.

[dave9199]

"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.

Edited April 11, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

#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.

Edited April 11, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

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?".

Edited April 11, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

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.

Edited April 11, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

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.

[dave9199]

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.

Edited April 24, 2005 by dave9199

[Guest Chaney]

Good stuff Dave! You are voracious!

I've really been looking forward to the a cappella albums but I'm currently working on On The Way and The Living End. It's somehow very comforting to hear the voice of Jandek in my office at the beginning of what promises to be the usual hellish work week.

[dave9199]

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

[dave9199]

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.

Edited April 24, 2005 by dave9199

[Peter Johnson]

Jumping in WAY late to this thread. A kind soul provided me with a compliation of Jandek tracks, which I've been digging into tonight. I've read this thread through, and I'm fascinated by the reviews and, now, fascinated by the music. A whole hell of a lot of influences going on. Dark, dark, heavy stuff--and at once completely terrifying and brilliant.

So far, I'm really enjoying the tracks from the oft-mentioned Blue Corpse and also Follow Your Footsteps the most, but this is with twenty minutes of skipping around the compilation.

Keep writing, all--I need to keep learning about this stuff.

[John B]

I was betting #40 would be the live show. I wonder when it'll be out. Maybe all the internet trading pushed it back, but I figured he released albums in order. Maybe he hasn't gotten to it yet.

posted to the Jandek list today:

Dear Seth:

i just got a copy of the Jandek Live in Glasgow album.

it is called GLASGOW SUNDAY (Corwood 0779)

and has the following tracks

NOT EVEN WATER

WHERE I STAY

DARKNESS YOU GIVE

SEA OF RED

REAL WILD

DON'T WANT TO BE

BLUE BLUE WORLD

THE OTHER SIDE

It has a colour photograph of a church with cars in the foreground;

American I assume by the cars...

best wishes

David Late Tibet

[Guest Chaney]

I WANT THE DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dave9199]

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

[Guest Chaney]

Maybe he's hired a manager.

[dave9199]

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.

Edited April 15, 2005 by dave9199

[Craig23]

Forgive the question if it has been answered before.....I looked through this thread but didn't see it.....

Where can I order the 20+ cds for $4 each?

Can someone kindly post a link?

Thanks.

[Guest Chaney]

Forgive the question if it has been answered before.....I looked through this thread but didn't see it.....

Where can I order the 20+ cds for $4 each?

Can someone kindly post a link?

Thanks.

From Seth Tisue's site:

Ordering info

Corwood Industries’ own catalog says:

cd disc $8.00 20 or more any mix $4.00 each

prepaid only shipping paid by corwood international orders add 10%

All 41 Jandek albums (0739 through 0779) are now in print on CD; see discography for a list of titles.

Send orders (and make checks payable) to Corwood Industries, P.O. Box 15375, Houston TX 77220. Regardless of whether you’re ordering single titles or the box of 20 or more, you can specify any combination of titles and quantities that you want.

[dave9199]

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.

Edited April 20, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

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

[dave9199]

Trudging onwards, album #34 is called The Place. It’s another Europe shot on the cover. This time it’s a picture of what turned out to be a bridal store window display. Three female mannequins with a reflection of the place (no pun intended) across the street in the window. It looks like a double exposure, but somewhere on the Jandek list, I believe it was Paul Condon again, said these buildings are indeed across from each other. Aside from Smith, these are the first human forms that appear on a cover. I inspected the cover closely to see if I could find Smith in the reflection. Someone is there, but his mostly hidden behind the middle mannequin’s red sleeve. You can see a car also. Very busy cover for him.

This album is possibly the shortest one at 36:42. The songs titles suggest a concept, or not:

The Picture

The Place

The Highway

The Answer

The Stumble

From the first song, I could tell I’d like this album more. The singing is more low key on here than the last two and the lyrical delivery is more "up". The guitar playing is the same; open strumming with notes thrown in and pausing while singing. I have no problems with his guitar playing. One way to describe it would be staccato. At times it sounds like he attacks the guitar coming off of the lyrics. The title track seems to be metaphorical about releasing kept away emotions:

The Place

There’s a key somewhere — where did I put it

Maybe it’s in the car

Maybe it’s in a cabinet

Is it in my pocket

Is it in my case

I keep thinkin’ about that key

I think about the key

More than what’s locked up

What’s locked up in that place

What’s so special about those things

That I don’t want them changed

I want it all like it was

I left it before

We all got to have something unchanged

I want it all like it was,I left it before

We all got to have something unchanged

That we can take for granted

Some place, some object, some constructed thing

We made a thing, and it needs perfection

Who want to be the one

Who makes a change

To this little place

This protected spot

So where’s the key

I want to turn the latch

Unlock that place

And see what’s there

How can I do what I need to do

In that place with those freed-up things

Laughing and joking and having fun

In an unlocked, freed-up, special place

Where did I put that key

I know it’s someplace

Where did I put it

Maybe it’s here

Maybe it’s there

In the song The Highway, I find this part interesting:

And be careful about the chasm in the road

Don’t fall down there, you might not come back

If it hurts bad enough, you’ll get knocked out

And maybe wake up in another body, or a rock

Or a lake, or a tree, or a cloud

You might even not know what you are

You might not be anything at all

For millions of years

Or for all of the time

To be no thing is a dream I had

I can’t tell if he means he had a dream one night in which he was no thing (that’s not a typo, that’s what he says), or he had (or maybe has) a desire to be no thing or nothing.

The harmonica says hello on the last song, The Stumble. The happy sound of this instrument is so in contrast with his guitar playing & vocals. It’s such an odd pairing. It’s like when he plays the piano or organ, because of the instruments’ set up, he can’t help but sound melodic (i.e. happy, lighter), but his guitar is the same. Maybe he feels there is no difference between the two.

I definitely liked this album more, though it's still not one I'd think to listen to very often. Still difficult and unmelodic.

Edited April 26, 2005 by dave9199

[dave9199]

I just wanted to post this line from Chaney's posting of Saul Bellow's death. (You're working overtime today, eh? A ton of info for the uninitiated. Great job!)

Like his characters, Bellow's life was an evolution from the unbearable, but comic passion of the Old World, to the unbearable, but comic alienation of the New World.

Though it might not totally fit, this just screamed Sterling Smith to me. Wouldn't be surprised if he read some of him. I, myself, haven't. Maybe I will now.

[dave9199]

The #35 album on our countdown is called The Gone Wait. The title comes from the song of the same name on Twelfth Apostle (#22). It’s cover is another front window display from Europe. This one shows just one mannequin in a wedding dress. This cover has the first legible words to appear; the word ‘sale’ is behind the mannequin & on price tags. The humorous part with it being Europe is the prices are listed as pounds, or sterling! The only reflection in the glass is of the car that was on the last album also.

The song titles, again, could suggest a concept, but probably don’t:

I Went To Hell

I See The Open Door

I Was A King

I Just Might Go Now

I Found The Right Change

But wait...what’s that I hear? That’s not a guitar at all, why it’s...it’s...a stand up acoustic bass!!! That’s right, Jandek goes jazz, well, not really, but here’s your link between outsider music & jazz; Sterling Smith on acoustic bass. How does he play it? However he sees fit. It sounds like a free jazz bass solo with lyrics. He still plays then stops a lot while singing, but with the instrument being more subtle, his vocals are low in response to the instrument; almost like he’s responding to another persons style, adjusting his to theirs in leu of actually playing with other people. Because of this, it makes this album more listenable (in the general Jandek of things). It’s low-key so the vocals don’t have that harrowing howl that appeared on I Threw You Away (#32) & The Humility Of Pain (#33). There’s also more percussiveness in his playing since you can't help it when you play bass, and that’s a good thing. A lot of slides, slaps & little riffs between lyrics. The downside is out of the 5 songs; 3 are between 6:00-6:39 (that’s the upside), and 2 are between 10:24-10:27 (the downside). These 2 songs are just dragged out for far too long. I’ve never said anything about Smith needing to edit himself and I’m not now, I just think the pace is too slow. And what about lyrically? I still don’t know what to say, but the last song, I Found The Right Change, is the only one where his voice uses a higher register than the bass:

I Found the Right Change

Hey diggedy daggedy, what you been doin’

I been sittin’ in my front room

Where people just pass through and

Don’t spend no time

It’s got the best furniture

It’s got the best look

It’s got your first impression

Better meet them there

You got a guard that keeps you out of it

Hey diggedy daggedy, what you gonna do

I’m gonna sit in my front room where nobody stays

I need to describe what’s going to stay here and

What’s going away

Don’t you have a friend who can give you space

It’s what you need right now

I’m in this moment of giving

I found the right change to take

The indescribable beauty to you

And it’s not mine, it belongs to you

I’m sitting in the front room

Deciding what stays and what goes

When it’s all gone

If you don’t give up all your rights

You just pass along

Abandon everything you wanted

Of course with a lyric like “Hey diggedy, daggedy”, how could you not get caught up in a joyful reading? (And just as an aside, I hope no one thinks I’m being sarcastic. I’m injecting a bit of humor as these albums are very hard to listen to and even appreciate. It helps my appreciation of them).

An interesting album because of the acoustic bass and Smith’s reaction to it. I was listening so closely to the bass playing that I overlooked the lyrics. Again, Smith brakes up the sense of monotony by introducing a new instrument. I’d like to know how be came upon getting/borrowing one. It’s not like everyone has one hanging around.

Edited April 23, 2005 by dave9199