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This anthology is quite a grandiose collection of music from one
of the most overlooked fringe artists in the independent rock music
scene over the past decade. The unique vision of Anton Newcombe
has led the band through some very experimental stages and tons of
band members and has developed a clarified musical vision without
equal. Listening to TBJM's songs in loosely release order lends
the ear a very distinctive sense of the growth and transformation
of the band over the years. Songs spanning the entire history of the
band make up this phenomenal collection, starting with the earliest
releases that were heavily influenced by the psychedelics of early
Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. The songs show a slow change
into the dark groove rock of a more Cure influenced sound,
while maintaining quite a bit of the psychedelic influence. It is
easy to see the beginnings that made such good friends of Newcombe
and contemporary songster Courtney Taylor-Smith of Dandy
Warhols fame. Their musical evolutions began in very close places,
but have obviously grown in far different ways since the early 1990s.
Disc 1 is full of the earlier psychedelic songs and includes some
of the greatest from the catalog. "Who?" is a trippy trip
through an updated Roky Erickson styled rock-a-thon. The clean
guitars of the Donovan-esque "Straight Up And Down"
clash just enough with the 80's style vocal production, sounding like
Robert Smith fronting a hippy band. "Anenome" is
here in its epic splendor, making me wonder again just which of the
bands actually wrote this song and who ripped the other off. Disc
2 tends to be a bit darker and rock and rollier… songs like the
total Barrett sound of "Let Me Stand Next To Your Flower".
The more modern rock of "In My Life" and the highly Byrds-esque
"This Is Why You Love Me" are two more fine examples of
the mean variety of sounds that TBJM was capable of. Included on disc
two are also a few previously unreleased live tracks, including a
beautiful version of "Swallowtail" and "Hide And Seek".
Also found here for the first time is the previously unreleased track
"Feel So Good", which is stunning in its own right, and
almost worth the entire compilation in itself.
There are no duds among these 38 tracks - whoever put this collection
together did a fine job of gathering some of the finest songs from
the band's history. This collection is so comprehensive and wide-spread
that it would make a great compendium for the established TBJM fan,
so one doesn't need to pull out many records at a time, or for the
uninitiated, this would make a great starting point to introduce
you to the band.
If you missed out on the second psychedelic revolution, now is
the time to catch yourself up!
L. Keane
Track Listing:
DISC ONE
1 All Around You (intro)
2 Who
3 When Jokers Attack
4 Servo
5 Open Heart Surgery
6 If Love Is The Drug
7 It Girl
8 Sailor
9 Straight Up and Down
10 Anenome
11 wisdom
12 Just For Today
13 Stars
14 Vaccuum Boots
15 Prozac vs. Heroin
16 She's Gone
DISC TWO
1 Nailing Honey To The Bee
2 That Girl Suicide
3 Nevertheless
4 Evergreen
5 Starcleaner
6 Let Me Stand Next To Your Flower
7 Hide and Seek
8 In My Life
9 Mary Please
10 Talk-Action=Shi
t11 Oh Lord
12 This Is Why You Love Me
13 Not If You Were The Last Dandy on Earth
14 Swallowtail
15 Feel So Good
16 Fucker
17 #1 Hit Jam
18 Ballad of Jim Jones
19 Free and Easy Take 2
20 Stolen
21 Mansion In The Sky
22 Sue
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