I'm planning to listen to all of his albums by some point; he has 99 albums of original material at the time of writing. Several of his albums are live recordings, but surprisingly, all Jandek concerts consist of entirely new music and lyrics. Most of the reviews I've written are in a very casual, rough format, but I'm going to start a series on this blog where I'll clean up the reviews and finally post them for all to see. Instead of posting these reviews in the order of the album release dates, I'm going to post them in the order that I listened to them. I didn't listen to Jandek's discography in order, so there were certain things I put or didn't put in these reviews that makes them most sensible to put in this order. Sorry if this is confusing, but starting with Twelfth Apostle, I decided that I was going to challenge myself to listen to every single album, so at that point, the reviews will be in order.
Additionally, these reviews will serve as somewhat of a "guide to Jandek". I will not only talk about my opinions on the music, but also the content of the albums themselves as if the reader has not heard it, and my speculation on how they were made. For each album, I will indicate whether or not I think it is an essential album within his discography, and list the essential songs from that album. Songs with an asterisk are my absolute favorites.
Note that I have reviewed every album I've listened to already, but the reviews are in a very rough draft form. If you want to read my rough drafts, check them out here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QqVthWnb9BYrdcK4PVyDSJSMQaj9j8EPlkPImHgixhw/edit?usp=sharing
Here is my review of Jandek's first album, Ready for the House (1978).
Ready for the House is where Jandek's story started. The entire album, except for the final track, is played on solo acoustic guitar plus vocals. You may recall something such as Pink Moon, but this is even more raw and primitive. The album cover is one of the most unique and haunting photos I’ve ever seen. The colors look very unnatural, and the lighting looks as if it was from a camera flashing in the pitch darkness. The empty chair beside a window with the shade pulled down, along with the other peculiar elements of the cover, hint that this is one of the most depressive folk albums ever created. Jandek’s guitar is tuned to a unique alternate tuning, and the album is played entirely on open strings, so every song is a variation of one chord. Jandek lore indicates that early albums sounded like this because of an old guitar where the strings were too far from the frets to play properly. The chord itself feels frankly bitter and dusty, unlike anything I've ever heard before, and the artist reportedly tuned his guitar until it sounded right to him.
The album is one of the most unique and memorable I’ve ever heard. The first listen is the most grueling to get through because of the repetitive guitar style, but it gets better on repeated listens because you get used to the Jandek style, and you begin to notice the melodies. The vocals are very anxious and whispery, or spiteful at times ("Cave in on You", "They Told Me I Was a Fool"), but always have a certain pain to them. Most of the time, they work well with the lyrics.
The lyrics are the best aspect of this album. They are devastatingly personal, lonely, and heartbreaking. They describe the blasé, astray feeling that emerges from isolating oneself and living with the pain of rejection from the world.
The final track is a big surprise - it’s on electric guitar, and in quasi-standard tuning. It’s actually quite pleasant and melodic, yet still primitive and anxious.
With every listen, I notice something different about this album and how the tracks distinguish themselves from one another. The sarcastic cries of “big time in the city” on "Naked in the Afternoon", the desperate rhythm and repetition of "What Can I Say, What Can I Sing", the broken wails at the slowed ending of "They Told Me About You", the intensity and yelping peaks of "Cave In On You", and the spiteful narrative mastery of "They Told Me I Was a Fool" are my favorite moments within the thick of this album. "European Jewel (Incomplete)" is a peek into the world outside, but it stops before it’s enough to fully taste.
While this album doesn’t have the most immediate replay value, it’s one of the rawest depictions of loneliness and pain you’ll get, and one of the most outsider albums there is. When I do get around to replaying it, and I recognize a lyric, it becomes more meaningful, and I connect more personally with the artist.
9/10
Essential album?: Yes
Essential songs:
Naked in the Afternoon*
Cave in on You
They Told Me I Was a Fool
European Jewel (Incomplete)*
Here is my review of Jandek's first album, Ready for the House (1978).
Ready for the House is where Jandek's story started. The entire album, except for the final track, is played on solo acoustic guitar plus vocals. You may recall something such as Pink Moon, but this is even more raw and primitive. The album cover is one of the most unique and haunting photos I’ve ever seen. The colors look very unnatural, and the lighting looks as if it was from a camera flashing in the pitch darkness. The empty chair beside a window with the shade pulled down, along with the other peculiar elements of the cover, hint that this is one of the most depressive folk albums ever created. Jandek’s guitar is tuned to a unique alternate tuning, and the album is played entirely on open strings, so every song is a variation of one chord. Jandek lore indicates that early albums sounded like this because of an old guitar where the strings were too far from the frets to play properly. The chord itself feels frankly bitter and dusty, unlike anything I've ever heard before, and the artist reportedly tuned his guitar until it sounded right to him.
The album is one of the most unique and memorable I’ve ever heard. The first listen is the most grueling to get through because of the repetitive guitar style, but it gets better on repeated listens because you get used to the Jandek style, and you begin to notice the melodies. The vocals are very anxious and whispery, or spiteful at times ("Cave in on You", "They Told Me I Was a Fool"), but always have a certain pain to them. Most of the time, they work well with the lyrics.
The lyrics are the best aspect of this album. They are devastatingly personal, lonely, and heartbreaking. They describe the blasé, astray feeling that emerges from isolating oneself and living with the pain of rejection from the world.
The final track is a big surprise - it’s on electric guitar, and in quasi-standard tuning. It’s actually quite pleasant and melodic, yet still primitive and anxious.
With every listen, I notice something different about this album and how the tracks distinguish themselves from one another. The sarcastic cries of “big time in the city” on "Naked in the Afternoon", the desperate rhythm and repetition of "What Can I Say, What Can I Sing", the broken wails at the slowed ending of "They Told Me About You", the intensity and yelping peaks of "Cave In On You", and the spiteful narrative mastery of "They Told Me I Was a Fool" are my favorite moments within the thick of this album. "European Jewel (Incomplete)" is a peek into the world outside, but it stops before it’s enough to fully taste.
While this album doesn’t have the most immediate replay value, it’s one of the rawest depictions of loneliness and pain you’ll get, and one of the most outsider albums there is. When I do get around to replaying it, and I recognize a lyric, it becomes more meaningful, and I connect more personally with the artist.
9/10
Essential album?: Yes
Essential songs:
Naked in the Afternoon*
Cave in on You
They Told Me I Was a Fool
European Jewel (Incomplete)*
No comments:
Post a Comment