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Friday Full-Length: Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 15th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Jerusalem, Jerusalem (1972)

45 years after its initial release, a couple points continue to be proved by Jerusalem‘s Jerusalem. First point: riffs are timeless. Put on “Hooded Eagle” and “I See the Light” or “Murderer’s Lament” and “Primitive Man” and they hit as hard today as they did when Deram Records put them out as part of the 1969-1973 onslaught of what we now call proto-metal and the roots of modern heavy rock and roll. If anything, the intervening years and influence of the movement/moment in which Jerusalem took part — “the heavy ’70s” — only makes these songs and others on the album more relevant even than they were in 1972, when rather than a tome waiting to be discovered by adventurous listeners, they were part of a pastiche and genre where countryman UK outfits like Peter French-fronted Leaf Hound or Atomic Rooster had already covered most of the territory they would. The appeal has only grown, in other words. Long for an LP of its era with nine songs and 44 minutes, Jerusalem‘s self-titled remains decided un-prog with the shuffle of opener “Frustration” and the swing behind “When the Wolf Sits,” but in the six-minute “Beyond the Grave” there’s nuance of technique and style drawing from psychedelia and Eastern-style circulations, and so there’s more than just raw power on display here as well.

Second point? You can’t beat the value of a good endorsement. Comprised at the time of bassist/songwriter Paul Dean, guitarists Bill Hinde and Bob Cooke (lead), vocalist Lynden Williams and drummer Ray Sparrow, Jerusalem worked with producer Ian Gillan on their debut, and the back cover even featured a note from the Deep Purple frontman sort of blurbing the band the way one author might help promote another on the back of a novel. Gillan called them raw and rough and powerful. They still have his note on their website, and here it is in full:

“This is the first album by Jerusalem, a band which excites me very much; they are rough, raw and doomy with their own strong identity. As they are young and a bit green, they don’t follow many rules, so their material is almost crude — but still immensely powerful in content.

I believe that, whenever possible, the work of writers and players in their formative stages should be recorded; before inhibition and self-consciousness set in, before fire and aggression die down, and while they are still absorbing influences and doing things which others might consider ‘uncool.’ Most important though, before they might develop that self-imposed rigidity which afflicts so many. I hope none of these things happen to Jerusalem, we’ll have to wait and see, this album is just in case. I hope you like it as much as I do.”

Not too bad. Gillan could say that about my work any day of the week and I’d still be reprinting it 45 years later too. The album, of course, lives up to his assessment of it — and Gillan was hardly the only personality out of the heavy rock A-list to dabble in producing at the time; Tony Iommi helmed NecromandusOrexis of Death in 1973 — whether in the bluesy stomp of “I See the Light” or the fuller-sounding bounce of “Midnight Steamer.” Dark and violent themes pervade early cuts like “Hooded Eagle” and “Murderer’s Lament,” which is a distinguishing factor, but the closing trio of “Primitive Man,” “Beyond the Grave” and the catchy “She Came Like a Bat from Hell” transpose that scorch onto more varied lyrical imagery while staying consistent with the noted raw and bluesy overarching vibe, the latter finishing the album with a jammed-out-feeling solo and big rock finish that one can imagine tearing the roof off any number of pubs and other small venues around Britain.

It’s definitely of its era, and I think maybe in calling the band “raw” and “green,” Gillan might have been covering for himself as well as producer, but one can’t deny the natural feel Jerusalem are able to evoke in these tracks, or the impressive span of years they’ve managed to endure while continuing to sound vital. Jerusalem would be the only full-length Jerusalem would release, and like so many others they popped up, presaged the rise of punk in the middle part of the decade and the NWOBHM at its end and into the early ’80s, and were gone. DeanCooke and Sparrow formed the subsequent group Pussy, who resulted in a single (“Feline Woman”) and a number of tracks also produced by Gillan later compiled into the Invasion long-player in 2011.

That later platter was backed by respected purveyor Rockadrome Records, which has also seen to reissues of Jerusalem‘s Jerusalem and, last year, a replica 7″ version of Jerusalem‘s Kamikaze Moth single, which was their only other official offering. Somewhat curiously, Lynden Williams seems to have put together a new version of a band called Jerusalem that includes Cooke and has released three albums over the last eight years — 2009’s Escalator (which included revamps of “Hooded Eagle,” “When the Wolf Sits,” “Midnight Steamer,” “Kamikaze Moth” and a take on Hendrix‘s “Stone Free”), 2014’s Black Horses and 2016’s Cooler than Antarctica, the latter two on Angel Air Records and featuring keyboardist Geoffrey Downes, known for his work in Asia and Yes, among others. Apart from some root in boogie and the reworked pieces on Escalator, these records have a more prog-leaning sound on the whole, but Williams retains a classic heavy rock frontman’s powerful delivery and presence, however specious his claim on the band’s moniker may be in relation to Dean.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

Last night was probably the best sleep I’ve had in the last week and a half, at least. Got up once before the alarm. Just once. It was glorious. The rest of the time, the over-the-head pillow did its magic and kept me out. Been having some real trouble staying asleep for a while now. I crash out early and keep getting up, then the alarm goes off at 4:45AM and it just kind of feels brutal.

I know. Just wait. My mind and body are telling me the same thing for when The Pecan comes. Due date is one month from today. The Patient Mrs. also tired and uncomfortable. More so, of course. She’s stronger than I am though in all things, in addition to more intelligent, attractive, etc. Seriously, she’s got the pregnancy thing down. Glowing and all that. I am continually humbled by how amazing she is. At everything. In every way.

We’re back in Massachusetts now after the trip south to NJ for my grandmother’s memorial service last Friday — thanks to everyone for the kind comments on that eulogy, here and via the social medias; I’m always insecure about how that kind of thing will go over (or not) — and a few subsequent stolen days at the beach in Connecticut. I wouldn’t exactly call it relaxing to be home, but the anxiety is more internal on my part than anything else. Ups and downs. Kind of a rough week. Frustrated about food, the state of my diet, the prospect of raising my son in this grim, depressing place where we live, and so on. From about Monday through Wednesday I barely knew what day it was at any given point.

This weekend we have a hospital visit for a tour of the birthing facility that if all goes to plan we’ll be using in Pawtucket, Rhode Island — about 40 minutes away — as well as the birthing class where they’re going to be like, “Hey jerk, rub your wife’s back and remind her to breathe and stay hydrated while she’s in labor.” That’s like a six-hour thing tomorrow, and fair enough I suppose. Would be kind of a dick move to be on my phone on Facebook or checking baseball scores while she’s having the baby. Though also hilarious. We’ll see how it goes.

I’ll also be starting, today actually, to put together the back end of the Quarterly Review and hopefully begin to plug away at writing that, just to keep ahead so I’m not swamped later on. That’ll be posted the week after next but there’s plenty in store before then as well. Here are the notes, subject to change as per usual:

Mon.: Review of Napalm’s new Monster Magnet reissues; new Fireball Ministry video.
Tue.: Lucifer’s Chalice full album stream/review.
Wed.: Weird Owl album review/video premiere; Six Dumb Questions, hopefully with Jim Forrester of Foghound/Serpents of Secrecy.
Thu.: Review and full stream of the Heavy Traffic/The Mad Doctors split.
Fri.: Wild Rocket review.

Some gaps to fill in there, but we’ll get there, and it’s a good plan to roll with leading into the Quarterly Review, so I’ll take it. Should be plenty to keep me busy, anyhow.

More to say, but I’ll leave it there. I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Thanks for reading, and please check out the forum and radio stream.

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Friday Full-Length: Truth and Janey, No Rest for the Wicked

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 10th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

Truth and Janey, No Rest for the Wicked (1976)

Like any such designation, the idea of proto-metal can be pretty nebulous. Generally, one thinks of classic-sounding heavy rock, the early recordings of Pentagram, Black Sabbath or more underground groups like Budgie, Speed, Glue & Shinki, Atomic Rooster, Cactus and so on. Comprised of bassist Steve Bock, drummer Denis Bunce and founding guitarist/vocalist BillyLee Janey and based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Truth and Janey came along a little bit later. Offered through private press Montross Records, their debut, No Rest for the Wicked, was issued in 1976 — more than a year after what even the farthest-ranging estimates of what was the Psychedelic Era end. That distinction is important because it separates the context in which Truth and Janey arrived. By then, acts like the aforementioned Sabbath, as well as Alice Cooper, Coven and so on had already showed rock and roll’s dark underside to the masses. Soon after, punk would take hold in the UK, pushing what had already by then become heavy metal downward even as groups like Judas Priest, Motörhead and, a little later, Iron Maiden set the stage for what would become the NWOBHM. In the US, the groundbreaking heavy of Midwestern outfits like MC5 and The Stooges had already given way to the arena-rock of Blue Öyster Cult, and early punk would soon rise as well.

So Truth and Janey‘s debut landed at this crucial in-between moment, almost the point at which one generation’s expectations for what rock and roll could and should be doing were swapped out for another’s. No Rest for the Wicked contains elements of many of the above-mentioned artists and movements, whether it’s the brighter strum of its title-track referring back to Thin Lizzy or the grittier guitar in opener “Down the Road I Go” meeting head-on with gorgeous harmonies, “It’s all Above Us” melding psychedelia and progressive tendencies or “Remember, a Child, Building Walls” bringing The Who-style classic progressions to a jazzier instrumental flow. Such breadth doesn’t make No Rest for the Wicked come across as scattershot, and while that seems like something of a miracle on paper, the smoothness of Truth and Janey‘s transitions and the performances of JaneyBruce and Bock throughout these tracks are a soul salve for any lover of spirited, formative heavy rock. The album proper ends with the easy-rolling “My Mind,” but this version also includes the four songs from Truth and Janey‘s prior singles, “Midnight Horsemen,” “Around and Around,” the Rolling Stones cover “Under My Thumb” and “Straight Eight Pontiac.”

Those cuts have appeared on numerous reissues of No Rest for the Wicked, including CD versions released by Monster Records in 2001 and Rockadrome Records in 2007. Rockadrome also oversaw a vinyl release with the original tracklisting intact in 2010, and that has been pressed up again this year. Truth and Janey, meanwhile, released one more studio album in 1977’s Just a Little Bit of Magic before disbanding, but have had bits of live and other material — the 2001 Erupts! compilation stands out — surface over the years. As further testament to their longevity, they’ll play Psycho Las Vegas in August, alongside Alice CooperBlue Öyster Cult and many, many, many more.

What a week. One for the record books. This was the first of three weeks I’ll spend willfully unemployed before starting my new job at Hasbro in Rhode Island on June 28. Vacation. Three weeks off. Europe might scoff, but here in the US, it’s practically unheard of. A gift from the gods. And frankly, it’s felt that way over the last five days.

Monday and Tuesday, pretty quiet. Slept late, got some writing done — steady stream of reviews this week, which was nice — and hung around with The Patient Mrs.. Tuesday evening we headed for Connecticut and I suggested kind of on a whim we should go to the Yankee game the next night. So that was Wednesday. We took the train from New Haven into the Bronx and it was fantastic. I had a roast beef sandwich, minus the bread — still carbless — for dinner, and she had a veggie dog, for which she’s been waiting years and for which she has written suggestion-box emails numbering greater than 10. Thrills abounded, and the team, who are thoroughly and willfully mediocre this year, won a blowout. We got back late, so slept late again yesterday, and when I woke up I checked my email and found a note from Stefan from Colour Haze, that’s like the best kind of email, about their new live album, which was posted about this morning. My family is coming up from New Jersey tomorrow, so this afternoon we’ll go to the farmer’s market in town here and pick up some eats and other such and such, then I look forward to a quiet evening tonight and then more good times tomorrow. Work to do Sunday, but it’ll get done. I’m not worried.

Next week is a little bumpier. I have a doctor stuff on Tuesday that I expect will consume most of the day. I’ll also be announcing the last band and afterparty details for The Obelisk All-Dayer (tickets here) Aug. 20 at the Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn. The official poster, with art by Skillit — look up to the header of this site for a sampling of his work — should be done in the next two weeks. It’s going to be bright as hell, happy, psychedelic and weird. It’s going to involve ice cream. I can’t wait.

Still, look out for reviews of Sergio Ch., West, Space and Love and Conclave before next week is through, as well as a new podcast, that All-Dayer announcement and an interview with Dave Sherman of The Obsessed to precede that band’s stop headlining at Maryland Doom Fest in a couple weeks, which I’ll be attending and covering as kind of the last big blowout of this gleeful between-jobs period before I start work again the Tuesday after.

So lots of good stuff to come. Before I put the laptop down, I just want to thank Tom Geddes from the Desertscene Podcast (Thee Facebooks, website) again for having me as a guest for last week’s episode. It was a pleasure to chat with Tom — or, since he’s UK-based, chat to him — about bands and writing and whatnot, and if you didn’t hear it, I thought the end result came out really well. Thanks if you get the chance to check it out.

Please have a great and safe weekend. If you need me, I’ll be endeavoring toward the same.

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