GLORYDAZE Music - Articles: Jelly Jam, The

ARTIST: Jelly Jam, The
ALBUM: The Jelly Jam
LABEL: Inside Out
SERIAL: IOMCD 096
YEAR: 2002

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

LINEUP: Ty Tabor - guitar, vocals * John Myung - bass * Rod Morganstein - drums

TRACK LISTING: 01 I Can't Help You * 02 No Remedy * 03 Nature * 04 Nature's Girl * 05 Feeling * 06 Reliving * 07 The Jelly Jam * 08 I Am The King * 09 The King's Dance * 10 Under The Tree

Background
'Those who are familiar with Platypus should know it's not Platypus', warns Ty Tabor of the new band The Jelly Jam, formed from the ashes of that aforementioned band after the departure of keyboard player Derek Sherinian. He's right! Without Sherinian's ELP-style Hammond bashing, the JJ threesome have a more traditional rock feel.

The Songs
'I Can't Help You' opens the album with a belter of a track which absolutely demands attention. It is lyrically concerned with the way some people look up to rock stars as heroes which can provide answers to all of life's questions. It sees Tabor uncharacteristically in a very angry mood. He rages 'I can't help you, I can't save you, I can't be your one and only friend' over a serious bottom-end bass sound from Myung which is about as subtle as a kick in the teeth. So, if it's not Platypus it's definitely NOT 'Moonflower Lane', Ty Tabor's solo offering from a couple of years ago. The next three tracks, 'No Remedy', 'Nature's Girl' and 'Feeling' are amogst the best songs King's X have never written (obviously, comparisons to Ty Tabor's main band still have to be made), with their ringing guitars and great vocal harmonies. 'Nature's Girl' in particular sounds like the best stuff from 'Gretchen Goes to Nebraska' - excellent bass harmonics from John Myung - and 'Feeling' has a very instant chorus. Follow these three with 'Reliving', which is as beautiful as 'Summerland' and as brilliantly structured as 'Pleiades' and (as I'm sure most of you will have realised by now) that makes this album by The Jelly Jam a sure fire winner. The second half of the album shows no sign of weakness. The title track is an instrumental power-trio style workout which builds slowly until all the band members just let themselves go. The musicianship here is great. The more I hear it, the more I'm convinced it's meant to be a tribute to the classic power-trios like Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Closing the album are 'I Am The King' - another slab of chorus-driven King's X fuelled rock - and 'Under the Tree' which is eastern sounding, showcasing Tabor's long-standing obsession with The Beatles, especially during their later drug-induced frenzies.

In Summary
The Jelly Jam? In a word - ESSENTIAL!

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