(NB: this review was first published 17 January 2007)
Jakko M. Jakszyk has had a long and diverse career, careening wildly from pop/funk band Level 42 to Canterbury bands featuring Dave Stewart (Rapid Eye Movement), David Jackson, Peter Blegvad and John Greaves (The Lodge) and countless others. During the first few years of the 21st century he effectively replaced both Robert Fripp and any of a number of past vocalists in the 21st Century Schizoid Band, a group which reunited former members of King Crimson to recreate the band’s earlier material, with an eye toward future, newer compositions.
Jakszyk also has a fairly significant solo discography as well, with material ranging from singer-songwriter to pieces drawing heavily from his history and work with many of the legends of Canterbury progressive rock. Following the interruption in active work with 21CSB, Jakko began work on a new solo release, which would evolve into The Bruised Romantic Glee Club, a 2 CD set of new solo material and cover renditions of material which influenced Jakszyk during his formative years. The list of guest musicians on this release is lengthy and shows how well connected Jakszyk has been throughout his career:
Lyndon Connah, Gavin Harrison, Dave Stewart, Nathan King, Pandit Dinesh, Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield, Mel Collins, Ian Wallace, Danny Thompson, Mark King, Hugh Hopper, Clive Brooks.
As befits such a project, the material is diverse, ranging from chamber renditions of classical material through heavy rockers with a distinct King Crimson tinge. Throughout, elements and washes of Canterbury-esque jazziness permeate, over which Jakszyk’s pleasing tenor vocals soar and twist, weaving a series of tales taken directly from his life’s experiences. Even the cover material has his distinctive stamp on them, rather than being simple regurgitations of the material.
The title track opens the album quietly, with plaintive, fragile vocals courtesy of Jakszyk and a pleasing, jazzy feel. Things do not remain thus for long, as schizoid, psychotically heavy sections with dueling saxophone and guitar blast the piece from potentially sedentary realms. “Catley’s Ashes” was one of the new compositions the band played. This is a phenomenal studio recording of the piece, with former King Crimson sax player Mel Collins providing some excellent wind playing, and Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison holding down the shifting, Crimson-like rhythm changes.
Several tracks on The Bruised Romantic Glee Club deal with Jakko’s childhood, as well as the loss of his parents. “Highgate Hill” hearkens back to Jakko’s birthplace. As Jakszyk has never spent much time there, in his mind the place has evolved in a nearly mythical way. The song is pretty straightforward musically, with nicely layered vocals and sweetly symphonic keyboards. “Forgiving” is a song for written too late to actually ask for the forgiveness that Jakko felt he needed from his father, while simultaneously forgiving him for the mistakes he made in his past. The song is built around a Robert Fripp soundscape, and is beautiful in its simplicity and emotional honesty. Also included in this series of reminiscences is “When We Go Home,” dedicated to the memory of his adoptive mother. Sweet, quiet and carefully constructed, the song is fragile and evokes longing, loneliness, and loss. Female vocals and lovely electric guitar courtesy of Robert Fripp add layers of depth and feeling to an already emotionally wrought composition.
The second disc in this set covers a number of songs that Jakszyk felt were influential or important to his musical education. A number of Canterbury bands loom large here, such as Soft Machine. “As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still (incorporating That Still And Perfect Summer and Astral Projection In Pinner)” is evidence of this. Based around a piece from Soft Machine 2, this medley also includes a section of original material from Jakszyk and Dave Stewart. In order to do this piece justice, Jakszyk assembles a veritable Canterbury super group, with Hugh Hopper (bass), Stewart (piano) and Clive Brooks (drums), along with sax and flute courtesy of Gary Barnacle. The performance is quick, engaging, and wholly honest to the Soft Machine original.
Additionally, Jakszyk covers a pair of Henry Cow tracks (“Nirvana for Mice” and “The Citizen King”), handling the intense complexity and construction with aplomb.
It should come as no surprise that this covers disc also includes some King Crimson material, considering his involvement with 21CSB. Two tracks from the band’s early days are recreated here, with the most interesting one being “Pictures Of An Indian City” – Jakszyk’s rendition of this King Crimson classic from 1970’s In The Wake of Poseidon. He completely reinvents the piece, with sitar replacing guitar, and original lyricist Peter Sinfield providing new lyrics for a new age. Connecting this new version to the old is an excellent soprano sax solo by Mel Collins, who recorded parts on the original studio version. An elegiac cover of 1971’s “Islands” (from the album of the same name) also features on this disc; while not as extensive a reworking as the original, adds to the original while remaining true to the work that it follows.
The Bruised Romantic Glee Club has much to offer even the most discerning listener. With material that ranges so widely (or wildly), there is certain to be something for everyone here. Highly recommended.
Track Listing CD 1:
Bruised Romantic Glee Club
Variations on A Theme by Holst
Catley's Ashes
When Peggy Came Home
Highgate Hill
Forgiving
No One Left To Lie To
Thing We Throw Away
Doxy, Dali and Duchamp
Srebrenica
When We Go Home
Track Listing CD 2:
As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still (incorporating That Still And Perfect Summer and Astral Projection In Pinner)
Pictures Of an Indian City
Nirvana for Mice
Islands
The Citizen King
Soon After
Musicians:
Jakko M. Jakszyk: guitars, bass, keyboards, programming, balalaika, vocals
Gavin Harrison: drums
Danny Thompson: acoustic bass
Mel Collins: tenor, alto sax and flute
Gary Barnacle: sax, alto flute, flute, bass flute, piccolo, tenor and soprano sax
Dave Stewart: piano & keyboards
Ian Wallace: drums
Hugh Hopper: bass
Clive Brooks: drums
Robert Fripp: guitar
Lyndon Connah: piano
Nathan King: bass guitar
Pandit Dinesh: table, vocals
Caroline Lavell: cello
Helen Kaminca: viola
John Giblin: acoustic and fretless bass
Find out more:
http://www.jakko.com/
It’s been three years, and thus the two-headed beast that is OSI awakens from deep sleep to present us with another slice of electronic-inspired prog in the form of Blood, their third LP.
OSI has been a shifting, unsettling musical entity. While the first album drew equally from the talents of Mike Portnoy, Kevin Moore, Jim Matheos and Sean Malone to create an impressive debut release that added a significant dollop of electronic modern-ness to the often staid genre of progressive metal. 2006 (yep, three years following their debut), OSI returned with Free, which saw Portnoy’s participation greatly reduced, and Malone replaced by Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning) on bass. Blood sees further shifts in band line-up, with Matheos handling bass as well as guitar, and Portnoy replaced by Gavin Harrison, currently of Porcupine Tree and one of the more busy progressive rock drummers currently active in the genre. Also guesting on Blood is Opeth frontman Michael Åkerfeldt on the appropriately titled “Stockholm.”
Moore’s vocals are subtle, mixed down, not overly nuanced, but perhaps perfect for the sound the band has crafted here. There’s an eerie sense of distance here in his vocal presentation, a kind of disconnect, that suits the processed, chopped up music Moore and Matheos has crafted here. Meanwhile, his keyboard sounds rely more on mood than flash. Little buzzes, sweeps, moog and processed Rhodes-like electric piano are constants in his sonic repertoire, and it’s his sense of mood and colour and shape that perhaps hint most at what was lost when he left Dream Theater in 1994. Matheos acquits himself well on bass, and his guitar playing exhibits every bit as much awareness of space and shape as Moore’s keyboard playing does. If you’re buying this to hear Matheos let loose and show off, you’re making a mistake…his playing is restrained, subtle, and centered around the needs of the song and arrangement.
Gavin Harrison’s performance here is not a surprise. There’s a reason he’s so well regarded as a drummer, and his abilities are showcased well here. When he has to let loose and pound, he does so with admirable force and dexterity…no plodding dinosaur beats for him. Elsewhere he adds little touches of percussion and subtlety (I keep coming back to that word a lot here) adding to the arrangement without distracting from the arrangement. He’s the right drummer for this material, certainly.
While I continually have used the word subtle, or variations thereof, throughout the first few paragraphs, that should not imply that Blood is simply a bunch of laid back grooved and late night chill out music. Songs like “False Start,” "Be The Hero" and “Blood” have all the hallmarks of progressive metal, just tuned and shaped a little differently. “False Start” sees Matheos rip on rhythm guitar, his bass playing tight and heavy, while Harrison lets fly with some impressive rolls and fills propelling the song forward. Add to that some carefully placed keyboard bits and Moore’s disaffected, distanced vocals, and you have an interesting mix that really succeeds as a result of the tension inherent in the two different styles. “We Come Undone,” on the other hand, is far more keyboard driven, opening with a gentle, yet slightly unsettling keyboard line, brushed traps and hi hat (processed by the sound of it), and more of Moore’s trademark vocals. I like the variety of keyboard sounds here, and this song certainly fits the bill as late night chill out music, albeit with a twist. Like so much music in this genre, nothing is really ever as simple as it seems.
“Microburst Alert” is about as processed as they come, with loads of samples that sound as if they have been acquired from recordings at some scientific research station of control center. Keys, percussion, bass…everything has been manipulated within an inch of its life until nothing, I think, sounds like it did when initially committed to tape or digital 1’s and 0’s. And as an Opeth fan, I have to admit my biggest interest was in hearing how Mikael Åkerfeldt was integrated into the band’s sound. “Stockholm” gives us that opportunity, and I am thankful to say his voice has seen limited, if any, post-production processing, and we get his gloriously smooth tenor-baritone, filled with inflection and emotion, on a song that could easily have fit on an album like Damnation or Watershed. It’s eerie, it’s dark, and Åkerfeldt’s voice just makes it even more so. I hate saying a guest-driven song is the highlight of an album, but for this listener, “Stockholm” definitely is.
OSI is a tough nut to crack in some ways, and they are a hard band to easily recommend. They’re not really prog metal any more, they’re not electronica, they’re not ambient, even though they certainly have elements of each style, and explore each of them in time. Unlike supergroups like Transatlantic, OSI’s sound really is less about what each individual musician brings to the table and more about the chemistry that results from combining them…one could easily tell, for example, what Neal Morse or Roine Stolt brought to Transatlantic, yet OSI’s sound is entirely its own. Blood is an album that offers something new with each subsequent listen, unraveling and revealing secrets every time it’s spun.
1. The Escape Artist - 5:51
2. Terminal - 6:29
3. False Start - 3:05
4. We Come Undone - 4:04
5. Radiologue - 6:05
6. Be the Hero - 5:52
7. Microburst Alert - 3:49
8. Stockholm - 6:42
9. Blood - 5:24
Personnel:
Kevin Moore - Vocals, Keyboards
Jim Matheos - Guitar, Bass
Gavin Harrison - Drums
Mikael Åkerfeldt - Vocals on "Stockholm"
Tim Bowness - Vocals on "No Celebrations"
New album in spring 2009Guests: Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) & Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth)
Experts consider the music of the creative duo, OSI, a perfect example of inventiveness and innovation. Kevin Moore and Jim Matheos have released two albums to date (Office Of Strategic Influence, 2003, & Free, 2006) and are currently working on their new, as yet untitled third recording, scheduled for release in spring 2009.
Along with Moore and Matheos, the new album will also feature Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison. In addition, there will be a guest appearance by Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) on ‘Stockholm’, which the Swede co-composed. Mixing is scheduled to begin in early December with engineer Phil Magnotti.
Ozric Tentacles:
Upcoming gigs 2008:
24th May – The Sugar Complex, Kent, UK
6th June – Wakarusa Festival, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
7th June – Wakarusa Festival, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
14th June – Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO, USA
12th July – Ilosaarirock, Joensuu, Finland
12th July – Moon Festival, Wiltshire, UK
Ozrics Live at Sunrise Celebration DVD will be released on the 26th May - for a sneak preview - http://www.snappermusic.com/ms/ozrictentaclesKing Crimson:
Fresh from the recent rehearsals in Nashville, Gavin and Pat give it some boom, bash and bish. Based upon B’Boom, which in turn was based upon an exercise written by Gavin in his 1998 book, Rhythmic Illusions, the new Crim rhythm section gives an early indication of how formidable they might well be.(official download behind the link!)
