The Jitters - The Jitters

The Jitters were an odd little band who released two albums during their short career. Their debut dropped in '87 and the single "Last of the Red Hot Fools" was catchy, and I heard it a few times on the radio. A couple of years later they had another minor hit with 'Til The Fever Breaks" and then they were gone.

In the early '90s I found both albums on CD, and really enjoyed them - although to be fair as I sit here I don't really remember much other than the two songs I had heard on the radio way back when. Still, the band left a lasting impression.

I was browsing through the bins the other day, and to my surprise I found a sealed copy of the band's self titled album and it was too good to pass up.

I'm gonna sit back relax and revisit an album I've not heard in decades. Ladies and Gentlemen and all points in between The Jitters.

... a little while later ...

Musically, they sounded like Katrina and the Waves and Huey Lewis and the News had a love child who was raised in Canada - okay, maybe not the entire album, but the opening track "Closer Every Day" sure did. This was happy go lucky pop that was light and easy on the ears. It was also pretty generic if I'm being honest and frankly most of the songs came and went without really making much of an impact. The lone exception was the album's second track, "Last of the Red Hot Fools" that felt like a Doo-Wop song wrapped around a tight rock song, and it always surprised me that it was a bigger hit. It's the centrepiece of the album and everything else while decent doesn't measure up.

I'm not meaning to shit on the band, after all I did have both of their releases, and finding this on vinyl was a treat, and the album is enjoyable while it's playing even if it isn't especially memorable. Still having said that there is something about The Jitters that made me play it over and over. It's a bit of a conundrum as it shouldn't really warrant repeated plays but it does.

Full disclosure, the two paragraphs were written and tweaked over a couple of days, and the more I played the album the more I enjoyed it while being aware that it was just a nice collection of standard pop songs that were indistinguishable from so many other middle of the road pop acts who were out there. The point I guess I'm trying to make in my own awkward way is, "Does it really matter?"

The answer to that lies within another cup of coffee and given enough caffeine I'll get The Jitters.

Comments

6 Cylinder

As a kid we had one radio station, not counting CBC, and generally there was very little that was worth listening to, although there were times something would come on that would make you pay attention. It was 1979 and on a couple of occasions I heard "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" and it cracked me up, and I always wanted to get a copy for myself. A few years ago when my niece was dancing, they did a performance to this song, and now I can't separate my niece from a bunch of dancing chicks in chicken suits. Such is life. When I found this in the dollar bin I actually let out a little chirp, my goodness could it be? It was, and it was in great shape - including the inner sleeve. Score. I had no idea what to expect, for all I knew there was only one song worth listening to, and if that was the case it was still a dollar well spent. If I could buy an album by Showdown and enjoy it, odds are I'll find something to enjoy here to. Before I put this on I...

Garfield - Strange Streets

I'd seen this before in the bin, but kept flipping through the stacks. I'd see it a few more times, each time stopping to look at it a little more. There was something kind of cool about the cover where the stylized Celtic knot had the dotted yellow line - it was a strange street for sure. I pulled the record out of the jacket and I was struck by the centre image. There was the familiar Mercury label, the same one I'd seen a thousand times on BTOs Head On album. Well, I'd bought things based on odd associations before - like when I had to buy anything that Solid Rock Records released (this was generally a good thing) who knows maybe this was a hidden gem. There weren't any real scratches or rash, just a lot of dirt and dust - it seemed to clean up okay, but we'll see how it goes. The album opens with the title track, and this wasn't straight ahead pop, or rock. It was leaning to the progressive, but with a pop bent. Oddly enough the vocals reminded me of Mi...

Hoodoo Gurus - Mars Needs Guitars!

The first time I got this album it was a gift from my old roommate Otto. For a goofy little nebbish he would occasionally surprise me with some left of field musical treasures. Although, I still think he was reaching a little when he brought home the new "Led Zeppelin" album by Kingdom Come and forced me to listen to "Get it On" over and over again. I'd not listened to Mars Needs Guitars in a long, long, long time. The first thing that I jumped out at me was how David Faulkner's vocals reminded me of his fellow countryman Peter Garrett from Midnight Oil. I think the reason this never occurred to me was at the time I didn't have any Midnight Oil until Diesel and Dust in 1987. I'm not saying it was all the time, but there were a couple of songs where it stood out. Not a bad thing, just a thing. Even at the time this felt slightly out of step with what was going on in 1985. It seemed like everyone was using drum machines and synthesizers and having t...

Old Enough to Forget

Search This Blog