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.

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