Jo Jo Gunne - Jo Jo Gunne

Jo Jo Gunne were one of the first acts signed to David Geffen's newly minted Asylum Records in 1972. The band sounded a bit like Grand Funk at times, and while the band was heavy they were more of a boogie woogie rock band than the blues based bands like Led Zeppelin or early Sabbath.

I'd never heard of the band before finding their '73 album Bite Down Hard and it was good enough to put the band on my radar. Although it turns out I had heard them before, I just didn't remember. I actually have "Run Run Run" on a few classic rock compilations in the basement. It's funny that while the song registered as kind of cool I never remembered the band.

Not like it matters at all.

So here we have the debut released in '72 and the band kicked off side one with "Run Run Run" that sets the tone for the rest of the record, and boy howdy do the fellows deliver. It's still a bit of a conundrum as to why this didn't catch on and break the band to a wider audience. Sure the songs were a bit on the hippy dippy side, this was '72 after all but you can tell the guys had a strong sense of melody and the guys could have easily made small adjustments as times changed. Heck their label mates the Eagles weren't the same band they started out as by the time they finished their long run.

Anyway, woulda - shoulda - didn't.

I suppose I could stop there, but I won't because I have more to say and while the band may not have gotten the love when they needed it, I can at least try and throw a little their way posthumously.

Debut albums more often than not capture a band at their hungriest and the songs have often been road tested and polished through trial and error.

The band was comprised of Jay Ferguson who played keyboards and was the band's lead vocalist and primary songwriter. Guitarist Matthew Andes co-wrote several of the songs on the album with Jay, including "Run Run Run." Matthew was a really competent player, and my goodness he had tone for days and his slide and solo work was right in the pocket. Mark Andres who was Matthew's brother anchored the bottom end on bass with Curley Smith sitting on the throne and keeping things groovy.

The first side is all killer. There isn't a weak song here. Oddly for me the song I keep coming back to is "I Make Love" which is the best song Grand Funk never did. The staccato piano is deliciously countered by a great guitar riff.

Side two only has four songs which seems odd as they didn't have anything overly long. Who knows maybe they had run run run out of ideas (I know, I know but it seemed like a good idea at the time). Opening with "99 Days" that showcases both Jay's keyboards and Matthew's guitar playing as they play off each other. The only song that didn't really work for me was "Academy Award" as it was an odd clunky song but it did grow on me after a while.

The album closes out with "Flying Home" that dialed the volume back and settled into a comfortable laid back groove. They were from California after all. While not much more than a generic pop song it was a nice way to close out a pretty solid record.

The band would end up releasing three studio albums over a couple of years and after their 1974 live album that was it. Then it was Jo Jo Gone.

Still they left behind some pretty cool music.

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...

Saturday Night Fever - The Original Movie Soundtrack

It was going to happen sooner or later. Nostalgia is a cruel Mistress...she can dull the sharpest edges and over time can even soften the hardest of opinions. I found this in the dollar bin, and frankly at a dollar I was worried about what this would cost me. Not only from a monetary perspective, but my time, and more important my credibility. Fourteen year old me was screaming "Don't you dare. DON'T DO IT! Put it down. Walk away!" Then there was grey bearded me holding it and looking at it, thinking, "How bad could it be? I actually kind of like "Staying Alive" and me buying this record won't bring disco back, and no one will have to know I bought this." I pulled the album out of the bin, and carefully took out the records. They'd seen better days, and there were a couple of decent scratches that would no doubt make their presence known later. The jacket was in decent condition, and both of the albums had the original sleeves. I dusted the...

Old Enough to Forget

Search This Blog