JANDEK Newcastle Sunday (Corwood) dvd 14.98

JANDEK Nine-Thirty (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
After the raucous squalor of "Interstellar Discussion," Jandek's "Nine-Thirty" -- his tenth album dating back to 1985 -- is certainly his come-down record. It's always difficult to tell how much of the Jandek oeuvre is the result of a psychological problem and how much is consciously constructed aesthetics. So in saying that this is a come-down record could be the result of either or both. Jandek's voice is hushed, his guitar plucks quieter, and the drums untouched. Supposedly, "Nine-Thirty" is his travelogue album about an extended trip through the deep south.
RealAudio clip: "Faye"
RealAudio clip: "Georgia East"

JANDEK Not Hunting For Meaning (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
Oh boy another Jandek!

JANDEK On The Way (Corwood) cd 8.98
"On The Way" is a pretty abrasive album, although it also has the distinction of being one of the more technically proficient albums from Jandek. Working clearly with recognizable blues progressions, Jandek offers a range of expressive (albeit sharply mangled) guitar solos on top of a rhythm section that actually keeps relatively normal time. Yet at the same time, Jandek is really aggro, finding himself on the manic side of the bi-polar equation. I guess I like my Jandek depressed and morose, but if you're looking for a really fucked up alternate to Howling Wolf, and I mean *really* fucked up, "On The Way" is for you.
RealAudio clip: "Sadie"
RealAudio clip: "Bring It Back To Seventy-Five"

JANDEK One Foot In The North (Corwood) cd 8.98
Jandek seems to be an unlikely source for nostalgia; however, "One Foot In The North" and the opening track 'Yellow Pages' in particular dot the soundtrack of my college days. While attending an unnamed midwestern college in the early '90s (I'll give you a hint, it was consistently voted America's Sassiest College by the now defunct Sassy magazine), I spent a number of hours at the college radio station, broadcasting a powerful 440 watts of raw radio fury to the cornfields and the few freshmen who hadn't figured out that my radio show was an unlistenable mess of post-punk obscurities, industrial noise, and grim dronings (no, not much has changed). True to our civic minded mission of being a community radio station, we produced a number of public service announcements on mind-bogglingly daft subjects. The ones that got the most airplay were of course, the incredibly bizarre ones, such as Rene Enriquez recounting the dangers of huffing glue, or the Clark Webber spots on leprosy. Also in heavy PSA rotation was a particularly haunting one on schizophrenia. Making the 30 second saga of this misunderstood teenager even creepier was the backing music which some smartass at the radio station had grafted onto the announcement. It was 'Yellow Pages' by Jandek. With its lazy electric guitar meandering through a series of painfully sad notes and the lyrics "You've got to help me dear / Because there's no release / From this tangled beast" which chimed in perfectly to the scripted dialogue, the pathos of abject failure and mental anguish was so perfectly realized, it was comical.
Thus, for me the reissue of "One Foot In The North" is like listening to Joy Division, The Pixies, or Big Black. It's so familiar that a critique is difficult because the music seems so self-evident. I really doubt that many other people would have the same reaction to Jandek's incredibly difficult signature sound of deconstructed blues and folk into an often pained expression. Nevertheless, I can attempt to step away from my memories for a brief moment and place "One Foot In The North" (the 20th Jandek album produced in 1991) alongside his previous albums "The Living End" and "Somebody In The Snow," with more restrained, potentially resigned arrangements for electric guitar and Jandek's strained falsetto warble. As with those two albums, "One Foot In The North" is quintessential downer listening.
MPEG Stream: "Yellow Pages"
MPEG Stream: "Dreaming Man"

JANDEK Put My Dream On This Planet (Corwood) cd 8.98
Three acapella tracks by the Texas mystery man (totalling in at over 50 minutes). Yes, a capella, no guitar, no piano, no nothing but Mr Jandek's voice. Very disturbing, and not in a good way.

JANDEK Raining Down Diamonds (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
Raining Down Diamonds is the 41st (42nd if you count the live one) album for Jandek, who in recent years has stepped out of his hermitic existance and has performed several times in England with an upcoming show in the US. One of those performances found Jandek and Keiji Haino on the same bill; while it's never very clear when Jandek recorded any of his recordings, it seems that Jandek had been quite impressed by the oblique screams, howls, and ululations of Mr. Haino. As wholly self-contained as the Jandek ethos has been, it is quite unusual when other voices emerge within Jandek's primarily solitary artform (the notable exception being the guest vocal appearances by a woman referred to as "Nancy"). Obviously, it's impossible to confirm or deny if he has or has not been influenced by Keiji Haino (or anyone else for that matter), but Raining Down Diamonds sure does sound like a Keiji Haino record. Here, Jandek is only playing the bass and singing, although back to his more recognizably lithium saturatured wavering as opposed to his recent ventures into a baritone style. Oh so sad, and oh so bleak, it can only be Jandek.
MPEG Stream: "What Things Are"
MPEG Stream: "It's Forever"

JANDEK Ready For The House (Corwood) cd 8.98
The album that started it all was actually not released as Jandek but quite curiously as The Units back in 1978, although there is no denying that Ready For This House is the work of our beloved Texan mystery man Jandek. With Corwood Industry's CD reissue campaign which began several years back, Jandek claimed his rightful authorship over this record. From this album and onward past 34+ records, Jandek has crafted one of the most unique, incredibly personal bodies of music of all time. Within this huge catalog, Jandek (whose real name might be Sterling Smith, then again it might not) is painfully alone, even on those few records with enigmatic duets with female singers or possible collaborations with "John" the drummer. Where the archetypes of blues can accurately describe the sobering truths about hard drinkin' and hard livin', Jandek delves way deeper into the emotional pit of raw abjection and existential torment. His deformed post-blues of incredulously shrill notes, meandering monochords, and lithium saturated vocalizations are unbearable to the average listener. Yet, when given half a chance by the adventurous among you, the enigma that is Jandek will inevitably become revelatory.
The mere fact that this was the first record does not in any way indicate that Jandek (or The Units, if you must) was fishing around for a sound. In retrospect, the Jandek signature was fully developed from day one, and Ready For This House still stands as one of the greatest in the catalogue.
For the majority of Ready For The House, Jandek meanders through a single, slightly offkey, acoustic guitar chord with a half-strum / half-plucked style that emphasizes loud / quiet dynamics and a rhythmic laziness as the perfect accompaniment for his obtuse lyrics and delivery (i.e. 'Inside myself there is no question / Just the jangle of our brain / Three times four is twenty-seven / Only fragments still remain' from "First You Think Your Fortune's Lovely"). This musical signature dominated his first seven or eight records up through the mid-'80s. It should also be noted that Jandek also debuted one of the few actual tunes that he repeated on a number of later records in "European Jewel." This track broke from that single monochord with a comparitively musical descending set of notes heralding Jandek's warped vision of the blues.
If you are new to Jandek or are looking to get a hold of one of the better albums, Ready For This House is marvelous place to start. Very highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Naked In The Afternoon"
MPEG Stream: "European Jewel (Incomplete)"

JANDEK Ready For The House (Corwood / Jackpot) lp 22.00
AVAILABLE ON LP!!! Well, it was an lp once before, long long ago, but Jandek's been cd only for years now...
Here's our review of the cd version when we listed it way back when...
The album that started it all was actually not released as Jandek but quite curiously as The Units back in 1978, although there is no denying that Ready For This House is the work of our beloved Texan mystery man Jandek. With Corwood Industry's CD reissue campaign which began several years back, Jandek claimed his rightful authorship over this record. From this album and onward past 34+ records, Jandek has crafted one of the most unique, incredibly personal bodies of music of all time. Within this huge catalog, Jandek (whose real name might be Sterling Smith, then again it might not) is painfully alone, even on those few records with enigmatic duets with female singers or possible collaborations with "John" the drummer. Where the archetypes of blues can accurately describe the sobering truths about hard drinkin' and hard livin', Jandek delves way deeper into the emotional pit of raw abjection and existential torment. His deformed post-blues of incredulously shrill notes, meandering monochords, and lithium saturated vocalizations are unbearable to the average listener. Yet, when given half a chance by the adventurous among you, the enigma that is Jandek will inevitably become revelatory.
The mere fact that this was the first record does not in any way indicate that Jandek (or The Units, if you must) was fishing around for a sound. In retrospect, the Jandek signature was fully developed from day one, and Ready For This House still stands as one of the greatest in the catalogue.
For the majority of Ready For The House, Jandek meanders through a single, slightly offkey, acoustic guitar chord with a half-strum / half-plucked style that emphasizes loud / quiet dynamics and a rhythmic laziness as the perfect accompaniment for his obtuse lyrics and delivery (i.e. 'Inside myself there is no question / Just the jangle of our brain / Three times four is twenty-seven / Only fragments still remain' from "First You Think Your Fortune's Lovely"). This musical signature dominated his first seven or eight records up through the mid-'80s. It should also be noted that Jandek also debuted one of the few actual tunes that he repeated on a number of later records in "European Jewel." This track broke from that single monochord with a comparatively musical descending set of notes heralding Jandek's warped vision of the blues.
If you are new to Jandek or are looking to get a hold of one of the better albums, Ready For This House is marvelous place to start. Very highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Naked In The Afternoon"
MPEG Stream: "European Jewel (Incomplete)"

JANDEK Rocks Crumble, The (Corwood) cd 8.98
"The Rocks Crumble" - Jandek's eighth album which was originally released back in 1983 - find the Houston hermit 'rockin out' more than usual. There had been a number of theories that Jandek employed a drummer named John on some of his albums. While Jandek's correspondences have in fact stated that his drummer is named John, I'm not entirely convinced he's telling the truth. Rather, I'll postulate that Jandek (real name Sterling Smith) has projected the anonymous moniker of John upon his own percussive talents. Regardless of the factuality of who John the drummer is, he is prominently featured on "The Rocks Crumble" with a plodding arrhythmic stumble across the drum kit. Jandek's guitar strum is an agitated jangle that meanders near blues based chords, but he breaks up all the note patterns to keep them from achieving big blues melodies. Thus Jandek's guitar with all of its quick tempo and deconstructed melodies create an anxious haze of half-remembered songs and phrases.
Also of note is Jandek's continued revision of "European Jewel" - a tune first performed on his debut "Ready For The House." Three very different versions of that song appear on "The Rocks Crumble."
RealAudio clip: "European Jewel 613"
RealAudio clip: "Message To The Clerk (Part 2)"

JANDEK Shadow of Leaves (Corwood) cd 8.98

JANDEK Six And Six (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
A while back we made a mistake in claiming that "Later On" was Jandek's second album, when in fact that title was his third album. "Six And Six" is really his second album. While this probably doesn't matter all that much in the grand scheme of things, we'd like to at least get our facts straight. Anyway, "Six And Six" is a raw glimpse into the hermetic soul of Jandek through his ultra-minimal, angular trance-blues soaked with lots of spring reverb and sprinkled with his waivering vocal neuroses.

JANDEK Six and Six (Corwood Industries) lp 22.00
Record number two, originally released way back in 1981, from this not-so-mysterious-anymore and not-so-reclusive-anymore mysterious recluse, finally available again on vinyl!
Another raw glimpse into the hermetic soul of this unliklely underground troubadour, through his ultra-minimal, angular trance-blues soaked with as always, lots of spring reverb and moaned wavering vocal. An acquired taste for sure, but those who do acquire a taste for Jandek's unique twangy murky off kilter caterwaul, often end up completely obsessed.

JANDEK Somebody In The Snow (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
"Somebody In The Snow" was the 19th album for Jandek who recorded this in 1990, and doesn't deviate from the path set by its predecessor "The Living End" in polishing his avant-folk/blues songs into a small subset of relatively tasteful recordings. Yet, this album is not without its eccentricities and creepy mysteries. While there are a couple of acoustic guitar numbers, Jandek mostly plays electric guitar with a signature laziness, allowing all of the twinkling notes to swim in the spring reverb from his amp. The woman previous referenced as "Nancy" makes another round of appearances, occasionally singing duets with Jandek including the stunning a cappella track of sustained vocalizations "Om."
Yet more interestingly is the arrangement of "Come Through With A Smile" which is also sung by "Nancy" and is eerily similar to "Your Other Man" from "The Blue Corpse." That earlier song, perhaps my favorite individual Jandek song, is a psychologically bleak portrait of a jilted lover resigning himself to post-breakup isolation. The arrangement for "Your Other Man" is about as straight-forward as Jandek ever gets, with an anxiously strummed repetition through a declining chord progression. If it is true that "Nancy" was his former girlfriend and "The Blue Corpse" was an autobiographical tale about their breakup, then the similarities in the arrangement of the two songs is particularly unnerving as it implies a brooding animosity towards "Nancy" that was once sublimated within Jandek's hermetic shell yet now has surfaced with a sly wit referencing one of his previous albums. Yet this curious piece of history in the Jandekian mythos doesn't overwhelm any of the music, which remains cool, distant, and restrained.
"Somebody In The Snow" would be a great place to start for those discovering Jandek for the first time; but at the same time, this album is certainly a highlight from one of the most unique artists from the past three decades.
RealAudio clip: "Om"
RealAudio clip: "Come Through With A Smile"

JANDEK Staring At The Cellophane (Corwood) cd 8.98
The cover of Jandek's sixth album, 1982's "Staring At The Cellophane", is nearly identical to "Living In The Moon So Blue" (the underexposed photo on on that cover features a guitar centered in the composition, as opposed to the guitar positioned on the left of the photograph). Furthermore, the open chord guitar pick & strum barely structuring the vocal wisp and waver from Jandek is nearly indistinguishable on these two albums. It may be a bold question to ask, but is the content from Jandek's faded photographs to be seen as indicative of what can be found inside? Perhaps, another small clue into the enigma of Jandek.

JANDEK Telegraph Melts (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
The 12th album for the hermetic Jandek is "Telegraph Melts," released originally back in 1986 on vinyl. While firmly entrenched in the 'classic' Jandek sound of open-chord guitar pluckery and vocals that teeter on the brink of losing what little grip of sanity was there, this album stands out for a surprisingly consistent rhythmic attack on the first six tracks. Jandek hammers at his abused drumkit with locomotive rigor and intensity rarely heard in any of the previous recordings; of course, he inevitably loses control of the rhythm and sends it tumbling down the stairs. The rest of the tracks are far more loose in the rhythmic structure. Again, the woman who may be known as Nancy sings on a couple of tracks: one of which finds her sounding more like Jandek with a strained, atonal vibrato. Towards the end of the album, there are a couple of tracks in which a third male voice appears. It's considerably different from Jandek's normal whispy hover. It's been postulated that this voice is the "drummer" who was featured on "John Plays Drums" (a track from the 1983 album "The Rock Crumbles") yet it could simply be Jandek himself affecting a different voice. Similarly, it's entirely possible that Jandek became a 'band' during this period with Sterling Smith (the suspected individual behind all of these recordings) and the enigmatic individuals Nancy and John. As far as the truth about such matters, Corwood Industries remains as silent as ever.
RealAudio clip: "You"
RealAudio clip: "On The Planes"
RealAudio clip: "Governor Rhodes"

JANDEK The Beginning (Corwood) cd 8.98

JANDEK The End Of It All (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98

JANDEK The Gone Wait (Corwood) cd 8.98
The Gone Wait is number 35 in the ongoing Jandek catalogue, and continues along the same path already blazed by the 2002 album The Place, in which Jandek's atonal, avant-folk arrangements for his lonely acoustic guitar drop an octave or so to match his voice which is deepening with age. Jandek's gnarled baritone is a stark contrast to the voice heard on his debut Ready For This House back in 1978. There had been a desperation, an anxiety, and delerious empathy that oozed out of those earlier recordings. With the more mature vocal stylings of this particular Jandekian period, the emotional resonance of his work appears far more morose and resigned to defeat. Jandek puts himself at the center of this grim state of affairs with such song titles as "I Went To Hell" and "I Was A King," mirrored by his lugubrious anti-chords. This is a tough one to take in, even by Jandek standards.
MPEG Stream: "I Went To Hell"

JANDEK The Living End (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
For a couple of years at the end of the '80s through the beginning of the '90s, the mysterious Texan avant-folk artist Jandek produced his most polished and refined recordings. Yet at the same time, these recordings could never be described as anything but Jandekian. The songs are still led by angular mutations of blues chord progressions that constantly meander out of tune and occasionally return to archetypal melodies; however, the production quality is distinctly balanced. The guitars -- which alternate between electric and acoustic -- sit comfortably within the stereofield, never striving for the nails-on-the-chalkboard abrasion as heard on previous Jandek albums (e.g. the damaged blues of "The Modern Dance" or the celebratory weirdness of "Telegraph Melts"). The drums while typically arrhythmic and clunky also politely stand behind the other instrumentation. Thus, "The Living End" -- the 18th album by Jandek, recorded in 1989 -- is a comparitively 'well-adjusted' and less manic-depressive. Allan even made the passing remark that Jandek sounds almost soulful here. In keeping with previous spectulation about the small company who make themselves known within Jandek's world, the woman who had previously been called "Nancy" and may have been his girlfriend makes an appearance on this album singing on a couple of tracks. Might they have gotten back together?
RealAudio clip: "The Living End"
RealAudio clip: "Janitor's Dead"

JANDEK The Myth Of Blue Icicles (Corwood) cd 8.98
For a while there, we used to really try and keep up with the detailed reviewin' of new Jandek joints as they came out... but now that we, and he, are on his 52nd (!) record, it's tough. We still like getting a new Jandek cd, to get another shot of that one of a kind Jandek feeling (lonely, weird, confusional) and they're cheap enough, so we hope he keeps on cranking 'em out (pretty sure he will, based on his track record over the last thirty years!!) but having something new to say about the mysterious Texas troubadour isn't easy.
Of course, he's not *quite* so mysterious as he used to be, with live performances (begun in 2004) now almost commonplace. The front cover picture on this one (a grinning red haired man, who now we can identify as Jandek himself in younger days, photographed against a portion of Houston skyline) needn't necessarily be read for signs and portents the way they used to, but his words and music remain pretty opaque.
On The Myth Of Blue Icicles there's four songs in the typical Jandek mold of minimal, meandering (track 3, "The Daze", is over 14 minutes long), not-so-melodic outsider folk: Lethargic, stream of consciousness singing-talking, sounding pained and maybe a little drunk. Atonal, abstract guitar strum. Also pained and somewhat drunken. But for sure not jolly-drunken... this is all about emotively sparse, depressive atmosphere.
And it's a proper solo "studio" album, not one of the many live documents with avant-indie sidemen that Jandek's label Corwood has been releasing of late as well. Not that the distinction is terribly meaningful, since Jandek's live records feature all new songs anyway, and also any album with Jandek on it is indeed equally uniquely Jandek...
MPEG Stream: "The Daze"
MPEG Stream: "Too Course"

JANDEK The Place (Corwood) cd 8.98
On the evidence of his unwieldy catalog of atonal folk damage and lithium soaked vocalizations, it's not an uncommon assumption that Jandek has absolutely no clue about music, but rather has stuck with the same untrained ethos of raw expressionistic power since his debut album "Ready For This House." However, albums like "The Place" hold a few obscure, revelatory keys into the mysteries of Jandek, offering the possibility that the entire catalogue of Jandek records is far from untrained, but quite deliberate and maybe even musical.
As it's hard to say just exactly how old Jandek is, given his hermetic reluctance to speak to the media, the best guess places him in his late 40s with the assumption that he began recording in 1978 in his early '20s. Age is clearly a factor for "The Place," not so much as a lyrical theme in Jandek's songs; but rather, it's a simple fact that he's getting older and his voice is growing deeper. Just as Leonard Cohen and Michael Gira have shifted the key of the mature songs to accompany their lowered voices, Jandek has downtuned his guitar to match his voice. The sounds of him scrabbling across the strings with an indifferent half-strummed / half-picked guitar style are not that different from anything that he's produced in the past 10 years or so. Yet these detacted, angular reconstitutions of folk and blues chords have the distinct musical direction of matching his changing voice. It's a very subtle difference, but one that fans of Jandek should certainly take note of.
MPEG Stream: "The Picture"
MPEG Stream: "The Stumble"

JANDEK The Ruins Of Adventure (Corwood Insudtries) cd 8.98
What to say about Jandek that hasn't already been said. This is release number 49, the last of 2006, if you're already a fan, you might have to buy this one too (some of us here are so inclined), if none of the last 48 records have managed to turn you into a fan, odds are this one won't either. That's not to say it isn't good, it is, really good actually, but good in that way only Jandek records can be good. An alternate universe of sound, where a 'good' Jandek record is one that seems to be mostly solo bass and vocals. Plodding lugubrious low end, simple fumbling basslines, and that atonal croon, spewing tales of sadness and misery and loneliness and despair. The ultimate outsider solo doom folk death trip. Recommended, if that's your sorta thing. It is ours...
MPEG Stream: "The Park "
MPEG Stream: "Bluff Brink"

JANDEK This Narrow Road (Corwood) cd 8.98
Jandek has put down his guitar for a second a capella album that's half-sung / half-spoken following "Put My Dream On This Planet." These two a capella albums debunk the myth that Jandek recorded all of his albums during an excessively manic period of his life, as the voice which utters and lolligags through the stream of consciousness verbage has clearly aged from the wispy juvenile voice found on "Ready For The House" to hold a more grizzled delivery that is eerily similar to Charles Manson. As if Jandek alone weren't creepy on his own...

JANDEK Twelfth Apostle (Corwood) cd 8.98
The previous albums from Jandek have often re-visisted the chord progressions of delta blues and Appalachian folk. Of course, our Texas mystery man obliterated these archetypes into a raw expression of abjection, sorrow, revelation, and ecstacy, typified in "The Blue Corpse" and "Ready For The House." Jandek's 1993 release "Twelfth Apostle" finds him stripping away even those recognizable elements from his already spartan productions. Here, Jandek offers just an atonal fingerpicking and strumming of his acoustic guitar with his voice wavering against whatever musical grain might be in the music. A static patina of reverb and delay occasionally smears across some of the tracks on "Twelfth Apostle," sinking his voice further into the mix and making him sound much more detatched than on previous efforts. It's a very cold and impersonal facet of Jandek's complex cosmology that seeps out from his huge catalogue of records which he's been making since the late '70s. Seth Tisue's excellent Jandek web site offers the pithy remark that this album is "thorny and ambivalent." Well said.
MPEG Stream: "Walking"
MPEG Stream: "Twelfth Apostle"

JANDEK What Else Does The Time Mean (Corwood) cd 8.98
Jandek's always been a difficult proposition, with his atonal deconstructed blues, drastically out of tune guitars, howled and groaned harrowingly emotional vocals, definitely an acquired taste. So to imagine Jandek sounding EVEN MORE atonal, and off key, and detuned, and damaged, seem pretty much impossible. But that's precisely what has happened on What Else Does The Time Mean, the 46th Jandek, release and the 3rd of 2006! We were worried that Jandek's mystery would have faded with his recent shuffle into the spotlight (including several live shows), but if anything it's only made him more of an enigma. A handful of live performances and a higher profile than he's ever had in his entire career have done absolutely nothing to change his totally unique, totally fried haunting abstract blues stumble. If anything it's pushed it even further OUT. This record is totally damaged and incredibly difficult to listen to even by Jandek standards. The opening track is a 16 minute stoned stagger, a lugubrious drift through prickly steel string strum, accopanied by a slurred, sleepy sounding, stream of conciousness tone deaf mumble. The rest of the record follow essentially the same sonic blueprint, each tune a tiny tragedy, each one a creepy out of tune crawl through a drunken drowsy abstract blues-scape. This is definitely dark and emotional stuff, practically dripping with pathos, a seriously intense soul laid bare for sure, but the sound of pain and anguish is meant to be sharp, and jagged, sounds that help the listener feel that pain as if it was being inflicted upon them, which in a way it kind of is. What Else Does The Time Mean is a gloriously and fantastically uneasy listen, the sort of musical discomfort we've come to expect, and anticipate from quite possibly the saddest sounding man in the world!
MPEG Stream: "My Own Way"
MPEG Stream: "Walk Over"

JANDEK What Was Out There Disappeared (Corwood Industries) cd 8.98
Oh geezus more Jandek!

JANDEK When I Took That Train (Corwood) cd 8.98

JANDEK White Box Requiem (Corwood) cd 8.98
That guy in the sun on the cover again, this time with mutton chop facial hair.

JANDEK Worthless Recluse (Corwood) cd 8.98
Jandek's thirty-first album unfortunately fulfills the self-effacing title, as the Texan hermit offers his third album of a capella 'songs' and poetic readings. As difficult as they may have been to listen to, his arrangements for questionably competent guitar picking and stumbling drums are sorely missed. While these a capella albums are at the bottom of the Jandek catalogue, he has been mucking about with his 4 track giving a few interesting 'effects' upon his voice. But that's all...
RealAudio clip: "You Wake Up Deadmen"

JANDEK You Walk Alone (Corwood) cd 8.98
The year between the recordings of his masterpiece of introspective depression "The Blue Corpse" and "You Walk Alone" must have been a pretty good year for the Texan mysteryman. This 1988 album is surprisingly celebratory in tone; but as the title implies, "You Walk Alone" is a purely solo project for Jandek, who multi-tracks drums (with a more controlled meandering across a drum kit) and additional guitars onto the archetypal Jandek sound of his ghostly voice and avant-blues songs. The points of interest for this album are the advanced finger picking techniques which haven't previously found their way onto Jandek's albums and the return of a couple of contemporary Jandek themes: the Quinn Boys (who were sung about on "The Blue Corpse") and melting communication devices (mirroring the album title "The Telegraph Melts" with the song "The Telephone Melts").
RealAudio clip: "The Cat That Walked From Shelbyville"
RealAudio clip: "The Way That You Act"

JANDEK Your Turn To Fall (Corwood) cd 8.98
According to a number of sources, the sole individual behind Jandek is the Texan recluse Sterling Smith. He has never given an interview and rarely spoken to anybody about his work, with most of those few correspondences being documented in Irwin Chusid's "Songs In The Key Of Z." In spite of the reclusive facade, Jandek is incredibly prolific with almost 30 records all of which show remarkably little change in the Jandek sound which began back in the late '70s. As the majority of the original vinyl pressings of the Jandek albums have gone out of print, Corwood Industries (presumably run by Smith) has been steadily re-issuing the back catalogue on CD.
"Your Turn To Fall" is the seventh Jandek album, and is still well within the 'classic' Jandek sound with Smith slowly plucking at open strings on his acoustic guitar and singing with a lithium soaked, breathy falsetto. That voice bares witness to a soul on the verge on a manic / depressive collapse, but wearily manages to hold on just long enough to get through one more song. While "Your Turn To Fall" is not as good as "The Blue Corpse" or "Ready For This House," it stands as one of the stronger, more musical outings for one of the great outsider musicians this world has gotten the chance to hear.
RealAudio clip: "John Plays Drums"
RealAudio clip: "Liquids Flow Down To The Sea"

JANDEK ON CORWOOD A Documentary Film (Unicorn Stencil) dvd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Jandek is definitely an acquired taste, what with his deconstructed blues guitar and atonal moaning vocals. Totally powerful and personal but very very difficult. The accusation is often levelled that hipsters don't like Jandek because of the music, but because of the music's inherent unlistenability, thus ensuring hipsters are the only ones (the elite) to love Jandek. Probably true in some instances, but there is definitely a beauty and sadness in the music of Jandek, and of course the mystery definitely adds to the allure. Until a few weeks ago, Jandek, had never performed live. In twenty something years. Only one or two people had ever spoken to him or met him. He was the ultimate outsider musician, prolific, brilliant, and completely reclusive. Obviously the perfect subject for a film. Albeit a very difficult subject as source material would obviously be quite limited. Dircetor Chad Freidrichs did a pretty great job of putting together an engrossing and fascinating documentary using mostly album covers, talking heads / interviews and constructed surreal tableaus. The meat of the movie is a series of interviews with record collectors / rabid fans like John Trubee and Byron Coley talking about how they first heard Jandek and what the music meant and all that kind of stuff. The most controversial part of the movie is the only known recorded interview with Jandek, which is really kind of cute and makes Jandek even more appealing, like a regular quiet guy who just likes to make music instead of a creepy recluse. The timing of the DVD's release is a bit remarkable because as we mentioned Jandek recently performed live for the first time in 25 years, which does sort of detract from the mystery of the film, although we imagine it will probably help sales quite a bit. Definitely a cool movie, essential for Jandek fans, and certainly a good way to initiate the Jandek unfamiliar. Even my ex-housemate, who had never heard Jandek, watched the move with me and ended up buying a couple Jandek records soon after! Bonus features include: audio commentary, music only audio track, an album cover featurette, the complete John Trubee interview, audio essay by music critic Douglas Wolk, selections from Jandek albums since the movie was made, interviews with "Jandek scholars" Byron Coley, Irwin Chusid, and Phil Milstein, articles by Katy Vine and Richie Unterberger, reviews and the movie trailer.

JANDL, ERNST 13 Radiophone Texte & Das Rocheln Der Mona Lisa (Intermedium) cd 14.98
Kurt Schwitters meets King Tubby at some well endowed European arts residency program! Andee once said that if our country had the same government financial support for the arts that many European nations have, we'd just get a bunch of "artists" getting paid to "shove fruit up their butt". Which would probably be pretty close to the truth, for better or worse. In the case of Ernst Jandl, one wonders if Mr Jandl was a pensioned haberdasher and the money bestowed upon him in the form of an art stipend was actually a pity payment for the insanity incurred from the years of huffing toxic glue. In actuality, Jandl (1925-2000) was a highly regarded Viennese poet who made his living by day as a high school English instructor. Those who know German, and even more importantly: German & English, will get much more enriched results listening to this disc, as Jandl's sound poetry is not only very difficult to translate, but utilizes a great many puns which make use of English and German phoenetics. 13 Radiophone Texte is a 1966 BBC commissioned radio play in which Jandl recites his sound poetry while having his words processed via tape delay by the station's engineers. Das Rocheln Der Mona Lisa is a similar play from Berlin radio and recorded in 1970. It was originally released only in cassette form and has long been out of print. The liner notes for this disc are all, unfortunately, in German only but a good online translator will get you entertaining results.
RealAudio clip: "Auf Den Land"
RealAudio clip: "Das Rocheln Der Mona Lisa"

JANDREUS, PETER The Encyclopedia Of Swedish Punk 1977-1987 (Premium) book 66.00

JANE Berserker (Paw Tracks) cd 15.98
Jane is a collaboration between Noah Lennox (a.k.a. Panda Bear of the Animal Collective) and long time friend and fellow record store co-worker Scott Mou. The title track, "Berserker", is a dreamy number with some sort of strumming guitar and cooing vocals soaked in gobs of reverb. It sounds equally like a lo-fi reworking of Cocteau Twins production techniques circa 1984, or a possible inclusion on the next Kompakt Pop Ambient comp. If that don't bring you back, wait to you hear the second track -- "AGG" Re keyboard melody closely resembles a slowed down version of the first half of the riff from Mr. Stewart's most famous of tunes). The third track, "Slipping Away", begins with a crumbly bass line, with echoing vocals that builds into a chugga-chugga train-like huffing paint experience not disimilar to some of the nicer dance beat tracks from Polmo Polpo's first record, before decomposing into a glistening soundscape of spacey goodness like some early Tangerine Dream record. "Swan" picks up from this soporific state with a 24 minute organ drone and heavily echoed vocals not unlike if Owen Ashworth (of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone) got really, really, really stoned on some of that super potent B.C. bud and started singing whale songs. It's that good! (And we mean that sincerely.)
MPEG Stream: "AGG"
MPEG Stream: "Swan"

JANE Coconuts (Psych-o-path) cd 14.98
When a record can suck you into its spell and keep you in its grasp from start to finish you know you have something special on your hands. We hope you got to hear the drugged out and seductive full length Berserker that Scott Mou & Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear of Animal Collective fame) released in 2005 under the monicker Jane. Now we get the recording of the two's first recording session packaged in a fake out 7" sleeve... And wow! as much as we liked Berserker there is something even more seductive and spell inducing happening on these two 20+ minute space jams. Armed with lo-fi electronics, turntables and keyboards cultivating a sound that takes you in its grasp and lets you float atop the beautiful stoned wave that you find yourself never wanting to get off of. There is something so nice about hearing spacey sounds that aren't so glossed over and studio perfected. The perfect record for twilight filled with pink skies or the late late night when it's time to resign your body and mind and begin to melt away to a better blissed out place. We hear some similarities in strategy and sound to the repetitious drones of William Basinski, early Oval or even imagine a d.i.y Steve Reich coming home from a drugged out rave and wanting to wash the night away, making music in a garage with some beat up equipment with the controls set for the heart of the sky. So very nice!
MPEG Stream: "Coconuts"
MPEG Stream: "Ossie"

JANES ADDICTION Strays (Capitol) cd + dvd 21.00

JANKOWSKI, LECH Institute Benjamenta (Koninck) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In what may be an odd way of constructing a soundtrack, the Quay Brothers commissioned the soundtrack of their film Institute Benjamenta to be composed by Lech Jankowski who did not have the privilege to see a single frame of the film before writing the music. The Quay Brothers in turn took Jankowski's dark Polish folk/jazz for guitar, violin, double bass, and minimal percussion and sculpted the film around the score.

JANMICHAELVINCENTCARCRASH A Cobra Trilogy (Rage Of Achilles) cd ep 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Furious and ultra complex jazz/grind from Seattle. Produced by the guy from Converge. Lots of insane tempo changes, stumbling free-noise and crushing walls of grinding guitars. On UK label Rage Of Achilles.

JANSCH, BERT A Rare Conundrum (Drag City) cd 14.98
One of three simultaneous reissues of the mid-seventies records Bert Jansch made for the Charisma label. Never before issued on cd, each one remastered under Jansch's personal supervision with extensive liner notes, bonus tracks and extras.
A Rare Conundrum from1977, sees Jansch returning to England and back to a more stripped down acoustic sound after the ambitious folly of Santa Barbara Honeymoon. Charisma at the time was focussed on the new Phil Collins-led Genesis era and gave Jansch lots of room to find a new band and record a new record. Focusing on more traditional, personal, and back-to-basics material ("Pretty Faro", "The Curragh of Kildare"), A Rare Conundrum feels like the most lost and overlooked of the three Charisma records. The backing band Jansch put together for the recording (including members of Dire Straights, Lindisfarne, and Dando Shaft) couldn't obligate themselves to touring, so the album didn't get promoted at all. That's no surprise since it's rather anachronistically out of step with where popular music was heading (punk being the driving musical force at the time), and Charisma's year long delay on its release sealed the record's fate as well as Jansch's stint on the label, which dropped him without notice a couple of years later. The bonus tracks include three song that were included on the European releases of the record under another title before Charisma officially released this record to US markets. A lovely record that is finally getting its much deserved due!
MPEG Stream: "One To A Hundred"
MPEG Stream: "Doctor, Doctor"
MPEG Stream: "Lost Love"

JANSCH, BERT A Rare Conundrum (Drag City) lp + cd 17.98
Now available on vinyl!
One of three simultaneous reissues of the mid-seventies records Bert Jansch made for the Charisma label. Never before issued on cd, each one remastered under Jansch's personal supervision with extensive liner notes, bonus tracks and extras.
A Rare Conundrum from1977, sees Jansch returning to England and back to a more stripped down acoustic sound after the ambitious folly of Santa Barbara Honeymoon. Charisma at the time was focussed on the new Phil Collins-led Genesis era and gave Jansch lots of room to find a new band and record a new record. Focusing on more traditional, personal, and back-to-basics material ("Pretty Faro", "The Curragh of Kildare"), A Rare Conundrum feels like the most lost and overlooked of the three Charisma records. The backing band Jansch put together for the recording (including members of Dire Straights, Lindisfarne, and Dando Shaft) couldn't obligate themselves to touring, so the album didn't get promoted at all. That's no surprise since it's rather anachronistically out of step with where popular music was heading (punk being the driving musical force at the time), and Charisma's year long delay on its release sealed the record's fate as well as Jansch's stint on the label, which dropped him without notice a couple of years later. The bonus tracks include three song that were included on the European releases of the record under another title before Charisma officially released this record to US markets. A lovely record that is finally getting its much deserved due!
MPEG Stream: "One To A Hundred"
MPEG Stream: "Doctor, Doctor"
MPEG Stream: "Lost Love"

JANSCH, BERT Dazzling Stranger (Castle) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bert Jansch might be best known as one of the founding members of Pentangle, the mid-sixties psychedelic folk group who were, in a way, precursors to many of today's folkie indie bands like Essex Green, the Olivia Tremor Control, Damon and Naomi, etc. Yet his solo career began before Pentangle formed and has lasted much longer, to the present day. While he released lots of records in the '60s, his recent output has slowed to about one per five years. He's still got it though, as the last two selections below will prove.
This is a double disc anthology spanning Jansch's entire career. His singular style of fingerpicking is as immediately identifiable as John Fahey's, even if the traditional "Blackwaterslide" will remind you of Zeppelin because they covered it too. The liner notes list the provenance of each track in detail, so you can seek out individual albums based on which tracks ya like the best. A nice collection.
RealAudio clip: "Blackwaterslide"
RealAudio clip: "Needle of Death"
RealAudio clip: "I Wanna Know"
RealAudio clip: "Toy Balloon"

JANSCH, BERT L.A. Turnaround (Drag City) cd 14.98
One of three simultaneous reissues of the mid-seventies records Bert Jansch made for the Charisma label. Never before issued on cd, each one remastered under Jansch's personal supervision with extensive liner notes, bonus tracks and extras.
L.A. Turnaround from 1974 came out of a free-fall period between Pentangle's long-time-coming break-up and a label shake-up at Reprise records that found Jansch looking for new digs. He signed to the "Famous Charisma Label" (home of Genesis, Van Der Graaf Generator and Lindisfarne) whose boss Tony Stratton Smith sought to reinvigorate Jansch's solo glory from what he considered the din of the Pentangle years. Legend has it that Jansch was invited to stay at Smith's Sussex country house where he arrived after an all-night bender with John Martyn. When he awoke the next morning, he was introduced to Mike Nesmith (of Monkees fame), O.J. "Red" Rhodes (a renowned slide guitar session player) and Klaus Voorman at breakfast. Noticing a mobile recording studio set up outside as well as a small film crew, Jansch quickly realized he was supposed to start recording right then with Nesmith brought in to produce. Half-recorded in Sussex and then finished in Los Angeles, L.A. Turnaround is the rarest and most sought after of the Charisma recordings, as well as the freshest, and is most linked to Jansch's Brit folk heyday, yet with a warm rootsy sheen evoked by Rhodes' stellar slide guitar. Jansch even reworks one of his most popular songs, "Needle of Death", with an earthy production that adds an edge the original lacked. The bonus tracks include many alternate version of songs plus "In The Bleak Midwinter", a Christmas single produced by Ralph McTell. There is also a film included on the enhanced cd of the recording sessions documenting four of the songs. Beautiful!
MPEG Stream: "Open Up The Watergate"
MPEG Stream: "Of Love and Lullaby"
MPEG Stream: "Cluck Old Hen"

JANSCH, BERT L.A. Turnaround (Drag City) lp + cd 17.98
Now available on vinyl!
One of three simultaneous reissues of the mid-seventies records Bert Jansch made for the Charisma label. Never before issued on cd, each one remastered under Jansch's personal supervision with extensive liner notes, bonus tracks and extras.
L.A. Turnaround from 1974 came out of a free-fall period between Pentangle's long-time-coming break-up and a label shake-up at Reprise records that found Jansch looking for new digs. He signed to the "Famous Charisma Label" (home of Genesis, Van Der Graaf Generator and Lindisfarne) whose boss Tony Stratton Smith sought to reinvigorate Jansch's solo glory from what he considered the din of the Pentangle years. Legend has it that Jansch was invited to stay at Smith's Sussex country house where he arrived after an all-night bender with John Martyn. When he awoke the next morning, he was introduced to Mike Nesmith (of Monkees fame), O.J. "Red" Rhodes (a renowned slide guitar session player) and Klaus Voorman at breakfast. Noticing a mobile recording studio set up outside as well as a small film crew, Jansch quickly realized he was supposed to start recording right then with Nesmith brought in to produce. Half-recorded in Sussex and then finished in Los Angeles, L.A. Turnaround is the rarest and most sought after of the Charisma recordings, as well as the freshest, and is most linked to Jansch's Brit folk heyday, yet with a warm rootsy sheen evoked by Rhodes' stellar slide guitar. Jansch even reworks one of his most popular songs, "Needle of Death", with an earthy production that adds an edge the original lacked. The bonus tracks include many alternate version of songs plus "In The Bleak Midwinter", a Christmas single produced by Ralph McTell. Beautiful!
The LP comes with a cd featuring four bonus tracks and a mini documentary of the making of the album.
MPEG Stream: "Open Up The Watergate"
MPEG Stream: "Of Love and Lullaby"
MPEG Stream: "Cluck Old Hen"

JANSCH, BERT Santa Barbara Honeymoon (Drag City) cd 14.98
One of three simultaneous reissues of the mid-seventies records Bert Jansch made for the Charisma label. Never before issued on cd, each one remastered under Jansch's personal supervision with extensive liner notes, bonus tracks and extras.
British Folk meets West Coast folk-rock on this 1975 follow-up to L.A. Turnaround. Recorded in L.A. with a full on back-up band on a solo record for the first time, Santa Barbara Honeymoon is one of Jansch's more curious efforts. Perhaps that was due to the change in production crew (Nesmith didn't return to produce), but also may be due to the unlikely inclusion of a Dixieland Jazz ensemble on "Dance Lady Dance" as well as steel drums on "Baby Blue" (not the Dylan song!). While this was a financial and critical disappointment at the time, the quality of the songs still shine through, especially in the stripped down versions performed live at the Montreaux festival, included here as bonus tracks. It's one of those records that is very much of its time, but still a worthy touchstone in the context of bands like Vetiver, Fleet Foxes, and Two Gallants who continue to mine those warm seventies sunshine sounds.
MPEG Stream: "Blues Run The Game"
MPEG Stream: "Dynamite"
MPEG Stream: "One for Jo (live)"

JANSCH, BERT Santa Barbara Honeymoon (Drag City) lp + cd 17.98
Now available on vinyl!
One of three simultaneous reissues of the mid-seventies records Bert Jansch made for the Charisma label. Never before issued on cd, each one remastered under Jansch's personal supervision with extensive liner notes, bonus tracks and extras.
British Folk meets West Coast folk-rock on this 1975 follow-up to L.A. Turnaround. Recorded in L.A. with a full on back-up band on a solo record for the first time, Santa Barbara Honeymoon is one of Jansch's more curious efforts. Perhaps that was due to the change in production crew (Nesmith didn't return to produce), but also may be due to the unlikely inclusion of a Dixieland Jazz ensemble on "Dance Lady Dance" as well as steel drums on "Baby Blue" (not the Dylan song!). While this was a financial and critical disappointment at the time, the quality of the songs still shine through, especially in the stripped down versions performed live at the Montreaux festival, included here as bonus tracks. It's one of those records that is very much of its time, but still a worthy touchstone in the context of bands like Vetiver, Fleet Foxes, and Two Gallants who continue to mine those warm seventies sunshine sounds.
The vinyl comes with a cd that features six bonus tracks not on the album!
MPEG Stream: "Blues Run The Game"
MPEG Stream: "Dynamite"
MPEG Stream: "One for Jo (live)"

JANSCH, BERT The Black Swan (Drag City) cd 14.98
The Drag City revival ship has moored in our ports once again carrying with it one of the most important and influential British folk artists, Bert Jansch. Jansch, whether solo or with his band, Pentangle was a main figure in the sixties British folk revival bringing Celtic, blues, and eastern European forms to his eclectic and spirited guitar playing. Joined here by a cast of contemporary stars, including co-producer Noah Georgeson, Helena Espvall, Devendra Banhart, and Beth Orton, as well as Jansch's son Adam, Jansch brings his gauzy Scottish brogue to new and traditional songs including "Katie Cruel", and "My Pocket's Empty." For those who have never heard Jansch's seminal solo albums, such as Jack Orion, Lucky Thirteen or Rosemary Lane or don't know about his major influence on sixties artist's such as Neil Young and Jimmy Page, should pick this up right now! Incredible!
MPEG Stream: "The Black Swan"
MPEG Stream: "High Days"
MPEG Stream: "Katie Cruel"

JANSCH, BERT The Black Swan (Drag City) lp 14.98
The Drag City revival ship has moored in our ports once again carrying with it one of the most important and influential British folk artists, Bert Jansch. Jansch, whether solo or with his band, Pentangle was a main figure in the sixties British folk revival bringing Celtic, blues, and eastern European forms to his eclectic and spirited guitar playing. Joined here by a cast of contemporary stars, including co-producer Noah Georgeson, Helena Espvall, Devendra Banhart, and Beth Orton, as well as Jansch's son Adam, Jansch brings his gauzy Scottish brogue to new and traditional songs including "Katie Cruel", and "My Pocket's Empty." For those who have never heard Jansch's seminal solo albums, such as Jack Orion, Lucky Thirteen or Rosemary Lane or don't know about his major influence on sixties artist's such as Neil Young and Jimmy Page, should pick this up right now! Incredible!
MPEG Stream: "The Black Swan"
MPEG Stream: "High Days"
MPEG Stream: "Katie Cruel"

JAPAN Gentlemen Take Polaroids (EMI) cd 15.98