[Jandek] Glasgow Friday! "Walking Blues!"

[Danen Jobe]

Okay, been meaning to write on this for a week now and never seem to get the
time. Still don't have it, but I have to put out this statement:

Get it. Now.

Single disc, utterly hell-bent fractured blues by the "classic" line-up. The
"blues" tag is especially notable considering the first song, which could be
considered the second "cover" song in Jandek's career. Now by cover, that's
more in spirit than active approach, but there's enough similarities to
suggest that Jandek took the Son House/Robert Johnson original (or plethora
of cover versions) and made it into something uniquely Corwood-ian. The song
utterly slays my speakers. Nielsen has never been as on as he is here, and
the "power trio" approach really works. Much of the song is simply the band
amping things up and up and up, then eventually allowing the vocals to put
forth a few stanzas. Not too much here lyrically, and they are indeed
"different" from Johnson and House's recorded versions. But hey, those two
both did the same song up in different ways, and I think Jandek is staying
to the standard of the blues by interpreting the tune in his own way. Enough
of the lyrics are the same to suggest a tribute, at the least. If nothing
else, it sets the album up as a "blues implosion" album, meaning that it
begins in the blues and deconstructs them to something else entirely. Kind
of like T-Bone Walker as assaulted by Public Image Limited, recorded after
the assault. The rest of the album continues in this vein, with the lyrics
maintaining this sense of "blues structure" (this is pretty typical of
"rock" Jandek, though) to create the most "rock" album I've heard from him
yet. More on this (and lyrics) as time allows, but I haven't seen much about
this of yet, and I think people should get on it and order this fast.

Speaking of not seeing much on a Jandek subject, how the hell was
Philadelphia??? I know people went, but I've heard almost nothing about,
save a really nasty review in a local paper. My guess is that the show was
better than this assessment, so how was it?

Danen
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