26
Jul
2005
If you've seen Jim the Mule live, the first few seconds of the band's new self-titled studio album will be a bit of a shock: Some dirty but muted guitar and drums kick things off, and my first thought was that something had gone wrong in the recording process. The Allman Brothers Band influence seemed to have been shed in favor of something that sounds vaguely like ... hard rock.
It takes less than five seconds for the ship to right itself, as the undeniable cowbell and Dan Videtich's great, slinky slide-guitar line enter the picture, but that first impression sticks with me. In retrospect, that unexpected intro represents what's missing from the rest of this release: that little bit of surprise that can catch even the most ardent fan off-guard.
Make no mistake: Jim the Mule is a strong, professional, and assured record, and one that will be particularly useful as a way to introduce the outside world to the Quad Cities roots-rock quintet. And for fans, the clarity of the CD is nearly revelatory. On record, Tom Swanson's voice has a caramely tone - sweet and chewy - and a richness that's downright shocking considering the rough edges of its live incarnation. (The lyrics are clear, too, although their meanings aren't.) And the instruments, except for some secondary guitars that seem too subdued in the mix, are generally given their due.
And that's important given the band's electric sound and lineup, with two guitarists, bassist Jason Gilliland, drummer Steve Merritt, and percussionist Ryan Koning. It would be easy for the record to sound muddled or for some instruments to be lost, but the separation here is impressive.
Yet because so much of the material has been road-tested for so long - the band has been around for five years, and three songs were on the band's 2003 live disc, To a Sunday - it has an immediate familiarity that's a bit disappointing. Every band has to make a decision whether to debut new material on record or fine-tune it live before laying it down for posterity, but I wish there were a better mix of the two on Jim the Mule. Only "At Least I Tried," the CD's seventh track, is brand new, and it is a welcome surprise - a laid-back curve with Swanson's voice and percussion as the primary instruments.
The album-opening "Spectator Girl" is a clear highlight, with that dangerously infectious slide line that I could listen to all day. "Common Antecedents" focuses on a butt-wiggling groove, vocal melody, and a falsetto background vocal more than instrumental dexterity, and it's a testament to the band's versatility that it can pull off something relatively quiet without sounding the least bit strained.
"Horseshoes & Wine," like its title, is an intriguing mix of the fine and the coarse, with a delicately twiddling guitar intro, a muscular chorus, and a nicely controlled guitar solo that in lesser hands could easily turned into soaring, masturbatory six-string heroics.
Yet there's a tension created by that control. By not letting loose more frequently, the recording often sounds restrained - as if the band is holding back. The squealing guitar that closes the otherwise straightforward "Down Here" is welcome precisely because it doesn't quite belong - an out-of-nowhere touch that can quicken the pulse. It shows that the band members are alive and human. Jim the Mule, unfortunately, sometimes feels too perfect for its own good.
Jim the Mule is available at Borders and local Co-Op stores. For more information on the band, visit (http://www.jimthemule.com).
It takes less than five seconds for the ship to right itself, as the undeniable cowbell and Dan Videtich's great, slinky slide-guitar line enter the picture, but that first impression sticks with me. In retrospect, that unexpected intro represents what's missing from the rest of this release: that little bit of surprise that can catch even the most ardent fan off-guard.
Make no mistake: Jim the Mule is a strong, professional, and assured record, and one that will be particularly useful as a way to introduce the outside world to the Quad Cities roots-rock quintet. And for fans, the clarity of the CD is nearly revelatory. On record, Tom Swanson's voice has a caramely tone - sweet and chewy - and a richness that's downright shocking considering the rough edges of its live incarnation. (The lyrics are clear, too, although their meanings aren't.) And the instruments, except for some secondary guitars that seem too subdued in the mix, are generally given their due.
And that's important given the band's electric sound and lineup, with two guitarists, bassist Jason Gilliland, drummer Steve Merritt, and percussionist Ryan Koning. It would be easy for the record to sound muddled or for some instruments to be lost, but the separation here is impressive.
Yet because so much of the material has been road-tested for so long - the band has been around for five years, and three songs were on the band's 2003 live disc, To a Sunday - it has an immediate familiarity that's a bit disappointing. Every band has to make a decision whether to debut new material on record or fine-tune it live before laying it down for posterity, but I wish there were a better mix of the two on Jim the Mule. Only "At Least I Tried," the CD's seventh track, is brand new, and it is a welcome surprise - a laid-back curve with Swanson's voice and percussion as the primary instruments.
The album-opening "Spectator Girl" is a clear highlight, with that dangerously infectious slide line that I could listen to all day. "Common Antecedents" focuses on a butt-wiggling groove, vocal melody, and a falsetto background vocal more than instrumental dexterity, and it's a testament to the band's versatility that it can pull off something relatively quiet without sounding the least bit strained.
"Horseshoes & Wine," like its title, is an intriguing mix of the fine and the coarse, with a delicately twiddling guitar intro, a muscular chorus, and a nicely controlled guitar solo that in lesser hands could easily turned into soaring, masturbatory six-string heroics.
Yet there's a tension created by that control. By not letting loose more frequently, the recording often sounds restrained - as if the band is holding back. The squealing guitar that closes the otherwise straightforward "Down Here" is welcome precisely because it doesn't quite belong - an out-of-nowhere touch that can quicken the pulse. It shows that the band members are alive and human. Jim the Mule, unfortunately, sometimes feels too perfect for its own good.
Jim the Mule is available at Borders and local Co-Op stores. For more information on the band, visit (http://www.jimthemule.com).
