TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The following is something of a review of BIG CHAIN, the new JoJo Gunne CD. what it actually is, is a note I sent to Jay Ferguson and producer Rod Ensminger.

enjoy~jkatt

"SWEET..........errrrrr.....BIG CHAIN."

Guys, hello.......how goes it?? I've been mulling this one over for weeks (and weeks), as Rod knows.

And thanks again for the "eval unit," Rod.

Quite honestly, I didn't know what to make of the CD, when I first slapped it on ye olde gramophone, man........it, like, was and was not The Gunne. Kind-Of..... See what I mean???)

But I finally sorted it out, literally and metaphorically, both.............what I needed to do was dub all the new stuff, first, then the Gunne Wunne (and Jumpin') re-do's, which ------ for me ----- let me really hear the new tunes in what I arrogantly refer to as "the proper order." ::))

NOW, I can honestly say, "HEY.......pretty cool album, Dudes......."

(Don't mind me: I re-recorded the "Sgt. Pepper......" CD in what was described as the originally conceived tune sequence, and......I gotta tell ya, it's even better than the original. Check out your copy, and see what I mean. Definitely better........all the time. ::))

Back to what Matters: personally, as Jay knows, I've been "gunning" for a title that plays on the band name, for some time, both in this regard, and because "Cheap Shot" is such a true-blue Gunne-ism, I wish the CD was entitled that: definitely underscores the playful Fergie-ism, too: "Gunne," "Shot," etc.

Seriously......and it's an authentic Gunne tune.

I say this, in contrast to "Be Careful What You Wish For" ------ the obvious boffo/slam-ola hit single, to be sure -------- because it's like "new-school Gunne." As in, if-the-band-had-stuck-together-long-enough-to-make-it-to-the-80s kinda thang.....know what I mean? (Having said that, obviously it's a tribute to having SURVIVED the 80s, if not the 70s, 90s, and aughts. So far.)

And, hey, listen: I don't mean to sound negative or be a backseat driver or a Monday morning quarterback, or a wheelchair General or anything.......as a fact, I had long been pondering what it would be like, to get the original/real Gunne back together.....and, since the rest of us have only Gunne Wunne to go by ----- and what a brilliant first album it is, to this day ----- I guess I was, and was not surprised (especially since Rod had flagged me) that "Run3" was on there.......how could I know that my other faves (especially "Academy Award" and "99 Days") would be on there, as well.......??

Okay..........so.......here's the thing: regardless of anything else, I have a couple of observations to make.......first off, I really have trouble reading the lyrics. I mean.....I understand "the art thing," and all that. And, of course, the need to conserve space, yadayadayada......but, because of the layout and colors, they're just too danged hard to read. Seriously. Which is a shame, because Jay is such a great wordsmith, in addition to his musical deftness. (".......deftosity....???")

Second, as suggested above, I'd really mix up the order of the tunage, because......I don't know, on one level, "Why are we redoing these, like we did on SPIRIT OF 84?" And Rod, as you pointed out when we spoke, it is pretty cool to hear the old tunes again, in a hotter mix/EQ.

Thing is.......how do I say this........they were perfect, already, as-is. What it REALLY made/makes me wish was that we had LIVE versions of all those tunes, from back in The Day. And certainly, wanting to see/hear the Gunne, live, NOW........like, RIGHT now, right HERE.

As Jay knows, I really treasure the contrast between his immediately-previous track ----- i.e., "Soldier" in particular, and SARDONICUS in general ----- because that one was so wet, and weird, and totally out-there, yet so commercially sound......and then, to get down to bone-dry, real-as-life, good-as-all-get-out-ol' rock-and-roll........GUNNE WUNNE is a classic, that way. (And, as Jay also knows, my feelings about the post-Mark ------- huh....."postmark".......get it? ----- Gunne albums is that they're fine "rock" LPs, but GUNNE WUNNE is rock AND roll.)

Which is pretty hard to capture, authentically. It even was, then. I'm not sure that much-of-anybody was able to do it, other than maybe Bob Seger and......I dunno......

Doesn't matter.

Anyway......lettuce corn-tinue........

Rather than be another up-tempo killer, I'd really, really rather like to hear "Perfect Everything" done s-l-o-w-l-i-e-r (as our good President might/would say), a la "Academy Award".....kind-of let that more 'menacing' Mark bottom take over, dramatically speaking. And I really missed the fundamental guitar riff in the "Babylon" redux, but still prefer the new version to the THUNDER ISLAND version. Definitely.

What I wish would be on the new CD, too, are the two songs that you put on the GUNNE WUNNE you burned for me, Jay......I'm guessing that the titles are "Sweet Sally Pines" and......what, "Rivers Of Rain," right?? ("ROR" jumped the Gunne pile, up to about my second-fave JJG tune of all time, I'd say......it has to do with the tempo and the syncopation.)

Like, "not knowing where the '1' is," until the ".....river's risin'...." lyric, if then. That's masterful John Arden Ferguson stuff, my lads......definitely. And Masterful Gunne.

But......listen..........I really do love the new tunes. I need to make that clear. Again, "Cheap Shot" ----- and thanks for the "Splish-Splash" reference, Jay ----- has that super-syncopated stretch from Curley.....also (and I hope you don't mind saying this) the cynical nature of the lyrics, together with the whole way the song is built, is worthy of 10cc at its best. (Or, at least, of the basic Eric Stewart-Graham Gouldman, post Godley-Creme 10cc.)

I hope you know what a compliment that is.

Also liking "Gravy Train" for its authentic Gunne-aciousness: the CPA on Stern, etc....classic Fergie-isms. And your voice on this tune, Jay, is like......well, it's not really "like-like" this, but.....dang, it reminds me of "Fuller Brush Man" in its timbre, and its off-kilter-ness, and its...wha....ahhhh, yes: "edge."

Let's see...could use more/different Mark in the mix, here and there. Almost like he really should still be playing the Jbass rather than the active-electronics stuff......know what I'm saying? Not quite the prominent, down-low bottom there, that we've come to hanker for.

STILL........like that we hear more on the "Shake That Fat" extended ending.....and maybe Pete Townshend would actually be a little greenish-with-envy-like-molecules, on "Making The Sparks Fly," yes.....????? Excellent tribute, and I ADORE the piano bridge. Very airy, nostalgi-teary-eyed. Nice.

General comment: Jay's vocals are too-often buried. Definitely on "Be Careful......" Which is a bummer, inasmuch as there's a lot goin' on there.......REALLY like the redux on "Flying Home," btw......lends itself nicely, to the more acoustic version.

As a fact, it is to BIG CHAIN as "Soldier" is to SARDONICUS. Except, of course, that there are two more tunes following it. Let's see.....the piano's a bit buried on the "Run3" revisitation, but.....Rod, yah, it's worthy of the original, overall.

I guess I might've ended CHAIN there, maybe.....especially with the new ending. And put "Barstow" somewhere up toward the front, more........also, I think that I'd have rather heard "Red Meat" than "........Breakfast," truth to be told. (Which I seem to be overdoing, so......)

All in all, a satisfying return of the Gunne. Definitely.

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.5 (21 ratings)
Price	$58.98
Category	Andes

Big Chain