Customer Reviews

Big Chain

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, I have to qualify this review... I am totally prejudiced towards this great rock and roll party band, and most likely incapable of being totally objective. Jo Jo Gunne was my favorite band in high school - the first lp came out when I was a senior, and it was the soundtrack to a lot of great times. So, it was with great interest that I ordered this new CD, 'Big Chain"(Great Title, by the way).

The new CD has several new songs, along with some remakes of past Jo Jo Gunne classics. The good news is that they still sound like Jo Jo Gunne, and Jay Ferguson, unlike lots of hard rock singers, still has that great voice. He shows that off to great effect by bravely tackling Gunne tracks like Academy Award(my all-time favorite), and Run, Run, Run. Matt Andes is the most underrated slide guitarist in rock and roll history, and it's thrilling to hear him tear it up again!

Curly Smith, is quite simply one of the greatest drummers ever! His intro and the kick-ass hard rock shuffle beat on run, run, run are the driving force of that song, and whenever I would turn people on to that song, the drum thing instantly hooks them !! Also, he gets to sing lead vocal on a couple of the new tracks, and sounds great. It should be no suprise that, in a band with such great California harmonies, everybody would have great pipes.

Lastly, it is so great to have Mark Andes back where he belongs. He's had quite a career playing with some of the biggest bands around, and he is in classic form here. I cold go on and on about all the great new Jo Jo Gunne songs - the first new JJG tunes in over 30 years - but the truth is, you need to buy this CD and find out for yourself! I loved it all, and will be giving this out for Christmas to all my Rock and Roll loving buddies!!

I'm not going to waste your time (or mine) with a lengthy review. Suffice to say that the original line up of this fine band got back together and managed to recapture and update the qualities that made them so good in the first place; this record is easily up to the standards of their "classic" 4 original releases. Sadly, though, this one was criminally underpromoted.

(Irrelevant, but I will add one thing thing in response to another review: I had no trouble whatsoever telling who was who in the photos.)

First off, I'm not gonna go thru and critique this entire cd like some of the other reviews. I actually stumbled upon this release..here, on Amazon, and even though I read the other reviews before hand...I would have bought it anyway, probably more out of curiousity. This band, in my opinion, should have been MUCH more popular, the 1st time around...but for whatever reasons, the 'mainstream' pretty much overlooked. I first heard this band, like a bunch of other teen-aged kids: from my older brother's collection. Although back at that time, I attached myself much more to 'Jumpin The Gunne' or 'So..Where's The Show', this is one of 'those bands' that helped me develop my appreciation for some great music while growing up. Unfortunately, they disbanded...and the only thing we heard after those original 4 albums(which were ALL very much out-of-print for many years) were a couple of 'solo' albums by Jay Ferguson. While those were good albums, they somehow, still never measured up to JJG. Those original 4 JJG albums remained what I remembered as being pretty 'unobtainable' for many years...although I did manage to find them for some pretty hefty prices. But when the cd came along, we were still at a great loss, cause none of it was out on cd..with the exception of their one hit 'Run,Run,Run'..which ya'd find on an occaisional compilation cd. Then..out of the blue, I was able to purchase both of the 'two-fer' releases by RhinoHandmade, which had some good bonus tracks. They were limited-edition-numbered releases, which was nice...but once they were gone, JJG still remained impossible to find in any music stores, until they were FINALLY reissued.
OK..this cd: It's so nice to finally see these guys get back together and put out some 'new' songs...and all of the older remakes still sound great! I think anyone that knows of this band would love this cd. The voices may have aged and matured since the 1st time around, but the musical talent is still very much intact. The songs are well written, and it's a very welcome addition to all of their older material. Hey...if they remade the 1st album 4 or 5 times, anyone would get tired of it. It's great to hear that old 'familiar' sound, while also adding something new to the mix. I'm looking forward to seeing these guys play LIVE now. I can't see anyone purchasing this cd not really LOVING it.. It's sorta like driving a brand new car down an older familiar road. It's well worth the trip.
Hope this review helped ya..thanks for reading my trip down memory lane. And THANK YOU, Jo Jo Gunne...for finally giving us what we've been waiting to happen for many years!!

What do you say about an unexpected album by a band that hasn't been heard from in decades? I picked this up as soon as I saw it and was pleasantly surprised. It's a 50/50 mix of new material and old songs redone. The new material is true to form Gunne. Definitely no pandering to current tastes, just some damn fine music that would have fit comfortably on any of their previous albums. This is Jo Jo Gunne as I remember them, with everyone doing what they used to do like they used to do it, only better. Jay Ferguson can still belt out a tune with as much fire and conviction as he ever did, and every band member has only gotten better at playing his instrument. The performances are tight, and the recording quality is excellent.
As for the remakes... well... sometimes it's hard to let go of songs as I know them. That's more a matter of personal taste than any particular fault with what they did on the new versions. For better or worse, they happened to pick at least a few songs that are near and dear to my heart. For me, the successes are Babylon (certainly superior to Ferguson's solo remake), Shake That Fat, Run Run Run, and Barstow Blue Eyes. 99 Days is a tossup; both versions have their strengths. Academy Award and Flying Home, my two favorite songs from their first album if not their entire catalog, are a bit hard to swallow in their new forms. Well done on their own terms I suppose, but far enough from the originals to make me wish they'd left them alone. That's my personal preference of course. It's still a new Jo Jo Gunne album and a very nice surprise after all these years. Hats off to ya, boys! What else are ya hiding?

It sure is great to hear this band in action again. My only regret is that I didn't know about this cd when it was released. I could have been listening to this cd much earlier.

Anyway this is a very good cd and the guys still sound great even after all these years. And I hope that there is another cd in the works for
Jo Jo Gunne to keep us 'Gunner' fans out here happy.
Sign me, still a 'Gunner'.

As a fanatic Jo Jo Gunne fan, I approached this album with trepidation. I was afraid they might mess up and tarnish their legacy. Much to my relief, this album is fabulous. Even after thirty years, these guys are as good as ever. Why they aren't more famous is a mystery to me. I couldn't love 'em better.

...and can add no more other than to say that, believe it or not, the remakes of the JJG classics are just as good as the originals, if not a little better. FLYING HOME is absolutely gorgeous and ACADEMY AWARD is thrilling! Honestly, if you liked JJG on their first go-round, this will NOT disappoint. Not one bit.

Let me begin by stating that I am a HUGE Jay Fergusen fan. I saw Spirit many times in the 60's at Pirates World in Dania Florida, bought all their albums, and played their music in my own teenage bands. In the 70's I was thrilled when Jo Jo Gunne came out with the type of hard driving piano / guitar based rock. The music kept a lot of the great rhythms and textures that originated with Spirit (like the triplet into: "Tuscon, Vicksburgh...") and other wonderful little gems like the comping rhythm behind the guitar solo in "Shake That Fat". My band incorporated numerous Jo Jo Gunne songs into our set including "Shake That Fat", "99 Days", "Sixty Minute to Go", and "I Make Love".

I saw Jo Jo Gunne many times in southern Florida and truly appreciate the great musicianship and performance style of Jay Fergusen. Not only a terrific signer and frontman, but a great rock pianist too!

When I saw that Jay and the boys had reunited, and after reading the reviews, I ordered this CD. I know that these guys are even older than me, and I do appreciate the effort... However, if you cannot improve on the original, just leave well alone...

Their retakes on "99 Days" and "Shake That Fat" is, in a word, lackluster. The piano is hidden deep in the mix and sounds like a bad sample. Not the ringing acoustic that was played live and on the early Jo Jo Gunne albums. The guitar work is uniformingly good, but again lacks the excitement from earlier renditions. The drums are boomy and the whole thing sounds like a bad studio mix.

Jay's voice has deepened with age (although he can still sing well), and there is a mellowing of the timbre which lends a nice quality to the ballads.

Interestingly, some of the lyrics have been changed. I can only imagine why, but in "Shake That Fat" the lyrics "When you're startin' foolish you got nothing to lose" has been deleted. All references to drugs seems to have been removed (although that may not be a bad thing...)

The band's takes on Academy Award and Flying Home are also disappointing. However, their almost verbatem performance on "Run Run Run" is excellent. Maybe to prove that they can still rock with the best. I only wish that they would have treated their other masterpieces with the same respect.

Not a whole lot to add to the existing reviews, outside of one thought: this reminds me a whole lot of Spirit's "The Thirteenth Dream / 1984" reunion album. A nice revisitation of some classic songs, interspersed with quality new originals, played with energy and well..........spirit.
Matt Andes will likely remain a vastly underrated guitarist, but we fans appreciate just how talented he is. For those of us in the know, this album is a welcome gift we hardly expected.

WOW! Just got this one. Reunion albums are always tricky. I was a fan back in the day and what a FANTASTIC reunion album. Unlike another reviewer, I find the recording sharp and clear (like being in the room as it was being recorded). Clear separation and great mix. Dude, you may want to check the wiring on your stereo. The songwriting and performances (even on the re-makes) is better than I expected. Sounds more like they took 3 years off, not 30. I so sorry I waited so long to pick this up. Rock On guys!!