Customer Reviews

Jacket Full of Danger

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Adam Green has been very prolific in the past three years. He was one half of the Moldy Peaches. The band broke up in 2002, but played a surprise show in Fall 2004. But the band is a thing of the past, and he is three albums into a pretty good solo career. That doesn't stop audiences from requesting "Who's Got The Crack" all the time. I witnessed the new sound last year. Green has sort of mined that period of Nick Cave, post-Birthday Party. At first Cave used to do ironic covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Presley. After a few albums of murder ballads, Cave got serious. Adam Green is more like Ray Stevens doing cover songs of Nick Cave and Lee Hazelwood. Green and company are talented folk. "Animal Dreams" has a string section. "Nat King Cole" has a Lou Reed vibe. There are some funny moments as in "Hey Dude" and "Drugs." There are some great moments like "Watching Old Movies" which has a classic feel. Green is almost like Spinal Tap on "White Women." This is real musical stuff. Adam Green has delivered the goods. He is serious about this music. He has created a body of work that is quite impressive. Adam Green has a soul of a poet, but can't resist making an ironic face.

I don't know what the beef over this album is. It is the full progression of the same catchy-weird song writing style he's been doing since Friends of Mine. This is deep-fried cheese and it isn't endearing. Take a good whiff. This music rebels from every musical convention in existence today, including the ones that Green himself invented. If you want to hear a completely independent artist, inquire here.

If not, go listen to anyone else. But if you want swinging tunes from another dimension that seems to think of The Rat Pack as The Beatles and that Glen Campbell is Buddy Holly, spin this puppy. Scratch that. Maybe it's like if Lou Reed were to write for Sinatra. I don't know how to describe what goes on on this disc, just that I like the music that dances around the utterly sick and rotten core of these tunes. Whatever it is, it puts a big dumb smile on my big dumb face.

This is almost certainly my favourite album from last year. I don't really understand what's not to like about this album except from a purist perspective: Green has previously written much less commercial sounding music, with low fi production and a sub-altern feel. The music on this album is quite different, for me he brings together all that was good about his other albums, the irony, incredible string arrangements, rhythmnic mastery and the ability to surprise and he's pulled off a masterpiece, even if it is one that goes against what he might have preferred to do. He's said himself that he didn't like the high production and formality of this album and the next one will be much more lo-fi which for me is a great shame.

Some of the tracks are really fantastic on this album, particularly the first seven tracks and the later highlights of the album, Drugs and White Women (first lines being the rip-roaring "You know I wanna bone you. I wanna make a hole in you") that have had me nearly on the floor laughing. And the music arrangements compliment the lyrics with a skill and a feel for what's catchy that I've really not heard paralleled before. This is all the more indicative of musical genius when taking into account that Green parodies such a vast range of genres, from prog rock and the blues to James Bond-esque songs. Having a friend that also likes the album can be great fun too, it's the kind of album you can quote to people. There are certainly a couple of bad tracks, C-Birds and Hairy Women spring quickly to mind, but these of just a few pimples on one of the peachiest arses released in recent years (you know what I mean).

Green's style is not for everyone, it takes someone who has a sense of humour and an appreciation for catchy tunes with an open minded approach to music beyond the Coldplays of this world. So I'd recommend you listen to snippets first on Amazon and if you like what you hear, buy it as quickly as possible. It's the type of music that has changed my mood from gloom to unfettered optimism many times.

It seems like the same complaint a number of fans had about "Gemstones" has been raised about "Jacket Full of Danger" as well: it doesn't sound exactly like Adam Green's earliest solo albums such as "Friends of Mine". "Friends of Mine" was great in it's own way; you could tell that the lyrics were put together by a really young guy who was generally more interested in getting a reaction with his lyrics than writing cohesive songs. Adam was several years older by the time "Jacket" came out, and it's clear upon listening to this album that his interest had shifted towards making music that had (slightly) more substance to it. Personally, I feel like the sound of "Friends of Mine" was played out over the course of that album, and that for all of its merits it featured a number of filler tracks, so not only would a "Friends of Mine: Part 2" have been unnecessary, but it likely wouldn't have been an album that Adam could have put together with any real interest or enthusiasm at the age he was at while recording "Jacket".

This album is widely recognized as the album where Adam Green "went Hollywood". Most of the tracks give-off a lounge music sort of vibe and the arrangements are warm and glittery for the most part, but rarely wreak of the cheapness that genre typically has associated with it. While the occasionally shocking lyrics of his last several albums still pop-up now and again, a lot of this album's humor comes from the music's delivery, such as when Adam puts on his best Elvis impersonation on "Nat King Cole", or when the bizarre faux-native chorus starts chanting towards the endings of "C-Birds" and "White Women".

Here's a bit of advice about listening to this album for the first time: I don't feel like the first 3 tracks are the strongest. "Pay the Toll" and "Vultures" in particular are rather subdued and don't really tip-you-off to some of the zaniness that follows them (though I've come to really appreciate the former for some it's neat lyrical vignettes). Maybe it'd be best to pass though tracks on your first playthrough and come back to them later. When "Novotel" kicks-in with it's feverish synthwork the real fun begins. What follows include joyful odes to drugs and white women that are so politically incorrect that you have to love them, as well a Beat Happening cover that sits so comfortably next to the other tunes that I didn't realize that it wasn't written by Adam himself upon my first listen.

I bought most of Adam Green's albums in short order hoping to make a mix CD. "Jacket" is my personal favorite, though "Gemstones" may have a slightly higher ratio of hits to misses. Like all of his CDs, it's lighthearted and shouldn't be overanalyzed. It's great music for driving late at night or drinking to, and for the price of admission you get a couple of great novelty tracks ("Drugs" and "White Women" always go over swell at parties).

First of all, i just DON'T understand the negative reviews this album has garnered. The only thing i can figure is people want his more brash and less polished work via his Moldy Peaches days and that certainly isn't what this album is. What it is though is a continuation of weird, wonderfully odd poetic tunage with quality musicianship to it. Sometimes still slightly raunchy but way more under control than in years past (or as i like to think of it raunchy with a purpose to the song)

This is Adam Green growing up but doing so in his way and making engaging music which moves the brain and hell...perhaps your hips too.

Granted, this isn't for everybody, but my god this is brilliant stuff. Sixties whitebread lounge pop arrangements of insidiously catchy melodies married to the sickest most depraved lyrics since Fred Lane and His Hittite Hotshots hung up their meat clamp conduits.

I don't know why but for some reason the release date on this album kept getting pushed back further and further. Yet it was released in Germany months ago. It just so happened my dad was heading to Germany on business so I had him pick me up a copy while he was there. I guess I had a copy before most people since it took forever to come out here in America but this album was a huge step down from his previous works. Key track: "Party Line." But really, his album "Friends Of Mine" is where it's at.

Garfiels and Friends of Mine were fantastic. Obviously this guy got too big for his britches and neglected everything that made him worth a damn in the first place. Please stop producing this horrible garbage Adam I beg you.

If you really want to enjoy adam green's style and band, you should purchase another cd like GEMSTONES. This cd, is totally different than anything else adam green has ever done. These songs are slow, and not as fun as any of his older work. Even with the moldy peaches, adam was full of fun and lyrics that would drive your brain wild. Adam is a cool guy, no doubt, but this cd just rubbed me the wrong way totally. His other work is so, so, so much better! I've seen Adam live and he does put on a good show, and his band is the coolest.

How does this joker have a record deal? I know, Garfied and Friends of Mine wich this is so far from it makes me want to cry