Jimmy Carter Syndrome

Munly | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 6, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smooch
• ASIN: B000BKWZOI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,770 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The fourth solo album from Slim Cessna's Auto Club's Jay Munly, Jimmy Carter Syndrome is hardly a departure from the brand of spooky alternative country common to both his cohorts and their kindred spirits in 16 Horsepower (both of whom have numerous members making cameos). With songs dotting nearly every point on the spooky spectrum of tangled backwoods eeriness, Munly drowns tales of broken spirits and violent encounters under whirling guitar reverb, foreboding cello, creepy autoharp, and a cacophony of ghoulish chorus singers. Whether recounting a surreal meeting with former boxing star Jerry Cooney (bizarrely paired with a bevy of early rock neologisms) on "Cooney Vs. Munly" or a gruesome childbirth on "The Denver Boot," Munly is an engaging storyteller with a properly tortured vocal style, though his shtick does seem to be somewhat predictable to a certain extent. At nearly 70 minutes, though, it's an ambitious project that offers more than a few rewards for those who like the darker side of quasi-folk. Overall, the kind of album that makes you never want to venture into rural America after dark. ~ Matt Fink, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where's the love?, March 21, 2007

By 

GeoX "GeoX" (Men...Of...The...Sea!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimmy Carter Syndrome (Audio CD)

I find myself listening to Jimmy Carter Syndrome more than any other Munly album. None of the songs are as good as the best songs on Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots, but overall I think it's a stronger, more consistent album.

The album is bookended with two highlights: "My Darling Sambo" (no, it's not racist) starts things out with a bang, with an ominous vibe of barely-suppressed violence. The ghostly female vocals on the chorus are a highlight. It's the most accessible song on the album. Then, at the end, we are treated to "The Fabulous History of the Churchill Falls Barrel Races," an epic nine-minute shaggy dog story. There's nothing really overtly creepy about it, but there's it comes across as intangibly but deeply macabre nonetheless, and Munly's voice brings it across perfectly. I won't even try to summarize it. Explore it for yourself.

Highlights within the album include "Cooney vs. Munly," a seriously strange tribute of sorts to a (real-life) prizefighter named Jerry Cooney--who, Munly alleged in one interview, babysat him when he was a child. True? Who knows. But it's good fun, featuring, for obscure reasons, a chorus of rock and roll gibberish ("he sang wop bam a luba, wop bam boom, a tutti frutti, oh rudy"). Quite arresting. Also arresting is "Cattle I Will Hang." It's impossible to tell what the ending MEANS, exactly, but the badly distorted sexuality that runs through it is VERY disturbing.

There's lots of other stuff here. Most of it works; some of it doesn't. Regardless, Munly is a unique talent whose music is probably too willfully obscure to ever find a wide audience. But for those of us who are into this sort of dark, pentecostal, southern gothic gumbo, he's an artist to treasure.

5.0 out of 5 stars The best album in the world., July 14, 2011

By 

Paul-johan Remøy "pjr" (BØLANDET, Møre og Romsdal Norway) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jimmy Carter Syndrome (Audio CD)

After a Cessna`s auto club-concert this year I had to check out what the members of the band were doing in the world of music. And when I found out about jay Munlys music, I could not understand why he is not bigger than The Boss. I had to buy everything he has been putting on record, and the jimmy Carter Syndrome is for me his best album. Buy it twice!!

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Addicted, July 29, 2010

By 

Jennifer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimmy Carter Syndrome (Audio CD)

I saw Munly in concert with Slim Cessna's Auto club and picked this CD up from Munly himself at the show. First off, Munly has a presence, for sure. He completely looks and speaks the sound of his music. He was incredible on stage. This album did not disappoint. If you aren't familiar with the Denver sound, you need to give it a listen, it's unlike anything I've ever heard and I can't get enough of it. Needless to say, after purchasing this album I have purchased 2 more of Munly's albums and all of the SCAC's albums and wish there were more. Jimmy Carter Syndrome is a perfect album in my opinion and show that Munly knows a thing or two about how to put together not only an amazing song, but a kick ass album.