Live at Jittery Joe's [Enhanced]

Jeff Mangum | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 18, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Orange Twin
• ASIN: B00005M09D
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,886 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Live at Jitter Joe's is a long-rumored recording of the Neutral Milk Hotel lead singer performing at an Athens, Georgia, coffee shop in early 1997. His set includes selections from On Avery Island and In the Aeroplane over the Sea (the latter of which would not appear for another year), a generous portion of B-sides and unreleased tracks, and a heartfelt cover of Phil Spector's "I Love How You Love Me." It's enthralling to hear these songs in such a casual, unadorned setting: one envies the small crowd in attendance. Mangum's clearly having fun, joking with the audience and asking for requests. It's particularly revealing when he refers to "Two-Headed Boy, Part II" as a song that "will probably never come out or anything," and spontaneously decides to merge a short hymn to Jesus with "Up and Over We Go"--a medley that would later turn up on record as "King of Carrot Flowers, Part II and III." Also included: a QuickTime video of the entire set shot by video director Lance Bangs. It's just Mangum in almost complete darkness, with a few colored lights hanging behind him and a small child cavorting in the background. The visuals are sweet yet mysterious--the perfect accompaniment to these brilliant songs. --Mike Appelstein

Product Description

Vinyl LP pressing of this 2001 live release from Jeff Mangum, the genius behind Neutral Milk Hotel. This breathtaking acoustic performance includes solo versions of several songs from that band's albums In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and On Avery Island, Phil Spector's "I Love How You Love Me," and the never-officially-released original "I Will Bury You in Time." The show took place at a local coffee house in Athens, GA, in 1997. Live at Jittery Joe's is an essential recording for anyone who was never able to see Mangum or Neutral Milk Hotel live--and even for those who did. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I would pay whatever it took to see Jeff Mangum perform., December 7, 2005

By 

Wendell Chancellor (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Jittery Joe's (Audio CD)

If you told me Jeff Mangum would be playing again for a few friends at a coffee house in Athens, Georgia: I would leave before you finished telling me. I would pay just about whatever price it took to get there. I would ride forty hours on a bus. I would drive through two nights. I would take rides from truckers who listen to nothing but Neil Diamond.

And I would do it just to hear Jeff perform again.

You see, by the time I first tuned in, the Jeff-Mangum-Neutral-Milk-Hotel-Elephant-Six train had left the station. By then, all chances of seeing Jeff and NMH perform live had long since dried up. This is why "Live at Jittery Joe's" is such a gift.

"Live at Jittery Joe's" offers a glimpse of an artist on the brink. Jeff is about to paint his masterpiece. He will record "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" within the next year or so of this performance. The fascination of "Live at Jittery Joe's" is hearing that all the elements are there--waiting for Jeff (and NMH and Robert Schneider) to bring them together.

There is a haunting beauty and an emotional ache about "Live at Jittery Joe's." At no moment is it deeper than when Jeff sings Phil Spector's "I Love How You Love Me." We ache because we know the end of the story; NMH records "Aeroplane," tours, tours some more, and then Jeff falls of the map. Perhaps for good.

For me, the most poignant moments come in watching the Quicktime video of the evening (included with the CD). In some measure, Jeff's music is about childhood, innocence and the loss of that innocence. During the video, Jeff fades into the darkness and the camera follows a two-year-old girl, playing in the background. Her image matches and intensifies the effect of the music.

Realistically, this shouldn't be your introduction to Jeff's music. Buy "Aeroplane" first. Digest it some. Buy "On Avery Island." Then you will be ready for "Live at Jittery Joe's."

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars vulnerability at its most beautiful, September 9, 2001

By 

"twoheadedgirl" (Tempe, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Jittery Joe's (Audio CD)

Jeff Mangum has a way with words that I have never encountered before. At first listen, his songs sound unassuming and happy, but slipped into their charming melodies are heartaching stories of unresolved love and pain (many loosely based on the Diary of Anne Frank). His voice is untrained and vulnerable and utterly captivating with its unusual turns. His lyrics are obscure and strange, becoming more accessible and beautiful with further listening.

Recorded in 1997, Jitter Joe's provides an intimate conglomeration of "On Avery Island" and early versions of songs from "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea", plus a wistful cover of Phil Spector's "I Love How You Love Me". "Two Headed Boy Pt. Two" stands out in particular, with alternate lyrics from the album, along with "Naomi" and "Oh Comely". Where the previous versions of these songs are accompanied by trumpets and electronics, Jeff Mangum plays alone on this album, and offers a simple but poignant look at the man who is the genius behind Neutral Milk Hotel. There is much interaction with the audience between tracks, and interesting explanations for some of the songs are given. The entire show is included on the CD as a Quicktime video. An absolutely incredible album.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Field recording of a beautifull performance....., August 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Live at Jittery Joe's (Audio CD)

Stunning document of Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum performing a small show in an Athens, Georgia coffehouse in the time between the release of "on avery island" and the recording of his landmark "in the aeroplane over the sea." Early versions of the material for that album are played for the first time in public, to what sounds like a handfull of friends who engage Jeff throughout the performance with conversation and requests. The simple stereo field recording of Jeff's voice and acoustic guitar is perfectly suited to the material, and a genuine sense of intimacy comes across. One after another the songs are jaw dropping, culminating with the unveiling of "oh comely" in a possessed version even more affecting than one found on "ITAOTS." The entire show is also included as a Quicktime movie, and gives a subdued, backlit glimpse of Jeff losing himself in the performance, seated while the room seems to glow over his shoulder and a child plays at his feet. Remarkable.