Overtones [Enhanced]

Just Jack | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 4, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: TVT Records
• ASIN: B000TI85W8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,990 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Starz in their Eyes

2. Writers Block

3. Glory Days

4. Starz In Their Eyes

5. Lost

6. I Talk Too Much (featuring Kylie Minogue)

7. Hold On

8. Symphony Of Sirens

9. Life Stories

10. No Time

11. Mourning Morning

12. Spectacular Failures

13. Electrikery

14. Koolaid (Hidden Track)

Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

A lot has happened between the release of Just Jack's first album and his second album, Overtones. When The Outer Marker debuted in 2002, it was overshadowed by the Streets' first album, Original Pirate Material. Now, though, Just Jack, a.k.a. Jack Allsop, is getting some long-deserved recognition. There are, after all, strong similarities between Just Jack and the Streets' Mike Skinner. Both artists have an ultra-laid-back and laconic delivery style, and both are quintessentially English in sound and subject material. However, where Skinner has made his reputation for his witticisms and cheeky observations, Just Jack is far more serious-minded. His observations are of a different world than the council estates of Skinner' lyrics. Instead, Just Jack spins tales of middle class ennui ("Lost"), an inability to communicate with his girlfriend ("I Talk Too Much"), or the loss of his youth ("Hold On"). But it's not all gloominess here: "Glory Days" skips along with a summery jaunty beat and a bright brass break that perfectly depicts the elation that comes after a period of depression. Like Just Jack himself, Overtones is mature and thoughtful, proving that hip hop need not necessarily be by, for or about kids. --Ted Kord

Product Description

Just Jack: Part 1 begins in 2002, with a young Londoner feeding
sounds between two tape decks in a bedroom to produce a much-loved
album and a savvy little touring operation. It ends shortly after
with the tiny record label that unearthed his talent going bust.

Every cloud has a silver lining? Possibly. Just Jack: Part 2 begins in 2005, a
little more auspiciously, with him signing on Mercury Record's dotted line (in the UK).

Neither bound by musical restrictions nor the notional idea of cool,
Just Jack has taken the sum of his individual influences and turned them
into a unique, genre-hopping, jump-up album - the smash-hit, hook laden,
space-disco odyssey "Overtones."
He's steadily collated his teen experiences and set them against his
lyrical ear for the specific experiences of his unsung generation. You
know the guy that weathered acid house and came out the other
end beaming, fully realising that parties might not necessarily be the
answer, but had a whole lot of fun finding that out? That's Jack Allsopp.

"Overtones" is a joyous, zeitgeist-leaning slice of intuitive songwriting.
While it fits into the new school of British storytelling, it isn't ashamed
to wear its party heart on its sleeve. Just Jack isn't angsty or self-regarding.
He knows that a delicious, sly groove is the best way to
access the soul.

You know the guy that tells you a funny,
idiosyncratic story, slightly off his head in a small, sweaty, darkened
room at 2am with a mirror ball twirling in the background? That's
Jack Allsopp as well. He s a born communicator.
Just Jack's music is the conduit to his laconic life philosophies. Jack's
experience of the night-time began at a time when house DJs would
be unafraid to throw in a bit of hip-hop or pop if the mood felt right.
As he points out with his trademark disregard for bandwagon
jumping, when an era throws up something as thoroughly groovy as
The Jungle Brother's "I'll House You" and Carly Simon's "Why" to Joey
Beltram's "Energy Flash", why not celebrate the diversity of it?

Not that Jack is in thrall to retro sounds. His music is something that
hasn't been heard before. Whether it be on the balls-out house
shimmy of his UK smash "Starz In Their Eyes" - Jack's questioning ode to the Heat
generation - or the muted, pulsing melodies of "Disco Friends" (who
hasn't got one of those?) he's armed with a backpack full of
anthems in the waiting.
Just check out the second UK single, "Glory Days," a prime glimpse
into the laid-back flare of the world of Just Jack.

A North London boy by birth and now choice, Jack was going to be
a furniture designer but having completed a degree, realised that
his designs should be moving rather than static. His five-year
apprenticeship as a bedroom dabbler chopping up obscure
records, led to a debut album, "The Outer Marker" receiving a
rapturous reception from press and fans alike.

Just Jack isn t hip-hop, he
isn't house and he isn't lush singer-songwriting. He's a bit of all of them.
Is it wrong to call what I do interesting pop music? he says, still
delightfully unsure as to where his unique take on the adolescent
experience might fit in. Nope, Jack. It sounds Just about right.

Boasting 12 tracks that bristle with shimmering melodies, "Overtones"
is Jack s most definitive work to date and has fast become one of
the must-have albums of the moment.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starz in Jack's eyes!, January 30, 2008

By 

Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Overtones (Audio CD)

UK artist Just Jack arrived in 2007 to fill the void left by fellow Brit, The Streets. With his half spoken/rapped/sung vocal style done in a pronounced English accent and set to stomping club beats, his album "Overtones" is filled with catchy tunes with witty lyrics.

Opening cut, the groovy "Writer's block" is a perfect example of this. Other standouts are the more downbeat "Disco friends" (where he sounds a bit like the Pet Shop Boys), the UK #2 hit "Starz in their eyes" (with a disco sound, and lyrics about the pitfalls of fame), "I talk too much", the electronic hip hop tinged "Symphony of sirens", and the retro funky dance-y "No time".

Slowing the tempo down are the cinematic, horn sprinkled "Lost", the lovely acoustic "Mourning morning" (which finds him singing for a change, and features sweeping strings in the chorus), and spacey soul of "Spectacular Failures" (nice harmonies and horn solo).

An impressive CD and one of my favourite dance releases of the past 12 months...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about time!, September 6, 2007

By 

D. Duarte - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Overtones (Audio CD)

I've been waiting quite a while for this one to come out in the states, and finally it is here! For fans of Jack, this is a must have, and for fans of The Streets (for example), or underground singer/songwriter/hip-hop/dance/funk musicians (how many can YOU name) this is the one to get!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He Did it Again!, February 5, 2007

By 

Roy Kachouh - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Overtones (Audio CD)

I was coming in to this album anticipating a dissapointment. See, I was thinking to myself that it would be hard for jack to match the brilliance in the Outer Marker. Let me tell you he did it again! Sweet melodies, unmatched lyrics...the album just has an overall upbeat vibe. You will definitely feel good after listening to this album.