Customer Reviews

For Your Own Special Sweetheart

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let's dispel one possible misconception about Jawbox, in light of the well-deserved praise they've received: Jawbox were not innovators. While they certainly had their own sound, their music wasn't revolutionary.

That's because it didn't need to be.

"For Your Own Special Sweetheart" is one of the great rock albums of the 90s. Their's was a noisy, often dissonant, angular sound, firmly rooted in the post-Fugazi D.C. sound, which, of course, means hardcore energy, post-punk structures, and sheets upon sheets of guitar. So what's the big deal? Songs, baby: the ability to write memorable tunes. Jawbox had melodies that traversed the emotional spectrum, but always tinged with elements of bittersweet, melancholy dissonance. The haunting overtones of Sonic Youth, at their most transcendent, are channeled into high-energy, rhythmically dynamic tunes. This mixture of the subtle and the muscular carries over into the vocals, where thoughtful, allusive lyrics are belted out with conviction and power. By the time this album was recorded, Jawbox were a tight, kinetic force, and the pristine recording successfully captures their unstoppable live energy.
It's too bad this album didn't sell better. In a decade when scores indie rock bands, in the wake of Nirvana's success, were being signed to major labels, Jawbox were particularly unfortunate victims of the indie snobbery that caused many of these endeavors to tank. They were a band that were able to succesfully combine musical professionalism with noisy rock of the post-punk lineage, and there's little doubt that had they chosen to continue into this century, they could have provided a valuable example for younger bands, showing that accessibile guitar rock need not be retro.

J. Robbins (currently in the also excellent Burning Airlines and producing about twelve other bands' albums per diem) & co.'s band Jawbox produced many a fine album, so it's difficult to call "For Your Own Special Sweetheart" the best one without compunction. But it is. "Savory" is one of my favorite songs from any band, and "Motorist" is a close second. A fierce attack of complex guitar patterns and multi-layered vocals pervades throughout; the songs feel jagged and incisive in a pleasing manner. If you listen to Jawbreaker, Glass Jaw, or any other band with "Jaw" in the name, you probably will like this, but then again, you probably already do. If you can't find this, the eponymous Jawbox album is stellar as well. Rock music to raze houses by.

Tracklist:

1. FF=66

2. Savory

3. Breathe

4. Motorist

5. LS/MFT

6. Cooling Card

7. Green Glass

8. Cruel Swing

9. Jackpot Plus!

10. Chicago Piano

11. Reel

12. U-Trau

13. Whitney Walks

14. Lil' Shaver*

15. 68*

16. Sound On Sound*

* Bonus tracks, originally found on Savory +3 CD Single.

Sound on Sound was later released on My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents. That LP also featured a peel session version of 68. Lil Shaver is a completely different take on The Big Shave. If you don't have these three tracks, it's worth it just to get them. Savory was as close as they got to a hit (Deftones later covered it on the B-Sides & Rarities album). A lot of their music featured the bass being more prominent than the guitar or at least not drowned out by the guitar. There's nothing formulaic in this album. In my opinion, it's probably their best non-collection album.

To get a flavor for their music:

1. Jawbox got together in 2009 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and did 3 songs. It's online. Google it (I can't post URLs in these reviews).

2. Jawbox released two videos from this album: Savory and Cooling Card. Both are on Youtube and the latter you can hear what I'm talking about (regarding the bass).

3. Two mp3s are on buzzgrinder (they interviewed J. Robbins about the Late Night show performance). Again, Google it.

So, check all of it out, then buy the album. You won't be disappointed.

BTW: Other videos they did included a cover of Tori Amos' Cornflake Girl and Mirrorful. While not on this album, these gives you more of a feel of the sound of this band.

I once told a fellow musician that I would love to see what Steve Albini would do with the production and engineering of a Jawbox album. Now we have their best record remastered by Bob Weston, who is but one degree of separation away from Steve. What can I say? The bass and drums kick you in the teeth, both guitars and both voices are awesomely violent, and I can listen to "68" without having to dig out the Savory+3 single now. If anyone reading this is a fan who owns the original or is a person unfamiliar wih Jawbox who posesses taste, you must go and buy this record.

By the mid-nineties I had become completely disillusioned with rock music. The glory days of punk and new-wave seemed a distant memory, with nothing but derivative, unchalleging pablum dominating the scene. For Your Own Special Sweetheart changed all of that, giving me faith that indeed, there were still creative, driven, inspired musicians around.

Get this album.

if you are tired of the same old thing that mtv and your local radio station are shoving down your throat, look no further. jawbox take rock music to a whole new level. with swirling guitar hooks, witty lyrics, leveling bass lines and overpowering drums jawbox exile the saying 'rock is dead'. this band changed my life and i can easily say that all there work is great but 'for your own special sweetheart' is the crowning jewel. if you don't have it you need it. if you have it, you've probably worn it out. buy it and enjoy.

I remember seeing these guys at the Capitol theatre in Olympia in 1993, and being blown away. It was pretty rare to see a band that tight, that smart, inspired etc... in that era in Oly. where sloppy, politically self-righteous hipsters had a tight grip on things. And we were fine with that. On "For Your Own Special Sweetheart" Jawbox adds something that they hadn't dabbled in before, tasteful production. Their past albums had been either poorly mixed, or way overproduced. They seem to have found the perfect middle ground for their hard hitting brand of smart-punk. These graduate degree having four tear it up as they always have; with amazing melodies, brilliant lyrics, and the typical west coast dirty-punk stops and starts. I think back to that show in Oly. whenever I hear them....andI'm an 18 year old all over again; pogo-ing, loving every punk rock minute.

For Your Own Special Sweetheart remains a tremendously powerful and rewarding album. I believe I was introduced to Jawbox when the video for "Savory" was featured on 120 Minutes. Highly, highly recommended.

This album was what got me into alternative music. I saw the video for "Savory" on MTV back when they played music, and I was hooked. The album cover is terrible, but there are tons of fantastic songs on this album in addition to "Savory": "Reel", "Cooling Card", "Motorist", etc. The mid- and early-90s were one of the best periods of music of the past few decades, and if you want a great example of an album from this period, get this one.

The other reviews on this disc are very good...I'm going to come off as somewhat of a zealot here, but this is one of a very few discs that have just knocked me flat in recent years (this is a bargain bin find for me)...The music's what does the convincing for me--muscular, taut, aggressive, sometimes dissonant, but never neglecting the idea that melody and motifs really can effectively imprint a song into a listener's brain for good. This is "heavy" music, I guess, but it's not dull, plodding, repetitive and obvious like some music of its ilk. No wasted notes and empty virtuosity here--everything is at the service of the drive forward. Such adrenalin and energy expended here, while keeping exceptionally crisp and focused! The thoughtful lyrics are a bonus--not cryptic so as to be impenetrable, but creative and a definite cut above the confessional-type, heart-on-sleeve, "life is hard and not worth living" stuff--Jawbox still has some secrets to keep. Anything else? J. Robbins' soulful singing/shouting when required? Excellent. This is a wonderful disc to pop in and crank to the max. Exorcise those demons. Take this medicine--apologies to Alanis (and the dated reference)--these are jagged little pills that are good for you.