JoBoxers - Just Got Lucky - The Complete Works 1983-1986

As an MTV obsessed teen, my first memories of JoBoxers was seeing the video for the insanely infectious song "Just Got Lucky."  It ended up as a hit in the US, making it to thirty-seven on the charts, while their debut album made it to seventy (they found more success in the UK with three top forty hits and the album hitting eighteen), but then just like that they seemed to vanish.   The band was comprised of vocalist Dig Wayne, guitarist Rob Marche, keyboardist Dave (DC) Collard, bassist Chris Bostock and drummer Sean McLusky.  Wayne grew up near Columbus and moved to New York to form Buzz And The Flyers.  When they played a show with The Clash, their manager Bernie Rhodes was impressed and promised to take him to London and make him a star.  Meanwhile, the other four members, who were from Bristol, had been making the rounds playing in various bands.  Rhodes was also managing artists in that area, including Johnny Britton and Vic Godard of Subway Sect.  When Britton needed a band for a session, McLusky got the four of them together and they backed him on the single “The One That Got Away”.  Rhodes then had them back Godard in the second incarnation of Subway Sect, which found them recording the album Songs For Sale and touring with bands like The Pretenders, The Clash, Pere Ubu, Bauhaus and The Birthday Party.  They also worked as the house band at Club Left at the Whiskey A Go Go in Wardour Street, Soho, and as a result of this, the four of them went out on the road with Vic Godard.  When he didn’t show for a show at the Manchester Apollo, they joined up with Wayne and became JoBoxers.  They then took their diverse array of influences that included soul, funk, swing, rockabilly, punk, northern soul and more, and meshed it into a sound that was uniquely their own.  After releasing a couple of hit singles in the UK, “Boxerbeat” and the aforementioned “Just Got Lucky," 1983 saw them release what would (before now) be their only album Like Gangbusters.  They did record a follow-up with producer Chris Kimsey in 1985 and released the single "Is This Really The First Time (You've Been In Love)", but the label pulled the album at the last minute (there is mention online of it actually being released, but I could find nothing confirming this).  They also started a third album, Missing Link, but then broke up before it was finished. Now, these tracks, along with b-sides, extended mixes and a full live set, (twenty-eight previously unreleased) can all be found on the outstanding new three disc Just Got Lucky - The Complete Works 1983-1986.

Disc one opens with that incredible debut album, a massively infectious collection of upbeat songs (“Just Got Lucky” and “Boxerbeat” are a couple of the biggest earworms I’ve ever heard), often rooted in jazzy northern soul with a fun sense of humor.  Throughout the ten tracks, they touch on of all the styles mentioned above at one point or another, and there are also some elements of new wave like the Bow Wow Wow / Adam Ant drumbeat in “Crosstown Walk Up” or the New Romantic vibe on their cover of Georgie Fame’s “Fully Booked.  It’s really pointless to try to pick out standout tracks, because there isn’t a bad one in the bunch.  Interestingly, coinciding with the release of “Boxerbeat” as a single, they did a tour opening for Madness, and while they aren’t ska, there are definite parallels between the two bands and honestly their sounds complement each other perfectly.  As for the bonus tracks on disc one, the first three were originally a cassette bonus track (remember those?) and the b-sides of the “Just Got Lucky” and “Boxerbeat” singles, all three just as strong as the album tracks.  “Forget Me Love” is a midtempo jazzy track with a slinky groove and “Let’s Talk About Love” is super funky.  Then there’s the epic soulful R&B cover of Wilson Pickett’s “Jealous Love” (written by Bobby Womack and King Curtis) with a powerful vocal performance from Dig.  The remaining six are single and 12” versions of album tracks.  

The first nineteen tracks on disc two are just labeled “The Skin & Bone and Missing Link Recordings” and besides the three tracks that were released as the single for what was to be the next album, there isn’t anything that really distinguishes which are which.  In addition to those tracks, five more were released on the 1996 compilation Essential Boxerbeat, while the remaining twelve were previously unreleased.  Listening to them it’s really baffling why they never got the chance to be released as proper albums.  That single, “Is This Really The First Time” is an insanely catchy song that deserved a spot on the charts just like their other hits, and as good as the debut is, these tracks might even be better.  You can really hear them experimenting and expanding their sound, and with Kimsey on board as producer on most of these songs, the production sounds even better with more depth and texture than the debut.  The soulful side of their sound also seems a little more prevalent and would have fit in perfectly with what Style Council and General Public were doing at about that same time (check out “For The Love Of Leo”, “Some Kind Of Heart” and the ballad “Dead End Streets”).  Some of the other highlights are “Missing Link,” a definite standout that’s a little on the darker side, “Lon Chaney, Jr” with its creative arrangement that really highlights their musicianship, the smooth, soulful pop bliss of “One In A Million,” the infectious funk of “Two Weeks Notice,” and even a bit of Madness-like ska on “My Best Friend.”  Closing out disc two are extended versions of three tracks.

Rounding out the box set on disc three is a previously unreleased sixteen song set from London’s Phoenix Theatre.  It was recorded on the Rolling Stones mobile studio in June 1983 and sounds fantastic.  The band is tight and energetic, and their top-notch musicianship is on full display as they tear through every song on the debut plus two b-side tracks, two that were recorded for the unreleased albums and covers of Kansas Joe McCoy’s “Why Don’t You Do Right (Give Me Some Money Too)” and Wilson Picketts “Jealous Love.”  It makes for a welcome addition to the box and definitely stands up to repeat listens.  Following the band's demise, all the members continued to find success in the entertainment industry.  Wayne released a solo single in 1987 and an album in 2007.  He also started acting, with the movie Judge Dredd and the TV shows ER and Dexter among his credits.  Marche and McLusky toured with Sandie Shaw, and Marche then went on to play with the likes of Renegade Soundwave and Gun Club, while McLusky started several high-profile clubs in London as well as 1-2-3-4 Records.  Bostock played on albums from The Style Council and Spear Of Destiny and then played with Dave Stewart & the Spiritual Cowboys.  Collard joined The The and still tours with the reformed band today.  JoBoxers also reunited for a sold out 2022 UK tour.  Quite an impressive feat from a band who only released one official album almost forty years earlier.  

(Cherry Red Records)

Ernie Graham - Ernie Graham (remastered)

Initially released in 1971, Ernie Graham's only solo album was a sadly underappreciated effort that is now getting a much-deserved reissue with a new CD release that has been newly remastered from the original Liberty master tapes. Born in Belfast, Ireland, Ernie Graham initially got some local fame as the rhythm guitarist in Tony and the Telstars.  Several members of that band, along with Graham, then moved on to form The People, and over the next couple of years started touring England and gaining a larger following.  In early 1967 they got the attention of former Animals’ bassist Chas Chandler, who with Mike Jeffery, was managing The Jimi Hendrix Experience.  At his suggestion, they changed their name to Eire Apparent, and started touring with the likes of Hendrix, Pink Floyd and The Move.  In the beginning of 1968, they released a single and did some touring in the States with Eric Burdon and The Animals at first, and then Soft Machine and Hendrix.  October 1968 found them recording their debut album, Sunrise, which was produced by Hendrix, and featured appearances from all the members of his band and Robert Wyatt from Soft Machine.  After recording the album, they hit the road in Europe, once more opening for Hendrix.  The album was released in May 1969, and they spent the rest of the year touring, but by May of the next year they had broken up.  Graham started performing as a solo artist and signed to Famepushers management, who also managed Brinsley Schwarz and Help Yourself.  Both of those bands were signed to Liberty Records and when they heard some of the songs he was working on they signed him as well.  When he went in to record his album, he was backed by Brinsley Schwarz, Bob Andrews, Nick Lowe, Ian Gomm and Billy Rankin of the band Brinsley Schwarz and Malcolm Morley, Richard Treece, Ken Whaley and Dave Charles of Help Yourself.  The resulting album opens strongly with the beautiful “Sebastian,” an acoustic folk tune that has a strong Dylan feel in both vocal delivery and guitar accompaniment.  It also has some great vocal harmonies and guitar.  “So Lonely” finds him going full electric and is a mid-tempo, rootsy rocker that is reminiscent of The Band, but rawer.  The interplay of organ and piano does a great job of setting the tone on “Sea Fever,” a melancholy cut that’s hauntingly dreamy with a hint of psychedelia.  The next two cuts are standouts that make for the perfect centerpiece to the album.  “The Girl That Turned The Lever” has a similar vibe to The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and is an easygoing, laid-back tune with more great harmonies and even some accordion.  With bittersweet lyrics and a gorgeous arrangement that kind of meanders and wistfully rolls along, the melancholy “For A Little While” is a nostalgic reflection on a past romantic relationship.  Shifting gears a bit, “Blues To Snowy” is a taut rocker with some really strong guitar work (at times bringing to mind Lynyrd Skynyrd) that shuffles along sounding like it’s going to explode at any minute.  The Band come to mind once again on “Don’t Want Me Round You,” a strangely somewhat upbeat, very catchy, tune with a playful organ and infectious “na na na’s" accompanying lyrics that, as the title implies, are not very happy.  Closing track “Belfast” is a gritty, fiddle-driven Irish folk rocker that finds him embracing his roots.  Everything about this album, from the vocals and lyrics to the insane talent of the musicians had the makings of a hit, but unfortunately for some reason it just wasn't to be.  Following the album's release, Graham did some live shows opening for both Brinsley Schwarz and Help Yourself, but when the album failed to sell, he joined Help Yourself in the next incarnation of the band. He was part of the recording sessions for their second album, Strange Affair, and wrote the song "Movie Star", but along with Jojo Glemser, left the band before it was finished.  The two of them formed the band Clancy and released two albums, and then in 1978 he released a single on Stiff Records, which would be his last release. He ended up taking a job with British Rail and then passed away in 2001.  

(Esoteric Recordings)

20/20 - Back To California

The 20/20 story starts back in 1977 when Steve Allen and Ron Flynt left Tulsa, Oklahoma and headed to California hoping for a record deal (fellow Tulsa natives Phil Seymour and Dwight Twilley had followed a similar path a few years earlier).  In 1979, with the addition of Chris Silagyi on keyboards and Phil Seymour filling in on drums after original drummer Mike Gallo was let go, they released their self-titled debut, an album that’s considered a “Power Pop” classic.  They followed it up with a couple more releases in 1981 and 1982 that didn’t quite reach that peak set by the debut and then went their separate ways, although Flynt and Allen did get back together in the ensuing years to release two more albums, 1995’s 4 Day Tornado and 1998’s Interstate.  Now, twenty-seven years after that last album, the duo have written a whole new batch of songs (with the help of Gus Allen on one track), and with Ron’s son Ray on drums, they have recorded the new album Back To California.  While the hooks are plentiful, and songs like “Springtime Love Song”, an energetic, old school power pop tune and the darker, more midtempo “Why Do I Hurt Myself” (check out the guitar work here) harken back to their Seventies sound, many of the other tracks find them venturing in other directions.  Several songs have a really strong roots rock and country influence.  The title track brings to mind The Long Ryders, and after opening with a big power chord crunch, "The End Of Summer" has hints of The Byrds and some great wistful lyrics and sound that match the title perfectly.  There is a hint of Springsteen in both the music and lyrics of "Lucky Heart", and Tom Petty comes to mind on the midtempo rocker "Spark" with its jangly guitars.  They embrace country rock, complete with slide guitar and harmonica, on the infectious, upbeat "King Of The Whole Wide World", and standout track "Laurel Canyon" has somewhat autobiographical lyrics with big ringing guitars and great vocal harmonies giving it a sound that encapsulates its namesake.  “When The Sun Goes Down” is a pretty, kind of melancholy, roots-tinged pop tune with a touch of The Beach Boys and “Long Distance Call” uses harmonium and Wurlitzer to create a dark and mysterious bluesy groove that really sets it apart from the rest of the album.  The album closes fittingly with “Farewell”, an easygoing track about saying goodbye to lost friends and loved ones.  Back To California is a stellar return for the band with well-crafted songs, outstanding musicianship and hooks galore that should please fans old and new. 

(Big Stir Records / Spyderpop Records)