{"id":2946,"date":"2010-09-14T12:07:45","date_gmt":"2010-09-14T16:07:45","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2010-10-10T19:00:13","modified_gmt":"2010-10-10T23:00:13","slug":"insta-review-jump-back-jake-lemgcall-me-your-manl-emg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/insta-review-jump-back-jake-lemgcall-me-your-manl-emg\/","title":{"rendered":"INSTA-REVIEW: Extended Play Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BufLHR7POrw?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><br \/>\nThe EP, or extended play, had run its course in America by the 1960s, but it was an established part of the UK rock &#8216;n roll scene, offering artists a chance to leak out a little more than a single to tease fans for the release of a new album or, perhaps, to get a musical tangent out of their system without the pressure of constructing an entire album around a possible lark. As you probably know, <em>The Magical Mystery Tour<\/em> album that Americans grew up with and that was released in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php?tag=german+true+stereo\" target=\"_blank\">German True Stereo<\/a> by our friends in Germany was initially released in the UK as a double EP. The EP format was revived to some effect in both markets in the punk (often as 7&#8243; EPs) and disco (think <em>12&#8243; singles<\/em>) scenes, but the coolest format ever, in my opinion, the classic vinyl, 10-inch EP that Epic tried to revive with a series that included <strong>The Clash<\/strong>&#8216;s <em>Black Market Clash<\/em> and a decent <strong>Cheap Trick<\/strong> platter, did not take off. Too bad! One of my unfulfilled musical dreams is the release of a 10-inch EP that somehow pays homage to <strong>Captain Beefheart<\/strong>&#8216;s <em>Music in Sea Minor<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In the digital age the EP release may make more sense than ever. Think about how long it takes artists to release a new album. Think about how few songs from that album ever get played on the radio. Think about the short attention spans of iPod-equipped listeners who may have only loaded the initially catchiest handful of songs, that is, if they even bothered to download an entire album. Why shouldn&#8217;t artists release a handful of songs at a time as an EP, cut down on the wait between releases, and possibly generate more reviews and opportunities for lead tracks to get played on air? I don&#8217;t know if two artists, relative newcomer <strong>Jump Back Jake<\/strong> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/index.php\/wow_that_s_martin_newell_in_the_halls_of\" target=\"_blank\">Friend of the Hall <strong>Martin Newell<\/strong><\/a> had any of this in mind when putting together their latest EPs, but we&#8217;ll take &#8217;em &#8211; and review &#8217;em&#8230;<em>after the jump<\/em>.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"image_block\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/Call-Me-Your-Man.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/Call-Me-Your-Man.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><strong>Jump Back Jake, <em>Call Me Your Man<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/01_Call_Me_Your_Man_256MP3.mp3\">Jump Back Jake, &#8220;Call Me Your Man&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/jumpbackjake.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jump Back Jake<\/a> is a Memphis-based band led by Jake Rabinbach, a cohort of some founding members of <strong>MGMT<\/strong> and who formed the band in 2006, after moving from Brooklyn. Rabinbach keeps one foot in New York, as lead guitarist for <strong>Francis and the Lights<\/strong>. The EP is a follow-up to the band&#8217;s debut album, <em>Brooklyn Hustle\/Memphis Muscle<\/em>, which suspect reviewer I am I have never heard. I also can&#8217;t tell MGMT from MGM or TNT, but what did strike me was that Jump Back Jake is on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.memphisflyer.com\/memphis\/ardent-revival\/Content?oid=1307174\">revived secular branch of the Ardent label<\/a>, home of &#8211; wait a second, you don&#8217;t really need me to tell you the legendary band associated with Ardent, do you? I had no idea the label entered the Christian market or let alone survived to this day in any form. I found it hard not to feel good at the thought of the old <a href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_FKxj7S66vU4\/SGJu8OBKpFI\/AAAAAAAAAl0\/egze7jyniRg\/s200\/radio%2Bcity%2Bardent%2Blabel\" target=\"_blank\">sky-blue Ardent record label<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For those hoping for a new <em>Radio City<\/em>, <em>Call Me Your Man<\/em> is more rooted in the Memphis blue-eyed soul sound of Alex Chilton&#8217;s work before and after Big Star. The production is pretty flat, fat, and dry, the way I often like records to sound. Rabinach has a fine, rough, yet ultimately nondistinct voice. There are so many competent bands like this around, bands like Okkervil River and Old 97&#8217;s, but I cannot tell what sets one apart from the other. I&#8217;m perfectly willing to take the blame for my ignorance, but some day I&#8217;d love to get some insight into the finer points of this style of music. The title track delivers the 4-on-the-floor goodness that never ceases to grab me, and I like the 6\/8 blues approach of &#8220;Rose Colored Coffin,&#8221; but I&#8217;m not getting enough of the Memphis soul stew or even outright &#8220;Hell, yeah!&#8221; Southern Rock righteousness from this stuff. Still, there&#8217;s enough to give this guy a second listen down the road.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image_block\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/mule1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/mule1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"339\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><strong>Martin Newell, <em>Mule<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/media\/blogs\/rth\/01_Wake_Up_and_Dream.mp3\">Martin Newell, &#8220;Wake Up and Dream&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Martin sent us this EP a few months ago, and in my typically behind-schedule way I&#8217;m reviewing it now. (A review of the latest <strong>Cleaners From Venus<\/strong> album is forthcoming.) As you may know, Newell is a longtime proponent of taking matters into his own hands and keeping things simple. I love him for his personal approach and the spirit that runs through all his means of expression. The four songs on <em>Mule<\/em> cut no new musical paths from those already established by Newell&#8217;s on previous recordings: jangly, melodic musings on everyday, half-imagined life, such as this EP&#8217;s standout track, &#8220;The Queen and Me.&#8221; On this EP Newell&#8217;s keeping the trails clean and leaving a few new treats behind for return hikers to discover. (<em>Mule<\/em> is available directly from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.btinternet.com\/~paul.wilkinson46\/stock.htm\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Martin&#8217;s Emporium<\/strong><\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The EP, or extended play, had run its course in America by the 1960s, but it was an established part of the UK rock &#8216;n roll scene, offering artists a chance to leak out a little more than a single to tease fans for the release of a new album or, perhaps, to get a <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/insta-review-jump-back-jake-lemgcall-me-your-manl-emg\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[310,65,311,210,308],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2946"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}