Jake Holmes

[amidar]

Getting into Jake Holmes off the back of his third self-titled album. What are the albums considered worth getting and anything he had a hand in arranging etc as I know he was involved in some of that. Obviously his first album with 'Dazed and Confused' on it is a little out of my price range and there doesn't seem to be a legit reissue?

Also any schooling welcome!

[giantchicken]

'Let's Get Into The Music' section?.....check....'Jake Holmes' thread?....check....

....OK....Jake Holmes....hmm...another of music's more unfathomable characters, maybe?....plenty of holes in my knowledge but first encountered him via the Four Seasons 'Genuine Imitation Life Gazette' album for which he wrote the lyrics with Bob Gaudio handling music and production. While I suppose it was easy at the time to dismiss this superficially as another 'fading pop outfit jump on the counterculture bandwagon' type effort, it's an album I grew to love and respect and it's content is far more biting and cynical than you might rightfully expect from Frankie & the lads.This was pre-Internet though and when a trail ran cold on a name in those days, it ran cold, end of.

Not entirely sure of the chronology but think my second dose of Holmes was when I picked up Frank Sinatra's 'Watertown' 45 to find the Gaudio/Holmes team at work again, which led me to the album (sadly not, even now, on vinyl - note to self etc..) which of course I hoped might be Frank's 'swept under the carpet' psychedelic masterpiece....it isn't of course, but it's probably the closest he came and while I never really got into the album, I do love the title track (and have even jocked it on occasion).

It's only in the internet age I discovered his folkie background and the 'Dazed & Confused' legend and there's a very sweet song called 'Did You Know' that I acquired from somewhere on my computer which I've enjoyed a lot since. Probably made some enquiries re: vinyl about this time but was somehow distracted/discouraged/disoriented...perhaps by the discovery (while researching something else,10cc?) that by the late 70s he was coining it by writing Dr Pepper jingles with Randy Newman...if he wasn't minted enough after that, I believe he came to some sort of arrangement with the Led Zeps, didn't he?...don't know what happened from there...can anyone fill in the gaps?

[Shere Khan]

I've got one of those CD's because as you say the LP is a little out of range price-wise especially as they are invariably in the US. It sounds okay except for a bonus couple of tracks tagged on the end which are distorted to buggery- but it was only £3. Supposedly if you don't get the Stereo rather than the Mono LP that doesn't sound much good either. Did I read the tapes are long gone? Doesn't look good for a reissue.

[amidar]

Yeah I think if the tapes were in existence it would have had a reissue by now.

Yep I read about the Four Seasons connection and 'Watertown' of course which is an album I got for Christmas and must of played it daily over the festive period as I was ill and it lay on the platter for almost 2 weeks. I love the whole thing it really rewards with repeated listens. The orchestrations are lush and even though he overdubbed the vocal the amount of emotion he manages to convey on that album is immense. That album sent me on a massive Sinatra tip, I never got him before that.

[Shere Khan]

Yeah I think if the tapes were in existence it would have had a reissue by now.

Well they could easily do a reissue off a clean mono LP- somebody will have one.

[amidar]

True, It's quite surprising even given a 'radioactive' issue someone hasn't done an official reissue, it's got massive selling potential on 'Dazed and Confused' alone.

I'm currently listening to his other 2 early 70's albums, really digging it.

Well they could easily do a reissue off a clean mono LP- somebody will have one.