Dave Williams, Alicia Ultan, Rick Crouse, Jameson, Mike Mangan, Mike Fox.
Singer/songwriter Roger Jameson released a single, “Big Black Bird” b/w “Drive-In Picture Show”* (reviewed here), back in January 2017 on 45-rpm heavy vinyl disc, marrying his vintage original rock with a vintage medium. Now he’s added six new tunes and released Killer in the Sun,* a full album of original material on digital media.
Roger Jameson and the Jaded Heart Band
Killer in the Sun (Red Rebel Records)
A review
Dreams past the use-by date, red dresses, motel rooms, the north star of love, ruptured romance, and belief in the redemptive power of three chords and a driving 4/4 rhythm—these are the familiar ores in one seam of classic rock that has been successfully mined by such iconic musicians as Springsteen and Seger. Add Roger Jameson to the list of those who mine it with originality.
On Killer in the Sun, as in his previous releases, two things set Jameson apart from some others who work this seam: First, he understands bone-deep the physics of the genre—what feeling can flow from an inevitable chord change, the tinkling of a piano, the addition of reverb to the bridge, or the strumming of a lonely acoustic guitar—and he deftly combines and manipulates the various elements. (Give a nod to his coproducer John Wall at Wall of Sound Studio here in Albuquerque.) To the standard vocal, guitar, and harmonica (Jameson); keyboards and saxophone (Dave Williams); bass (Mike Fox); and drums and percussion (Mike Mangan), he adds a wild card: the viola (Alicia Ultan), which allows his songs to penetrate deeper into the seam. Second, his lyrics have a rough and original lyricism that captures a world in just a handful of words and about three minutes, and he delivers them with a sturdy and unpretentious conviction that transmutes the familiar ores into poetic insight.
In the rocking “Drive-In Picture Show,” we know the singer’s heart in just the first few lines of the song:
I won a little bit of money on a horse three years ago
And bought a beat-up Fairlane at a county auction show
Well, I drove it till the wheels burned down
Mighty romantic for this sleepy town
Just like Robert Redford in a drive-in picture show.
“Big Black Bird” pierces the lonely dislocation of the singer, who is stuck somewhere flat, empty, and soul sucking, trying to get home: “Looking out this motel bedroom / Never believe the world is round.”
“I Wish We Were Young,” with its classic intro and melodic hook on the viola, wants to “tear down all these memories / Walk away into a brighter day. . . . I wish we could burn / I wish we could burn this damn place down / Ride off in the sunset away from this cold town.”
At bottom, Jameson longs for escape—from mediocrity, memory, boredom, loneliness, missed opportunity, longing itself—and he occasionally achieves it, if only momentarily. It just takes a little bit of luck, the harbor of someone’s arms, and a rasping, aspirational sax.
Killer in the Sun is good old rock and roll. You’ll want to dance to it. You may be haunted by its anxieties, and you will welcome its liberations.
* Click on any title’s link to go to the Amazon page where you can purchase it.If you click through and make purchases there, Musically Speaking will receive a small percentage of the sale. Thank you for your support.
© 2018 Mel Minter