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Jandek
Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made label "Corwood Industries". Jandek often plays a highly idiosyncratic and frequently atonal form of folk and blues music, frequently using an open and unconventional chord structure. ''Allmusic'' has described him as "the most enigmatic figure in American music". History A review of the debut album ''Ready for the House'' (1978) in ''OP'' magazine, the first ever national press given to Jandek, referred to the artist as Sterling Smith. Smith has kept his personal history secret, revealing only one story about his pre-Corwood years: he wrote seven novels but burned them upon rejection from New York publishers. In a 1985 interview with John Trubee for ''Spin'', Smith mentioned that he was working at that time as a machinist. Only a year late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ready For The House
''Ready for the House'' is the debut studio album by Jandek, and was released in 1978 by his own Corwood Industries label, with the catalog number #0739. The artist has said in letters that the number was meaningless. Corwood Industries reissued the album three times on CD, first in 1999, then sometime in the early 2000s, and again in 2005. Jackpot Records, with exclusive permission from Corwood, reissued the album on LP in 2008. Album artwork The album cover features a photograph of a garishly colored room with a chair beside a window. The artwork of the original 1978 issue lacks text, while the back cover credits the album to "The Units". Many subsequent Jandek releases feature this general design. Album information The album was not originally attributed to Jandek at all, but rather to "the Units." The name Jandek replaced that of the Units on all future releases after a San Francisco new wave group of the same name gave Corwood Industries a cease and desist order; all sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Corpse
''Blue Corpse'' is the fifteenth album by Jandek, and his second for 1987. Primarily an all acoustic album with an unknown accompanist (identified only as "Eddie" during the instrumental break in "Down at the Ball Park"), it is considered by many to be one of the more accessible and cohesive albums in Jandek's oeuvre. Album cover The cover of Blue Corpse completes the series of images that began with ''Telegraph Melts'' (1986) and was continued with ''Modern Dances'' (1987). While the cover of ''Modern Dances'' shows the artist standing still and looking forward, the cover of Blue Corpse shows the artist in mid stride, producing a blurred image of the artist. Album information The tracks "I Passed by the Building" through "Variant" features an unknown man on lead vocals, and it is presumed that Jandek plays the guitar on these tracks. The tracks "Part II" through "Only Lover" appear to switch up this arrangement and feature Jandek on lead vocals and the unknown accompanist playi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Your Turn To Fall
''Your Turn to Fall'' is the seventh Jandek album, and was released as Corwood 0745. It was reissued on CD in 2001. Overview ''Your Turn to Fall'' marks something of a transition in Corwood history, for several reasons. For one, drums again appear on "John Plays Drums." Curiously, this turns out to be the same song sung by Nancy on "Nancy Sings" from ''Chair Beside a Window'' and which appears in a more standard acoustic/vocal form as "Birthday" from ''The Rocks Crumble''. Here the principal artist plucks the guitar and sings, while one "John" plays the drums, something he doesn't seem to have done before, though the shambling rhythm produced fits the Jandek music style. The rest of the album is, in a way, the end of an era. This is the seventh and final album in what might be considered Jandek's "first acoustic phase," and the remaining fifteen tracks build on the solo avant-blues of the prior four albums. Here Jandek steps more fully into the Delta sound of Charley Patton, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Living End (Jandek Album)
''The Living End'' is the eighteenth album by outsider musician Jandek Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ... and the only release of (1989). Corwood Industries #0756 continues the bluesy band sound of the prior two albums, but adds a new, thinner-voiced female vocalist to the mix. Track listing External links Seth Tisue's ''The Living End'' review Jandek albums 1989 albums Corwood Industries albums {{1980s-album-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Keys
''Foreign Keys'' is the second album released in 1985, 11th album overall, by musician Jandek, and his eleventh overall. This is the first Jandek album featuring a full band, and is without acoustic numbers. It is also an album split between tracks sung by Jandek and tracks sung by his female counterpart, assumed to be "Nancy". Nancy is possibly the same vocalist from "Nancy Sings" on ''Chair Beside a Window ''Chair Beside a Window'' is the fourth album by avant- folk/ blues singer-songwriter Jandek, and Corwood Industries' first release of 1982 ( 742). It is the first Jandek album to feature a female vocalist, most likely named Nancy (the ...''. Track listing External linksSeth Tisue's ''Foreign Keys'' review {{Authority control Jandek albums Corwood Industries albums 1985 albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rocks Crumble
''The Rocks Crumble'' is the eighth Jandek album, released as Corwood 0746. It is his third release of 1983, and is the first Jandek album to feature extensive use of drums and electric guitar. It was reissued on CD in 2001. Overview ''The Rocks Crumble'' marks the beginning of what is often referenced as Corwood's "first electric period," since the majority of the album is played on electric guitar with clattering, earsplitting drums behind it. That said, Jandek eases us into this new phase gently, and its approach echoes the cover, in which an old Slingerland drum set is seen in a blurry, black and white photograph. For the next album, ''Interstellar Discussion'', we get up close and personal with the same drum set (which appears frequently on Corwood covers), this time in full color. The album starts like the prior seven, with an acoustic track. "Faceless" is an "invisible man" song in which the vocalist laments "He wouldn’t even look into my eyes/he wouldn’t know my nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chair Beside A Window
''Chair Beside a Window'' is the fourth album by avant- folk/ blues singer-songwriter Jandek, and Corwood Industries' first release of 1982 ( 742). It is the first Jandek album to feature a female vocalist, most likely named Nancy (the song is called "Nancy Sings"); in a letter to Irwin Chusid, Nancy is described as playing an "unaggressive drum stint," and the other female vocalist is referred to as "Nancy's sister Pat." It is also the first album to reprise the song "European Jewel" after its "incomplete" version abruptly ended Jandek's debut album four years prior. Track listing Covers Adam Stafford Adam Stafford (born 24 February 1982) is a Scottish musician, filmmaker, film writer, photographer and broadcaster based in Falkirk, Scotland. He was the lead singer and songwriter with the Scottish band Y'all is Fantasy Island as well as a s ... and The Death Bridge Convention covered "Nancy Sings" in the album Music in the Mirrabell in 2010. References E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On The Way (Jandek Album)
''On the Way'' is the seventeenth album by Jandek Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ..., released in 1988 as Corwood 0755. It was reissued on CD in 2002. Track listing External links Seth Tisue's ''On the Way'' review {{Authority control Jandek albums Corwood Industries albums 1988 albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graven Image (album)
''Graven Image'' is the 23rd album by Jandek Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ..., released in (1994) as Corwood Industries release #0761. Although a vinyl test pressing was created, it was the first Corwood product to be issued on CD, and was remastered and re-issued in 2004. Track listing Reviews “Jandek’s blues is one of an almost nightmarish intensity of horror and desperation...” -- Josh Ronsen -- ''Monk Mink Pink Punk'' #3 External links Seth Tisue's ''Graven Image'' review {{Authority control Jandek albums Corwood Industries albums 1994 albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Walk Alone
''You Walk Alone'' is the sixteenth album by Jandek Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ..., and the first of two released in 1988. It is Corwood Industries (#0754), and is the first album by the "blues rock" band that followed the apparent meltdown of the original "garage rock" band. Track listing References External linksSeth Tisue's ''You Walk Alone'' review {{Authority control 1988 albums Corwood Industries albums Jandek albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living In A Moon So Blue
''Living in a Moon so Blue'' is the fifth Jandek album, and was issued as Corwood 0743 in 1982. It was reissued on CD in 2001. Overview ''Living in a Moon so Blue'' is an album that's very hard to separate from its near-counterpart, ''Staring at the Cellophane ''Staring at the Cellophane'' is the sixth Jandek album, and his third of 1982. It was released as Corwood 0744. It was reissued on CD in 2001. The cover image appears to be the same picture taken for his previous album, ''Living in a Moon So Blu ...''. Both albums feature the same parlor guitar on the cover (just from slightly different views) and the contents are remarkably similar, with Jandek delving further into the deep, anarchic blues while putting aside - for now - the female vocals and any instruments besides guitar, vocals and harmonica. The albums are also distinguished by lean, blues-flavored songs with minimal lyrics, though these lyrics can run from brutal to humorously baffling ("Please don't push any ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nine-Thirty
''Nine-Thirty'' is the tenth album by Jandek Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ..., one of two released in 1985, and was released as Corwood 0748. It was reissued on CD in 2001. Track listing References External linksSeth Tisue's ''Nine-Thirty'' review {{Authority control 1985 albums Corwood Industries albums Jandek albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |