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Rockabilly type swing. Ever wonder what
it would sound like if Elvis fronted a swing band?
You got the happy, bouncin', dancing horns,
traditional story tellin' lyrics laced with all the "jive"
talk that could be expected, some jazzy warm guitar strummin'
- basically the expected stew for a swing band. "Jumpin'
Jimes" are on the smoother tip, compared to some of their
contemporaries. Swing seems to be one of those "big"
things (depending on who you talk to), and for a musical movement
that blatantly cops it's every move from it's predecessors, it's
at least a very talented musical forgery. Unlike another mid/late
nineties upstart retro-trends - the (sic)ska movement - it actually
takes some talent to play in a swing band. I have actually yet
to hear a bad swing band, and I can't say the same for the ska
movement.
There might be those who say "What
trend!? We we're doing this before it was cool." Maybe,
but now you're getting paid (well) because it's a trend. "Jumpin'
Jimes" sometimes have a slicker loungy feel (waitaminnit
- there's another one of those 90's upstart retro-trends also),
so one can drink heavily in a smoky corner, as well as cut a
rug to their tunes. It's this slyness that might set them aside
from some of their musical peers, but not much.
Musically, the "Jumpin' Jimes"
smoke, as would be expected when one has such a clear blueprint
for a successful approach that bands like this have laid out
before them. Especially when a release weighs so heavily with
songs already written. My favorite is a swing version of eighties
metal godz WASP's "I Wanna Be Somebody," and the disk's
opener, "Hello There." is (again) a swing version of
the classic Cheap Trick set opener. A pleasant listen is the
instrumental, "Powerhouse," that some might recognize
as the background music Looney Toons often used for an "industrial
production line" type sequence. There's also a jazzy/rockabilly/swing
rendition of "Ice Cream man," that cooks along nicely,
but can't hold a candle to the Van Halen version. Fans of the
genre should recognize the classic "Fever."
"Jumpin' Jimes," as well as the
bulk of the "swing" movement, are kind of like Smarties
candies, they come in different colors, but are essentially the
same sweet candy. The main difference in swing bands is the live
performance, and the ambiance they can create through their presence.
On disk (do they release this stuff on it's proper home - vinyl?),
"Jumpin' Jimes" sound no better or worse than any other
band you'd be quick to mention in the same breath. They're good
at what they do, it's just been done (and done, and done).
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