THE BRUISED ROMANTIC GLEE CLUB

I really want to love this album, and I'll surely give it the effort it deserves, but I found the first disc fairly bland. The songwriting is just not that strong. There is a sameness to the songs (execution- wise) and none are particularly memorable. I'm also not a big fan of the 80's (or is it 90's?) sound of the instruments. Though technically proficient, some of these musicians seem to lack the poetic intangibles that these emotional songs deserve, and thus they (the songs) sound somewhat antiseptic.

If Jakko stuck with Brooks, Collins, MacDonald and Stewart for instance, I think the songs would have been given more room to stand on their own, so to speak. But I also realize that I am biased toward a more classic sound, so read this review with that in mind.

The second disc is like manna to my ears (mixed metaphor?)! The only improvement would have been to use vintage instruments exclusively. The Cow renditions, particularly Citizen King, are reason enough to purchase this disc. As Long As He Lies...however, is the crown jewel in this release - a beautiful, faithful rendition of a sublime tune which has always existed in murky sonics. Thank you, Jakko, and for this I round up to 3 stars.