UNDERSTAND

Three years after the good, but a bit lacklustre Somersault (1996), Jadis is back with their "classic" line up when Martin Orford (keyboards, flute, harmony vocals) and Jon Jowitt (bass) return to the fold. After the band had made some changes to their sound on the previous effort, Understand puts them back to the Across the Water (1994) style. In fact, in many ways Understand does seem to me a kind of twin brother of that album, I always had trouble relating which songs are from each album. Anyway although Somersault was not a bad CD, I was quite glad to see that Gary Chandler and company returned to the more melodic and lively sound their fans love so much.

Even if this record lacks a "classic" tune like Daylight Fades or The Beginning And The End, all the tracks are very strong, inspired and full of energy. And songs like Where In The World, Alive Inside and Giraffe Chariot all have remained in the band´s live repertoire through the years. But my favourite one is definitely Counting All The Seconds, a 7 minute mini epic that is not only a fine tune but also contains one of Chandlers best guitar solos ever. And for a musician who built up a inimitable style of his very own, this is no small feat. I really don´t understand (pun intended) why the low rates several reviewers gave to it, I guess some people take a lot of Jadis do for face value, The music here may not be symphonic or avant guard, and the melodies may be simple, but never simplistic. In fact the music is quite elaborated and demands several spins before you really get all the subtle and rich details that adorn the songs. But once you get it, you´re hooked. It´s prog music indeed: varied, exciting and made with passion, done by a very unique band.

So, in the end I found this CD to be an excellent effort: It has no filler or even weaker tracks, and the performances and arrangements are as impeccable as ever. I was really glad that this line up came back, because certainly there is magic when those guys play together.

Rating: four strong stars.