James - Hey Ma (2008)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
After a 7 year break James have surfaced with a new cd entitled Hey Ma. In Track 1 "Bubbles", the majestic and swirling composition returns along with the fleeting trumpet reminiscent of Seven's "Sound". The atmospheric tone of landscape, piano and guitar compliment Tim's vocals and build over the lyrics "I'm Alive". Those two words and the layered sound are a warning shot to all the critics who believed the band was history. Track 2 "Hey Ma" is upbeat but heavy on the politics. Tim references bodybags and the war while talking to his mom. Track 3 "Waterfall" sounds more like Tim Booth's solo work than that of James but the song is still very good. The trumpet and fuller sound bring in the James element which pulls it all together near the end of the track. Track 6 "Semaphore" slows it down and mixes in a subtle electronic undertone with the acoustic guitar and violin. Not quite Laid nor Wah Wah but right in the middle. Track 8 "Whiteboy" is the most upbeat track clocking in at under 3 minutes and building into a huge wall of sound. On Track 10 " Of Monsters & Heros & Men" a rare guitar solo starts out the track and Tim sings over a layer keyboards and piano. On the final track "I Wanna Go Home" you feel that Tim is thanking everyone for coming back to them and is in the process of saying his own goodbye. I would hate for this to be literal but we may never know. If this is it then James will have gone out with a bang and on top in my book.
This cd follows the pattern of "reunion" bands where the parts of the back catalog are mixed into new songs to give the listener a trip down memory lane and new folks an overview of the band's history. James doesn't meet my requirements for a "reunion" so I view this cd as a hiatus, a break so members could work on other projects. During the last seven years Tim released an amazing cd entitled Bone which I highly recommend everyone pick up and the remaining band members vowed to continue on but never really did.
This cd is outstanding and will end up in my top 5 for the year. I continue to say this about releases and will have to really think long and hard come December when organizing my best of. Previous years have been easy to list but 2008 will present me with a challenge on who gets number 1. The more I listen to this cd the more I hear the sheer brilliance of a band that many people treated as a one hit wonder and a faded memory. I loved their previous cd Pleased To Meet You but think Hey Ma may even be better.
Posted by mardenhill 4/12/2008 10:03:00 AM
Labels: Music
