Clutch: Jam Room

Clutch: Jam Room

1999

Megaforce Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Who Wants to Rock?  2. Big Fat Pig  3. Going to Market  4. One Eye Dollar  5. Raised by Horses  6. Bertha's Big Back Yard  7. Gnome Enthusiast  8. Swampt Boot Upside Down  9. Basket of Eggs  10. Release the Kraken  11. The Drifter  12. I Send Pictures  13. Sink 'Em Low  14. Super Duper  15. Release the Dub




I can remember when the internet was new (to me anyway, I'm sure all you rich kids had it for years before that, but fuck you...) and one day me and Josh went to the Clutch website, only to dicover that "The Elephant Riders" was just released...

We were psyched, but there was also mention of an album called "Jam Room," complete with song titles and lyrics...Wait...There were two new Clutch albums? We went to the record store and found "The Elephant Riders," no problem, but where was "Jam Room"?

I looked high and low for years and couldn't find it...Then sometime around 2004, I was at a Best Buy and finally saw the cover that had eluded me for years....Finally! A re-release of "Jam Room!"

Oddly enough, it sounded exactly like I'd always pictured it...A loose, groovy album that falls somewhere in between "The Elephant Riders" and "Pure Rock Fury."  Although clear and professional-sounding, you definitely get that jam room vibe, complete with drum solos, extra guitar noodling, and off-the-cuff songs, all the while never failing to  Capital "R" ROCK!

In fact, some of the first words you hear is the very pertinent question, "So hands up! Who wants to rock!?" Too bad the song is only a half-minute, but it serves its purpose...Besides you won't be mourning its loss too much, when "Big Fat Pig" comes on...

This is another one of my favorites...I think it's some sort of religious debate set to funky southern rock and it kicks like a damn mule...You hear me? A damn mule!!

 It should have been released on "Kicking Mule Records" along with the John Renbourn Group!! Take my word for it, it's a cool song and probably the most straight-forward thing here. Generally, the further out it goes though, I get more and more drawn into it...For example, what the hell is "Gnome Enthusiast"? A happy  wah-heavy ditty with falsetto vocals? They don't do this too often, and it's awesome!

I also like "Bertha's Big Backyard." It's not much of a song, really...More of a cassette-recorded spoken-word cut-up, like the kind you'd find on Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica." This technique also occurs during the outro on "Super Duper."



(Any excuse to post a picture of this album cover again, I love it...)

Hey! I also have an excuse to post a picture of the Kraken, since there's also a song called "Release the Kraken"!

Yay! This is my big day!! And hey, congratulations on your good song, Mr. Kraken!

There's even a few songs here that appear on their later albums, in more polished forms; "Sink 'Em Low" appears on their next album, the knock-out "One Eyed Dollar" shows up on "From Beale Street to Oblivion" and "I Send Pictures" is very closely related to "Sleestack Lightning" from "Strange Cousins From the West." So compare and contrast to your heart's content....

There's a lot to like here...Maybe not the place to start if you're new to Clutch, but I rate it pretty high in the Clutch discography, for the fun quotient and the chance to hear Clutch let down their beards...

Man, Even I'm tired of hearing myself talk today. Let's listen to "The Drifter" by Clutch...

Press the "Like" button if you like this song...

HA! I fooled you! That's not actually a "like" button...It's just a picture of one! I'm so picture-y!