Favorite Cult Bands
No, not THE Cult.
Cult.
You know, a band or an album that has a group of fanatical followers that are very, very passionate.
This, you know, means that the band, or album, in its time, made no money or commercial impact whatsoever. The few fans the band had, over time spread the good word and after a few decades, VOILA! The band (or the album) is getting name checked by artists who cite said band as highly influential. “If I’d never heard ___________ by The___________, we never would have started this band!” If I was in one of these so-called cult bands and saw someone reaping the financial rewards of my trailblazing, I’d be crazy mad! Its little wonder Lou Reed always looks so pissed off, innit?
Ahead of their time, or behind the times (at the time), too weird/ avant-garde, experimental, so un-cool they’re cool, etc, etc. As an example, it took Cartman singing Come Sail Away on South Park and a stupid car ad featuring Mr. Roboto to make it o.k. to like STYX again.
One cult band has my attention lately, and that’s Jellyfish. I started with their second and last album, Spilt Milk. Picture a band consisting of Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen (guitar and drums, respectively), Dennis De Young (of STYX fame) providing the vocals, the bassist from Cheap Trick (what the f*&k’s his name?) and Roger Hodgeson (from Supertramp) twinkling away on his Wurlitzer. Oh, and Jeff Lynne writes all the songs. Picture that in your minds ear and you might have a pretty decent idea of what to expect from the San Francisco based Jellyfish. It’s not as horribly convoluted as I make it sound, though. Each of those bands I list above had their moments, and some had much more than their share, and Jellyfish take the best elements from each and arrive at a totally unique, yet very familiar, sound. There’s a bit of psychedelia about them as well, especially in the lyrics. It even has an ode to masturbation entitled “He’s My Best Friend”. Delightful!
Their first album, Bellybutton, had more of a hard edge about it, relying on melody ridden power pop and bubblegum, and there is no better example of this than on the single “Baby’s Comin’ Back”, which sounds like a long lost song by the Bay City Rollers. That wasn’t the only gem on Bellybutton: “The King Is Half-Undressed,” “That Is Why,” “I Wanna Stay Home,” and “Now She Knows She’s Wrong” are four more stellar examples of why this band is so revered.
Also, Andy Sturmer, the vocalist and chief songwriter, sounds a HELL of a lot like Ben Folds at certain points. Interesting as I’ve heard he cites these guys as an influence.
Bottom line: these guys are infectious and they knew how to write a great pop song.
Ian, I’m so thrilled that you’ve given the amazing Jellyfish some much-deserved attention (even though their first album didn’t appear until 1990. I was fortunate to hear them shortly before Bellybutton was released via a homemade cassette from a friend of mine who got a pre-release copy. Initially it didn’t hit me but by the second listen I was hooked. I saw them open up for World Party shortly after that and they were so incredible that I only made it halfway through World Party’s set before leaving. Nothing against Karl Wallinger’s excellent band but my musical excitement had already reached a crescendo via the opening act.
I love both their albums but Bellybutton holds a special place in my heart. I was also one of the devoted fans who pre-ordered the “Fan Club” 4-CD box set from Not Lame Records for something like $65. You have to love a band with two studio albums that still deserves a box set…as well as some recent archival releases via Omnivore Recordings (the Stack-A-Tracks instrumental discs are a lot of fun to listen to).
I’ve never seen a band consistently deliver perfect 4-part harmonies like Jellyfish, especially on the Spilt Milk tour. Their voices were always spot-on and delivered with authority.
Are you a fan of any of their side/solo projects? Sturmer has mostly laid low the last 20 years, but Jason Falkner has released one kick-ass album after another (as well as the one-off band The Grays), and Roger Manning has a handful of excellent solo albums.
Another fantastic post. Nicely done.
Hey, thank you Rich! Totally undeserved but greatly appreciated!
I came to the Jellyfish party WAAAY late, but these 2 albums have risen in the ranks as 2 of my favorites. I have always meant to check out Jason Falkner and his solo stuff. I guess it’s about time I pull the trigger.
Have you ever heard of a band called Cotton Mather? If you haven’t I would recommend you pick up Kontiki. I found them to be quite similar in sound, but less produced, than Jellyfish. Also, more of a Beatles influence as opposed to Beach Boys. The singer from Cotton Mather also has a great solo album out entitled Future Clouds and Radar that is quite eclectic, and quite good.
I got that Cotton Mather album when it came out…I was heavily into buying under-the-radar power-pop at the time…and I still think it’s a great album. Didn’t realize the lead singer had a solo album. I’ll have to look into that. Thanks for the suggestion. If you need any input regarding Jason Falkner feel free to ask.
I have very little I can add to Mr. Kamerman’s fine points, but I especially want to drive home his point about the Grays and solo material. Jason Falkner is one of my all-time favorites. So much so, in fact, I was willing to pay big bucks for some of his catalog that was only available in Japan for many years. Happily (for everyone else, anyway), I think you can get them domestically now. If you haven’t dipped your toe, I would start with ‘Presents Author Unknown,’ but you can’t go wrong with any of them. Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. is great too. He had an excellent album about five years ago called Catnip Dynamite that I’m not sure anyone heard. Shameful. Both of these fellas are all over Beck and Air albums too. Oh, and Falkner worked extensively on Brendan Benson’s first two records. Everyone should have those too. Rambling now… must stop.
I agree with all of Brian’s recommendations. I have that Manning album, as well as “The Land Of Pure Imagination.” Both are excellent. As for Falkner’s Japan-only releases, there are still a few that haven’t made their way to the US beyond pricey imports as far as I know, most notably the 2-CD collection of rarities & covers, “Everyone Says It’s On.” A little known Falkner+Manning item, at least among my circle of power-pop friends, is TV Eyes, their one-off synth-pop album that’s a whole lot of fun. But any Falkner collection should definitely start with his debut, as Brian pointed out, and those Brendan Benson albums are fantastic as well (I still think of The Raconteurs as a Brendan Benson project with help from Jack White…I think I’m in the minority).
OK Brian and Rich, you’ve convinced me I have to go out today and seek out these albums. Perfect timing as it is now midway through 2014 and the majority of my time has been seeking out old box sets and devouring the new Led Zeppelin reissues! I popped for the 2-CD versions, and have been very pleased with them!
I digress. Thanks, guys, for steering me in the right direction with Falkner. I can see the rabbit hole goes deep, and I look forward to tumbling down.
Happy hunting, Ian. My guess is you’ll be able to find a number of his releases for very reasonable prices.
As for the Zeppelin reissues, I got all three box sets but haven’t had a moment to listen to any of them. How sad is that? I finally own the possibly-definitive editions of their first three albums and after nearly 2 weeks they remain unplayed. I plan to remedy that tomorrow night.