Hey Ma

by

James

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Although I liked the popularly successful songs from James during the 80's and 90's, I never got heavy into the band. I heard one of their older songs on a local indie station recently, and checked it out on YouTube because I wanted to send the video link to someone (because of the lyrics). That led to more link-clicking, checking out their website, and finding out they had a local concert last week. Decided to go.

Turns out my girlfried was a real fan of "Sometimes" when it was hot. We went to the concert, loved everything we heard, and as a result I bought two of the new CD's, one for each of us. Several weeks later, we are still talking about and texting each other snippets from the lyrics, and talking about the band and the CD. I wish I could afford to buy a million and spread them around. Easily one of the top 10 I have ever heard. You must read the lyrics and hear the song previews. The "intro" clips don't do the songs full justice, as each is a musical odyssey, with some widely varying sounds in the same song. Lyrically relevant to everything going on today, and particularly some issues I can relate to in my own life. Musically captivating. Rides the range from thought provoking to exhilerating. Will make you a believer. [...]

At first listen, I "liked" about 5 or 6 of the 11 songs. A few I skipped when playing the entire CD in my car. The more I've listened, the less I've skipped, gaining a new appreciation for the lesser songs on the CD to the point that I now listen to it in its entirety. The entire song list will grow on you, and it is arranged perfectly. While not hugely "deep", the lyrical and musical combination is just right (not too heavy or light) for ease of listening. For comparison, I list Green Day's "American Fool" among my top ten also, although they are admittedly a "harder" sound.

Thank you, James. I have to apologize for the admittedly mediocre commercial success in the U.S., after discovering that in the UK and Europe they have always been hugely popular, still selling out venues many times the size of the ones here that they have been touring this year. I don't know if its because of their label, or whatever.

Research on my part led to discovery that at one time Radiohead ('80's), Coldplay ('90's) and Nirvana ('90's) all opened for them during the beginning of those band's careers, right before each became successful. Wish some major band would have them open now, so they can gain back more commercial success here. I also hope some major stations start playing more of this record.