Blind Mr Jones - Tattooine
by Dave Goodwin
published: 18 / 4 / 2015
Label:
Select Label
Format: N/A
intro
In our 'Re:View' section, in which we look back at albums from the past, Dave Goodwin reflects on shoegazing/Britpop band Blind Mr Jones' 1994 second album 'Tattoine', which has just been re-released and remastered
Blind Mr. Jones started life in early '90s Marlow, England. Presumably taking their name from the first two songs on Talking Heads' final album ‘Naked’, they quickly established a name for themselves as a young band that were really going places. Built around guitarist James Franklin, guitarist/vocalist Richard Moore, flautist Jon Tegner, bassist/vocalist Will Teversham, and drummer Jon White they gained a sound that was more or less a mirror image of bands like the Wedding Present. Eventually they developed a more distinctive sound to fit in line with shoegaze bands like Ride and Slowdive. With a demo of the band's EP, ‘Eyes Wide’, featuring guitar additions written by Slowdive's Neil Halstead, they won the attention of the Cherry Red label, which eventually signed them. Their full-length debut album ‘Stereo Musicale’ was followed up two years later by ‘Tatooine’, which found the band revealing Britpop as well as shoegaze influences. Unfortunately, however, they dissolved shortly after its release. So, here we are some 20 years after its release and Saint Marie Records are reissuing Blind Mr. Jones’ ‘Tatooine’, fully remastered on CD and for the very first time on vinyl. ‘Tatooine’ is not quite as brash as 1992's ‘Stereo Musicale’ and on first listen it is not as warming, although there are still smatterings of old when track eight, ‘Please Me’ comes tumbling in with more of the dramatic attitude more akin with their previous work. This is an album which is a grower and gets better the more you listen to it. It is a little bit more laid back and gone almost in full is what a few critics of the time heralded as an annoying flute. On this remastered version Moore’s vocals are clearer and wash over you nicely while the twinkling guitar work shines through. The starting track ‘Hey’ is a lush, harmonic affair, while ‘Disneyworld’ speeds you back in time and has you harking back to earlier days. Highlights for me on this though are ‘Big Plane ‘with its steady beat and tambourine tapping, the slightly faster ‘Surfer Baby’, and the lovely five minute closer ‘Mesa’. This remastered offering is slightly fresher and is beautifully reinterpreted on heavy gatefold retro finish and 180gm ‘color in color’ clear and transparent red or classic black vinyl.
Track Listing:-
Also In ReView
Andreas Dorau (2022)
Andrew Gold (2023)
Anthony Moore (2022)
Bark Psychosis (2018)
Beatles (2023)
Bert Jansch (2020)
Bert Jansch (2019)
Beth Orton (2014)
Big Eyes Family (2021)
Billy Idol (2018)
Bitter Springs (2021)
Blondie (2022)
Blue Nile (2014)
Bodines (2023)
Boyracer (2023)
Breathless (2016)
Brinsley Schwarz (2017)
Cardiacs (2014)
Chvrches (2014)
David Bowie (2022)
David Gray (2020)
Death and Vanilla (2016)
Donald Fagen (2021)
Doug Dillard Expedition (2024)
Earthworks (2020)
Flamin Groovies (2015)
Flaming Stars (2024)
Giant Sand (2020)
Giant Sand (2018)
Gomez (2018)
Gong (2015)
Grace Jones (2016)
Grace Jones (2014)
Graham Day and the Forefathers (2019)
Hawks (2021)
Hawkwind (2022)
Hot Pepper (2018)
Ian A. Anderson (2021)
Ian Dury (2021)
Iron Butterfly (2014)
John Cooper Clarke (2016)
Joni Mitchell (2021)
Keith Richards (2022)
Lapre (2020)
Lemonheads (2022)
Loft (2021)
Madness (2014)
McCarthy (2015)
Mercury Rev (2019)
Miscellaneous (2020)
Miscellaneous (2014)
Monochrome Set (2015)
Mothmen (2015)
Motorpsycho (2015)
New Leaf (2022)
New Musik (2023)
One Thousand Violins (2023)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (2015)
Orchids (2023)
Party Day (2021)
Pele (2017)
Phil Alvin (2015)
Phil Ochs (2016)
Primitives (2015)
Prolapse (2022)
Roger Mcguinn (2018)
Rubik (2021)
Sorrow (2018)
T. Rex (2023)
Television Personalities (2018)
Terry Allen (2016)
Thin Lizzy (2023)
Townes Van Zandt (2015)
Trashmen (2020)
Ty Segall (2022)
UB40 (2015)
Various (2022)
Various (2022)
VIPS (2020)
Wolfhounds (2015)
Zz Top (2018)
Band Links:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Mr._Joneshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Blind-Mr-Jones/111987392241798
Picture Gallery:-
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPIn Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #5 - ‘We all have good intentions/ But all with strings attached’: Music and Mental Health Part 2
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Allan Clarke - Interview
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Madeline Bell - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
Jimmy Nail - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesBill Wyman - Drive My Car
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
Philip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Deep Purple - =1
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Popstar - Obscene
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart