Stevie Jackson - (I Can't Get No) Stevie Jackson

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 9 / 7 / 2012

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Review

Having begun life as Stuart Murdoch’s band, playing along to his songs, Belle and Sebastian quickly evolved into a collective with several different songwriters contributing songs. Two of those songwriters – Stuart David and Isabel Campbell – quickly got the confidence to start their own side projects, and soon left the group to concentrate on those full time. Stevie Jackson, despite contributing some of B&S’s better known songs, has, however, waited until now to release his first material outside the confines of his main group. Partly, you suspect that this is just because he hasn’t had the time. As well as playing in B&S, he also tours with three other bands as well. Yet, perhaps, the real reason he hasn’t broken away earlier is that he is happy with the direction B&S were taking him in. The tuneful indie-pop with soul, psych and glam influences that defined albums like 'The Life Pursuit' is faithfully replicated on this solo debut. Jackson’s songs have tended to provide the light relief on Belle and Sebastian albums – think of his sly digs at Seymour Stein or the easy going pop of 'The Wrong Girl' – but he has also contributed some of their most enjoyable songs, not least the single 'Jonathan David'. Fans of any of those tracks will get what they are hoping for here. The love-it-or-hate-it pun in the album’s title gives a clue to the album’s tone. If pun-tastic comedian Tim Vine ever decides to make an indie album, it will sound quite a lot like this. So, we get doo-wop backing vocals, jangling 60's pop guitars and silly wordplay at every turn. Jackson even breaks into something suspiciously like a rap at one point. You are either the kind of person who wants to listen to a lyric like “met a crocodile happy for a little while/Now she’s getting snappy and she’s making allegations”, or you’re not. Luckily, this reviewer likes few things more than a contrived simile, and finds Jackson’s ditties a welcome relief from the unconvincing emoting of many songwriters. Jackson is at his best when at his most reckless, such as on the opening track 'Pure Of Heart', which begins with a description of a sandwich, but soon becomes a tale of teenage love. Its arrangement could have been taken straight from Elton John’s 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'. If you’re still reading after a complementary reference to Elton John, then you’ll love the swooping strings on 'Man Of God' and the acoustic delights of 'Dead Man’s Fall' and 'Kurasawa”. Jackson also finds room for a few guitar solos as well. A finely crafted, hugely enjoyable album – which suggests there is no harm in even the most contented of sidemen stepping out of the shadows.

Track Listing:-