JAKKO M. JAKSZYK:

'THE BRUISED ROMANTIC GLEE CLUB'

(ICENI ICND 2007 - RELEASED MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19^th 2007)

Dunno about you, but I like albums. Records that are thoughtfully sequenced, where tracks contrast and complement one another, not simply the 'singles' and then a slow wind down to filler and the inevitable 'bonus track'. Where an artist or a band are not afraid to get a bit discursive, music that treats you like a grown-up, if you like. Some may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one (I hope). In these downloadable times, the art of the album is in danger of disappearing, like the polar ice caps and smoking in pubs. That's progress, of a sort, and progress is the operative word here. Not going gently into that dark digital night is the ludicrously gifted songwriter and musician, Jakko M Jakszyk, whose Canute-like dedication to the long-playing musical format is given flesh care of The Bruised Romantic Glee Club, a double CD, defiantly Progressive Rock collection to be released on the Iceni label on Monday, February 19^th 2007.

The Progressive Rock beast has been (often) unfairly administered a sound musical kicking since it's late 60's / early 70's heyday. However, on The Bruised Romantic Glee Club, Jakszyk uses the form brilliantly, with a series of frequently dazzling musical soundscapes framing his supremely melodic songs. Lyrically, though, Jakszyk eschews the loftier flights of Prog libretto in favour of a more direct approach, but still allusive and colourful. It's also an album that wears it's Prog Rock structures with a sense of humour, whilst simultaneously delivering a set of emotive sucker punches that linger long in the memory. No greater proof is there than the opening (title) track, which wastes no time in asserting it's Progressive power, the great Mel Collins soloing to devastating effect against an epic mellotron superstructure. On No One Left To Lie To, the sense of romantic betrayal contained within the lyric is profoundly enhanced by music of commensurate weight, to awesome effect. Undoubtedly the emotional core of the album comes with disc one's final track, When We Go Home, which is based around the last words of Jakko's mother, in the final stages of Alzheimer's disease - a potentially difficult subject that is handled with care and grace, and never descends into mawkishness. Elsewhere, the breezy delights of Highgate Hill is vividly brought to life in Jakko's skilled hands, evoking the pastoral tones and moods of the 'Canterbury Sound' of yore. You'll recall that earlier I used the word 'discursive', didn't you?

Like I said, it's a double CD, divided into a disc of Jakko originals, and a disc of Prog cover versions, a personal homage to the music that influenced him in his musical formative years. The disc includes versions of songs by Henry Cow, Soft Machine and King Crimson. Few would have both the musical chops and the sheer chutzpah to tackle such outré material as Nirvana For Mice by Henry Cow, or Pictures Of An Indian City (a variation on Pictures Of A City by King Crimson, with new lyrics by Crimson wordsmith Pete Sinfield) but Jakszyk does more than merely play the notes, reinvesting the pieces with a luminous, sparkling vitality.

The Bruised Romantic Glee Club features contributions from an impressive roster of musical talents  - including Robert Fripp, Mel Collins, Mark King, Dave Stewart (of Egg /Hatfield & The North, not The Eurythmics!), Hugh Hopper, Danny Thompson, Ian MacDonald, Caroline Lavelle, and Gavin Harrison (of contemporary UK Prog giants Porcupine Tree) amongst others, who all make telling contributions, but it is Jakszyk's over-arching vision that brings a satisfying wholeness to the project.

Jakko M Jakszyk is a musical talent who has graced recordings from artists as varied as Tom Robinson, Level 42, Peter Blegvad, Dizrhytmia (his collaboration with Brit bass legend Danny Thompson) and countless others, as well as gracing the line-up of The 21^st Century Schizoid Band. The Bruised Romantic Glee Club is a remarkable, bold and distinctive work that cares little for prevailing commercial trends and fearlessly stands on its own.