Swing Set - The Dance (from Life Speeds Up, 1986)
Basking Sharks - Red Rose (from Shark Island, 1983)
D-Day - Dance It Off (from D-Day, 1983)
Jules Shear - Chain Within A Chain (from Demo-itis, 1986)
Milltown Brothers - Janice Is Gone (from Manchester, North of England, 1988)
Showing posts with label Jules Shear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jules Shear. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Jules Shear - The Eternal Return (1985)
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170811112734im_/http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/2697544_oqdhs/clock.jpg)
1. If She Knew What She Wants
2. Stand Tall
3. Steady
4. Change (Change)
5. The Fever's On
6. Her S/he Comes (with Pal Shazar)
7. Memories Burn Hard
8. You're Not Around
9. Empty Out the House (Throw it all Away)
10. Every Time I Get The Feeling
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Password: music
Labels:
80's,
Jules Shear,
mp3,
rapidshare,
Turn Back The Clock
Friday, September 28, 2007
Jules Shear - The Great Puzzle (1992)
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170811112734im_/http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hFUeKOqVQng/Rv_ilvAhXWI/AAAAAAAAAOk/PRq2rc98do4/s200/puzzle.jpg)
Although the interview was about five years old, by a quirk of coincidence I found a new release called The Great Puzzle nestling in the CD rack in our local store. It was unusual in those days for me to buy an album without reading a review, but without listening booths and the internet (can you imagine that?) sometimes you just had to take a chance. When the latest edition of Q Magazine came out, I noticed that they reviewed the album and gave it four stars out of five, an assessment I thoroughly agreed with.
Anyone who has not heard Jules' work before will find his voice takes a little getting used to. He has a very nasal, noo-yawk timbre, and in truth this can be a little wearing unless the material is compelling. Fortunately, every track on The Great Puzzle is a mini-masterpiece, a masterclass in songwriting where the melodies flutter and the stories weave their way into your head. Jules takes a slightly off-kilter approach to songwriting conventions. For example "Bark", naturally enough, is about a dog. "Jewel In A Cobweb" is about a dangerous relationship with some interesting spider allusions. "The Sad Sound of the Wind" and "Dreams Dissolve In Tears" take standard romantic break-up material and put an elegant spin on the proceedings such as "Not to deceive or with plans to leave/It was pure without intent". Other songs touch on loss, the perils of the world, and - in the sublime title track - its profound mysteries. When Jules wonders aloud, the question marks hang in the air like suspended chords.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170811112734im_/http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hFUeKOqVQng/Rv3hcfAhXLI/AAAAAAAAANM/LSspAra1Jq0/s200/trap.jpg)
After the rise of the eBay era, I discovered that three additional "puzzle pieces" from the sessions had been added to a promotional single, but had never been commercially released. All three are fine efforts and I have no hesitation in appending them to the set.
Jules Shear - The Great Puzzle (1992)
- The Trap Door
- The Great Puzzle
- We Were Only Making Love
- The Sad Sound Of The Wind
- Something Else To Me
- Make Believe
- Much Too Much
- Dreams Dissolve In Tears
- The Mystery's All Mine
- Jewel In A Cobweb
- Bark
- His Audience Has Gone To Sleep (Bonus Track)
- She Makes Things Happen (Bonus Track)
- Nothing Is Left Behind (Bonus Track)
A few copies of the album were packaged with a bonus disc Unplug This, featuring acoustic versions of several tracks from this and previous albums. You can find this to download here courtesy of my friend Big-D at Musica Obscura, along with several other rare albums by Jules.
Official Jules Shear Website
Wikipedia entry
A Good Summary of links to various Jules Shear related articles
Labels:
90's,
Classic Albums,
Jules Shear,
mp3,
zshare
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