Let's Get Nervous - Jack Pedler (2007 release)
(CD Review by D.M. Wells)
There’s something admirably warped about Hamilton (Ontario) music icon Jack Pedler.
When he’s not making a musical mockery of ho-hum drummers when performing live, he’s a man on a political mission. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for those “bears of very little brain”, this otherwise complacent, sober man channels his political dissension into his madcap songwriting capabilities. His previous recordings (Fairyland It Ain’t, D.T. Delinquent, etc.) are uniquely bizarre and Let’s Get Nervous is no exception.
Reverting back to his high-speed rock’n’roll roots (with Coyote Shivers, Teenage Head and many, many others), Jack has dispensed with grand production here. Pared down to a basic but hardly novice trio, this collection of musical zingers is meant to shake the foundations of ever-increasing social apathy, heavily injected with Jack’s incorrigible sense of humour.
We are introduced to his new persona – a ’50s-era radio DJ/lush - by the haphazard twisting of an analog dial that picks up a station ID clip of “Wonderful J-A-C-K – JACK!”. The gruffly-slurring host bellows, “Moms, dads, boys and girls, the cartoons are coming your way”, followed by some Warner Brothers-like sound effects on the cheekily entitled “Diesel Drivin’ Dyke”. It features a hard-core dizzying guitar lead from the now sadly departed Byng Bell (christened Mark Severn), supported with a pulsing electric bass by the cardiac-challenging Neil Nickafor and Jack’s precision-controlled assault on the drum kit. Dave Pedler, Jack’s brother, provided the lyrics for this one, as well as “Third World Home”.
Jack gets his point across without being overly articulate on dragged-out headnodders “Up on Down Street” and “Toxin Town” (“Ooh, what’s that smell? …it’s a helluva lot worse than a halitosis vapour; light up your smoke and don’t you forget, there ain’t no fine to pay in good old high-falutin’ toxin town”). Old-school music fans will no doubt wax nostalgic over the preceding four-second “boo-boo” of a stylus screeching across the groove-worn surface of a vinyl record.
The strains of symphonic harps serve as a musical backdrop for a satirical “Commercial Break” enticing the listeners to “Look at this – just in time for doomsday. Look at this delicious carvial [neurotoxic] mushroom cloud ice cream cake. Isn’t it colourful? And, boy, is it tasty! Thanks for shopping at Carvia.” [I'm just speculating on this, as no liner notes were provided. DW]
“Mapled Red & White” abandons a brief, vaguely “21st Century Schizoid Man”-like guitar intro by zipping into a punky-spunky paroxysm with almost incoherent lyrics. It fizzles out beautifully with a marching drum and melody along the lines of “The Ants Go Marching One By One (hurrah, hurrah)” and seamlessly flowing into “You’re On the Air” (which features Jack on hilarious vocals, keyboards, bass, percussion and guitars).
“Third World Home” is a rip-roaring, tongue-in-cheek tribute that any and all intellectual citizens of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, would consider an appropriate municipal anthem. It’s probably my favourite track, but I’m undecided about that.
The severely inebriated radio host character ends the CD by taking a “Closing Call” – a profanity-laced dialogue then ensues with a disgruntled listener that just about made me wet my pants from laughing so hard. Only Jack Pedler could get away with this anarchical middle finger at CRTC regulations – f’n priceless, eh?
Mark Severn’s dazzling dexterity on guitar and warm personality will be greatly missed for years to come. I’m very glad that producer Georgie Fab, Jack Pedler, Dave Pedler and Neil Nickafor (also a member of the Friends of Richard Newell Committee) were able to work with him on Let's Get Nervous, one of his final recordings. David Wildsmith or Mike Chiarot’s websites contain more of Mark’s swansongs (which also feature Jack Pedler on drums).
When he’s not making a musical mockery of ho-hum drummers when performing live, he’s a man on a political mission. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for those “bears of very little brain”, this otherwise complacent, sober man channels his political dissension into his madcap songwriting capabilities. His previous recordings (Fairyland It Ain’t, D.T. Delinquent, etc.) are uniquely bizarre and Let’s Get Nervous is no exception.
Reverting back to his high-speed rock’n’roll roots (with Coyote Shivers, Teenage Head and many, many others), Jack has dispensed with grand production here. Pared down to a basic but hardly novice trio, this collection of musical zingers is meant to shake the foundations of ever-increasing social apathy, heavily injected with Jack’s incorrigible sense of humour.
We are introduced to his new persona – a ’50s-era radio DJ/lush - by the haphazard twisting of an analog dial that picks up a station ID clip of “Wonderful J-A-C-K – JACK!”. The gruffly-slurring host bellows, “Moms, dads, boys and girls, the cartoons are coming your way”, followed by some Warner Brothers-like sound effects on the cheekily entitled “Diesel Drivin’ Dyke”. It features a hard-core dizzying guitar lead from the now sadly departed Byng Bell (christened Mark Severn), supported with a pulsing electric bass by the cardiac-challenging Neil Nickafor and Jack’s precision-controlled assault on the drum kit. Dave Pedler, Jack’s brother, provided the lyrics for this one, as well as “Third World Home”.
Jack gets his point across without being overly articulate on dragged-out headnodders “Up on Down Street” and “Toxin Town” (“Ooh, what’s that smell? …it’s a helluva lot worse than a halitosis vapour; light up your smoke and don’t you forget, there ain’t no fine to pay in good old high-falutin’ toxin town”). Old-school music fans will no doubt wax nostalgic over the preceding four-second “boo-boo” of a stylus screeching across the groove-worn surface of a vinyl record.
The strains of symphonic harps serve as a musical backdrop for a satirical “Commercial Break” enticing the listeners to “Look at this – just in time for doomsday. Look at this delicious carvial [neurotoxic] mushroom cloud ice cream cake. Isn’t it colourful? And, boy, is it tasty! Thanks for shopping at Carvia.” [I'm just speculating on this, as no liner notes were provided. DW]
“Mapled Red & White” abandons a brief, vaguely “21st Century Schizoid Man”-like guitar intro by zipping into a punky-spunky paroxysm with almost incoherent lyrics. It fizzles out beautifully with a marching drum and melody along the lines of “The Ants Go Marching One By One (hurrah, hurrah)” and seamlessly flowing into “You’re On the Air” (which features Jack on hilarious vocals, keyboards, bass, percussion and guitars).
“Third World Home” is a rip-roaring, tongue-in-cheek tribute that any and all intellectual citizens of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, would consider an appropriate municipal anthem. It’s probably my favourite track, but I’m undecided about that.
The severely inebriated radio host character ends the CD by taking a “Closing Call” – a profanity-laced dialogue then ensues with a disgruntled listener that just about made me wet my pants from laughing so hard. Only Jack Pedler could get away with this anarchical middle finger at CRTC regulations – f’n priceless, eh?
Mark Severn’s dazzling dexterity on guitar and warm personality will be greatly missed for years to come. I’m very glad that producer Georgie Fab, Jack Pedler, Dave Pedler and Neil Nickafor (also a member of the Friends of Richard Newell Committee) were able to work with him on Let's Get Nervous, one of his final recordings. David Wildsmith or Mike Chiarot’s websites contain more of Mark’s swansongs (which also feature Jack Pedler on drums).
Check out Let's Get Nervous and other great music at:
No comments:
Post a Comment