Monday, December 2, 2019

The Jay Vons: FINALLY!



It's been almost ten years since I received The Jay Vons debut single,"Maybe I Loved You" as a birthday present. I loved everything about it and waited patiently for the full length...but it never came. Then, a new single...in 2013. Finally, I thought, a full length is on the way. But...no. Two more singles, one in 2015 and another in 2017 and still, I did not own a Jay Vons long player...until now.

"The Word" has finally arrived.

Before I go on, let me say this about The Jay Vons, Daptone Records, Crytopvision Records and the entire family, immediate and extended, of musicians and singers doing the whole retro soul thang. It ain't all good. At times, I find it gimmicky and a bit forced. All style, no subtance. Taking advantage of a recording technique and creating records that almost sound vintage is fun for awhile, until you realize, there are far too many real things out there, A-listers through D-listers, "chitlin circuit" players who 50 and 60 years later are still paying their dues playing small town stomps, doing two and three tunes a night along with a dozen other might-have-beens on the line-up. It makes it hard, at least for me, to get behind some bridge and tunnel kids, holed up in a Brooklyn studio making fake soul records.

But it's not all like that. Sharon Jones was the shit. And so are The Jay Vons.

That's my rant.

Now give a listen to some tunes from the new record. Ten years is a long time to wait, but The Jay Vons did not disappoint.












10 comments:

Joe said...

Back in the day, the Average White Band and Hall and Oates were considered the interlopers. For me, it is all about generating excitement with the music. 100 Days, 100 Nights would have worked for me in 1969. joe

Tumblingdice70 said...

Sal, this is very tasty for a Monday, thank you! I downloaded it and am digging it!

Bryan

Ken D said...

Wow. Very nice. Thanks for tipping us off to this band. Never heard of them before.
And surprise—the band is four white guys. (Checked the Daptone website.)

But hey, yeah you—Astoria, what's with the snark toward the bridge-and-tunnels? Where you been the past decade or two? The outer boroughs are where it's all goin' on! ;)

Ken D (out in Brooklyn, via the Battery Tunnel thank you...)

Sal Nunziato said...

@Ken D,
"What's with the snark?" How long have you known me? ;)

To be clearer, and this is coming from someone raised in both Greenwich Village and Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn, Brooklyn is now a brand. Four guys from Wisconsin or South Dakota, or WALES for Pete's sake, pick up, find a place in Bushwick, make a record, and suddenly they are from Brooklyn. Bands now say, "Brooklyn-based" as if that means anything regarding the music. My point was, I pass on a lot of this retro soul music because I'd prefer listening to the real stuff that was recorded 60 years ago, in Baton Rouge or Abilene, in a studio that had NO choice but to record in MONO, as opposed to four white guys from Hartford or Teaneck, trying to sound 60 years old or southern, or what have you.

jeff said...

thanks for the tip, great record.

stewrat said...

I agree on all accounts - It's been a small torture as this record oozed out over the years. They did a great job opening for Lee Fields earlier this year in Brighton, MA.

Whattawino said...

Sounds GREAT! Thank you, Sal......and Thank You, Jay Vons!

Ken D said...

Re the "Brooklyn brand": last spring we were in a restaurant up in Ithaca, NY and saw a flyer for a band that was playing there the upcoming weekend. The name of the band? "Not From Brooklyn." So you know the backlash is well under way!

Troy said...

Damn, that sounds mighty fine. Thanks for the tip.

Speaking of artists who were the shit, and also of waiting forever for an album to drop: did anyone ever put out an APB on Ricky Fante? His debut was outstanding, and then....poof.

ken49 said...

To my ears it is always the vocals that don't measure up. Songs? yep, Sound? yep, Arrangements? yep. Vocals? seldom. This is quite commendable, and some good songs.