Jughead - Jughead

Year of Release: 2002
Label: InsideOut/Ear Candy
Catalog Number: SPV 085-65052 CD ECRCD 00
Format: CD
Total Time: 43:41:00

Wait a minute; this is not prog-rock! That is what I always get from the Inside Out label. Surpise! This is a great rock and pop record. Jughead has my vote for best new group of the year.

Ty Tabor and Derek Sherinian team up with the Bissonnettes, Greg and Matt, and you have another supergroup that is an offshoot of some other great prog bands. Upon first listen, I really did not catch just how good this was, my initial thought was "What the hell is this? This isn't a prog album!" That shut the door, and it did not allow me to hear it for its face value. I put it aside for a few weeks. Now as I listen with an open mind and ears it allows me to find an entirely different perspective. There are crunching power chords burning off Tabor's guitar that borders on prog-metal, and only because they jump back to pop often enough in each song enough to give the entire album a decidedly Beatles feel. In fact, the vocals sound so much like Lennon and McCartney its scary, but oh so delightful. Sherinian is surprisingly subdued in comparison to his Planet X material, but just as effective in this realm. Track 8 was a revelation. It is full of the colors of baseball's second season as "Paging Willie Mays" calls out to "Strawberry Fields." The song is definitely about more than baseball.

This is one of the best rock-pop records of 2002 easily, if not he best that I have heard this year. Progressive rock or metal fans do not fret; this has enough balls to get your attention and keep it. As you can see, I am appealing to all the progressive rock listeners like myself that may have expected something else. It is imperative that you have a love or appreciation for groups like the Beatles, Beach Boys, or groups like that to give this a fair chance. This is music in its purest and most unsoiled form.

Honest to goodness lyricism pumped up with energy and power is what Jughead is all about, and they rock hard enough so they do not lose the diehard prog heads along the way. This is more like something Genesis or Spock's Beard would do, but with more pop injected in between all the big fat power chords. Picture a pennant race down to the wire before the playoffs, the turning of the trees, and the beginning of football. Ah, life is good in America and rock and roll lives.

Tracklisting:
Halfway Home To Elvis (3:14) / C'mon (4:17) / Snow In Tahiti (2:50) / Promise (3:58) / Bullet Train (3:56) / Waiting On The Son (4:03) / Yesterday I Found Myself (5:26) / Be Like You (3:17) / Flowers (2:58) / Shame On The Butterfly (3:34) / Paging Willie Mays (8:08)

Musicians:
Ty Tabor - guitars, vocals
Matt Bissonette - bass, vocals
Greg Bissonette - drums, vocals
Derek Sherinian - rhythm guitars, keyboards

Discography:
Jughead (2002)

Genre: Rock

Origin US

Added: September 29th 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website:
Hits: 2432
Language: english