/

This is the Ice'vAge'e Martha and the‘Muffins I Since their debut

/ album, Metro Music, and the inmhit, = "Echo Beach", Canada's Martha and. the Muffins have undergone quite a fan changes. One of the Martha's is gone- Martha Ladly left for England to start her own group. Bassist Carl Finkle is gone and has been replaced by Jocelyne Lanoi's, while guitarist Mark Gane has filled the-gap created by Ladly's departure.

The personnel is not the only feature of the band that has changed. This Is The Ice Age is an almost complete departure . from the bubblegum—laden Metro Music. In one respect this is good. I V However, at the same time, gone is the' freshness and vigor which character— ized cuts like "Echor Beach" and "Paint By Number Heart". It has largely been replaced with

to Lou Reed).

eerie, haunting, more sophisticated melodies.

V In effect, they have taken

_a good deal of the fun out Of their music and injected a conquerable portion of“ gloom.

There are a couple of

.. exceptions to the above

observation , notable the

l_ Single "Women Around the World at Work" and the up

tempo "You Sold the Cottage." .Cmis is the Ice Age brings to the fore. the lyrical intelligence and vocal’ability of Mark Gane (he has been compared This is clearest in "Swimming" and "Bay Without Filters". Martha and the Muffins could have been excused for selling out. After all, the band was only months old when a British record label (Virgin) signed them to a recording contract - before they. even had a Canadian ‘ contract. HOwever, $15 is the Ice Age gives me

Ell—e impreSSion that this -

» Jumpin' Jive.

~ ' " , The UPEI SUN, October 29,1981, page 5

TheMusicBee'

band is growing and taking itself seriously and, at the same time, helping the Canadian recording

1 industry do the same. Jumpin' Jive - Joe Jackson

I'm still having difficulty believing that this is the same Joe " Jackson that gave us 1111 the Man.‘ Well, Joe, you may -E' the man but you're going to have a hell of a time winning back the rock/punk fans that you are going to lose with Don't get me wrong - in its own right Jumpin Jive is a good album. ‘It's just that I don't think that fans of look Sharp and I‘m the Man are quite ready for this.

To hear Jackson . revive 40's swing (on every cut) is a surprise along the lines of Jeff Beck jamming with Slim Whitman. So, you don't pay that much attention on the first listen - you keep checking "the l . p . jacket

to make sure that this whOle thing is for real.

Now, for the Music. Is it any good? Yes, if pop/jazz is your thing. it is very good. The balance of the l.p. is material made popular by the likes of Glenn Miller, Cab Calla/may, and Louis Jordon. 'IWo Jordon ' compositions are featured: "You're My Meat" and "What's the Use of Getting Sober (when you're Gonna Get Drunk Again)".

~ Anyone but Jackson

probably wouldn't be able to pull this project off and get away with it. It is Jackson't very evident commitment to (and confidence with) the material that makes Jumpin Jive work.

Joe Jackson produced and arranged Jumpin Jive and the l.p. willwprobably stand as his least success— ful effort. In a way this is unfortunate - he had revived an often forgotten era in the evolution of pop music.

ALBUMS COURTESY 0F —

Sam TheRecord , 61 UNIVERSITY AVENUE * “Your complete music Centre"—

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