I have a special edition of "Song Poem of the Week" for the Fourth of July! I've scoured my collection to find something patriotic, and have settled on the always ridiculous pipes of Jimmie James, with his rendition of "Our Colors".
Near the end of Film City's run, there seems to have been a brief, post-Rodd Keith period. I say that because among those final releases, he disappears from the artist credits (as Jimmie James - sometimes Jimmy James - and a few others show up) and because there is a sudden, steep drop-off in musical creativity in those records, as well. The last few singles that I know of on the label feature downright treacly Chamberlin work, with minimal attempts at combinations of sounds, or of anything remotely interesting. The link above goes to one other Jimmie James record which I posted at WFMU, and within this post are two more Jimmie James records, among my all time favorites from my collection (Mini Girl Song and Free Love For Sale) which are from either side of the same single, and which were originally posted at the AS/PMA website.
Today's flag-honoring record is downright woozy. With it's plodding beat, Jimmie's pompous delivery, overly-flowery patriotic language, and near four minute length (despite the 2:19 listed on the label) it would have been a decent example of the ridiculous side of the art of the song-poem anyway. But the record is also pressed off-center, adding a delightfully drunk feeling to the entire proceedings. And Jimmie's next to last note is more than worth the price of admission:
Download: Jimmie James - Our Colors
Play:
But wait, there's more! The flip side of the record, "It Would Be Fun", has joys of its own for the listener to discover, primarily in its lyrics, although there's also something to be said for a fairly catchy, if very brief, bridge section.
Download: Jimmie James - It Would Be Fun
Play:
By the way, although Jimi Hendrix is known to have used the name Jimmy James around the same time that Film City was in operation, I think we can safely assume that this is a different Jimmie James.
2 comments:
"I'd climb a tree...you'd climb a tree."
Finally listening to this now....demented! Thank you! And I didn't realize you were the source of the double a-side Mini Girl Song/Free Love For Sale! The "We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper" of song-poemdom!
"Our Colors" smears the music all over the place! And then the flip is a catchy little ditty. "I'd climb a tree.....you'd climb a tree", ha, that's great, I don't know if I would have caught that on the first listen, thanks Stu.
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