JAY-JAY JOHANSON "TRAVELLING LIGHT 1996-2000"

I've been on the road, I've been on vacation
I've been traveling light to reach my final destination
Now I'm coming home

So tell the girls that I am back in town, you'd better tell them to beware
Where they may go or they might try to hide, I follow on and I'll be there

So tell the girls that I am back in town, and if it's true I do not know
That every girl around had missed me since I decided to go

I could be your friend, I could be your stranger
I could be the one your mother said would be your danger
Now it's up to you

So tell the girls that I am back in town, you'd better tell them to beware
Where they may go or they might try to hide, I follow on and I'll be there

So tell the girls that I am back in town and if it's true I do not know
That every girl around had missed me since I decided to go

[excerpt from the lyrics of "So Tell the Girls That I'm Back in Town" by Jay-Jay Johanson, 1996]



Jay-Jay Johanson is one of my heroes. Yes, no less than that. So, what can I add? I remember the very first time I watched the promotional clip for his first single "It Hurts Me So" back in 1996: what a coloured and strong voice in such a pale and frail body!

The lyrics and general atmosphere of the song have instantly entrapped me in melancholy and I never recovered since then... No, seriously, I have thought about it many times and now I would like to publicly state that, in this life, Jay-Jay Johanson is the only worthy artist that I discovered stumbling by chance upon MTV at 3:00 a.m., really! Since then I enjoyed each and every album he has made and I never get tired of listening to them.

A few years ago, in the early days of the blog, I already dedicated a few posts to Jay-Jay and you can find them here. The collection of edits, remixes, live recordings, rare tracks, etc. that I'm delighted to feature in this post covers the years 1996-2000 or, if you prefer, his first three albums, namely "Whiskey", "Tattoo" and "Poison". Each of these releases is a trip hop M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E that can easily stand between Portishead's first two albums without being ashamed.

Jay-Jay Johanson at home in Stockholm, 1997

In his twenty-year career, Jay-Jay Johanson has released ten albums and is currently working on his eleventh full-lenght release that will be released sometimes in mid/late 2017. His latest available offering is entitled "Opium" and was released in 2015 on Kwaidan Records. Needless to say that it is another fine example of his great art and I strongly encourage you to check it out, you won't regret it.

The following review of "Opium" was written by French journalist Pierre Siankowski; it fairly summarize Jay-Jay's distinctive features and was used as the album's official press-release:

«It was in 1996 that Jay-Jay Johanson, a young man from a cold climate, fascinated by the Bristol sound they called trip-hop and Portishead in particular, first tapped delicately on our eardrums. The intoxicating album that definitively put this rare and elegant Swede on the map was called "Whiskey". It was the beginning of an enthralling adventure. In only a few songs he revealed a family tree that spread its roots far and wide: on one branch Lee Hazlewood, or pop from Talk Talk or Harry Nilsson, on the other John Coltrane with Johnny Hartman, and a whole army of calm jazz or symphonic recordings sampled from everywhere imaginable. Almost twenty years later he has returned with an incredible new album. This new release is called "Opium" and it contains the very essence of Johanson's music: an ease with inventing melodies, a voice that gently caresses, and the jacked up, heady rhythms that lift and carry the songs. From the peaceful harmonica opening of "Drowsy / Too Young To Say Good Night" to the smoke-wreathed love song "I Don't Know Much About Loving", via titles with a sporadic and light groove ("NDE", "Alone Too Long"), "Opium" is a courageous offering. Johanson opens his heart with fearlessness and modesty, gracefully lowering his guard and evoking the questions that torment men of his age: love, solitude, immaturity. The songwriting is unerring, the words have a suppressed poetry. This new Johanson is the work of a guy who has survived the avalanches, who is no longer looking for answers and is content to sketch out the perspectives in as many songs. Some titles are serious ("Harakiri"), but others immediately take up the reins casting a more gentle, peaceful light, like "Scarecrow," a collaboration with Robin Guthrie that would not have sounded out of place on a Cocteau Twins album, or of the strange positivity of "Be Yourself" or "I Love Him So". The strength of "Opium" is that it asks questions that don't necessarily have an answer; it offers a collection of songs freed from any certitude but which convince through their modesty, through their precision. In short, Jay-Jay at his best.»

Jay-Jay Johanson, 1997

Here's the tracklist of "Travelling Light 1996-2000":

Disc 1

01. It Hurts Me So (Single Edit) (4:14)
02. So Tell the Girls That I Am Back In Town (Radio Edit) (3:49)
03. Mana Mana Mana Mana (Bang Bang Remix) (4:09)
04. Milan. Madrid. Chicago. Paris. (Radio Edit) (3:52)
05. BANG BANG feat. JAY-JAY JOHANSON - Two Fingers (4:32)
06. She's Mine But I'm Not Hers (Remix by Cherno) (4:23)
07. Alone Again (Remix - An Arthur Ashe Experience) (3:31)
08. Keep It A Secret (Radio Edit) (4:01)
09. Believe In Us (Piano Mix by Laurent Levesque) (4:08)
10. I Fantasize of You (Black Session, 30.04.97) (5:40)
11. The Girl I Love Is Gone (Black Session, 30.04.97) (3:53)
12. It Hurts Me So (Black Session, 30.04.97) (4:54)
13. So Tell the Girls That I'm Back In Town (Black Session, 30.04.97) (5:06)
14. Mana Mana Mana Mana (Black Session, 30.04.97) (5:50)
15. I'm Older Now (Black Session, 30.04.97) (4:18)
16. Suicide Is Painless (Black Session, 30.04.97) (3:32)
17. BANG BANG feat. JAY-JAY JOHANSON - Two Fingers (Instrumental) (4:34)

Disc 2

01. It Hurts Me so (Live at Studio Eefinanny, Stockholm, 1997) (5:52)
02. Milan. Madrid. Chicago. Paris. (Live in Strasbourg, 15.11.97) (5:00)
03. Mana Mana Mana Mana (Live in Strasbourg, 15.11.97) (5:22)
04. I'm Older Now (Live in Strasbourg, 15.11.97) (4:16)
05. She's Mine But I'm Not Hers (Live in Strasbourg, 15.11.97) (3:24)
06. Keep It a Secret (Remix - A Tribute To Venus & Serena) (4:25)
07. Believe In Us (Trip Listening Mix by Amadeus Tapioka) (4:46)
08. Far Away (Radio Edit) (4:12)
09. She's Mine But I'm Not Hers (Remix by Robin Guthrie) (4:25)
10. Neon Lights (Kraftwerk cover) (5:43)
11. Fire (Deep Deep Wood Mix) (3:10)
12. La Confusion des Genres Theme (Vocal Version) (3:22)
13. La Confusion des Genres End Theme (Alone Again Remix 2) (3:47)
14. Seven Inch (Vocals by Sadie & Alex Wollf) (4:56)
15. Alone Again ('La Confusion des Genres' hidden track) (1:53)
16. It Hurts Me So (Kareokee Version) (6:12)
      FIDGET feat. JAY-JAY JOHANSON - Hey Little Sister (3:23)

All selections were compiled and mastered in late 2016 / early 2017 and are available in FLAC lossless format along with printable artwork.

Before burning this compilation to CD-R using the provided CUE files you must convert the original FLAC audio file to WAV format using an appropriate software. Please have a look here if you need some help.

As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download link.



Some of the tracks contained on "Whiskey" - or more probably, the whole album - were recorded as early as 1994-1995, while "Poison" was probably already finished by the end of 1999... The "1996-2000" part in the title of this collection refers to the years the tracks were released for the first time. Here's more details about them:

tracks 1.01 and 2.16a are taken from "It Hurts Me So", CD single, 04.04.1996

track 1.02 is taken from the first edition of "So Tell the Girls That I Am Back In Town", CD single, 23.07.1996

track 2.16b is taken from Fidget's "Stop Losing", CD single, 1997

tracks 1.03 and 2.01 are taken from "Mana Mana Mana Mana", CD single, 1997

tracks from 1.10 to 1.16 were recorded live at Studio 105, Paris, France, 30.04.1997

tracks from 1.10 to 1.14 were remastered from "The Black Sessions #104", a CD-R bootleg released by Sangatte Records sometimes in 2004

track 1.15 is taken from the second edition of "So Tell the Girls That I Am Back In Town", CD single, 1997

track 1.16 is taken from "Un Automne 97", a various artists CD that was released as a supplement to French magaine Les Inrockuptibles in October 1997

tracks 1.05 and 1.17 are taken from Bang Bang's "Two Fingers", promotional CD single, 1998

track 1.04 is taken from "Milan. Madrid. Chicago. Paris.", CD single, 07.05.1998

tracks from 2.02 to 2.05 were recorded live in Strasbourg, 15.11.1997

tracks from 2.02 to 2.04 are taken from "Jay-Jay Goes Live", promotional CD single, 1998

track 1.06, 2.05 and 2.09 are taken from from "She's Mine But I'm Not Hers", CD single, 10.09.1998

tracks 1.07, 1.08 and 2.06 are taken from "Keep It a Secret", CD single, 11.02.2000

tracks 2.10 and 2.11 are bonus tracks taken the French edition of "Poison", CD, French edition, 11.04.2000

tracks 1.09 and 2.07 are taken from "Believe In Us", CD single, 05.07.2000

tracks from 2.12 to 2.15 are taken from "La Confusion des Genres", original soundtrack CD, 2000

track 2.08 is taken from "Best of 1996-2013", compilation CD, 2013

The following is a rich selection of original promotional clips, remixes and live tracks that are pertinent to the collection presented in this post, enjoy!

More information about Jay-Jay Johanson is available here:

http://www.jay-jayjohanson.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jayjayjohanson/

https://soundcloud.com/jay-jay-johanson

http://www.michelviotte.fr/spip.php?article58

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Jay_Johanson

https://www.discogs.com/artist/11481-Jay-Jay-Johanson

http://www.alwaysontherun.net/jayjay.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWU7Mx2vOlU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLaKwzYXutE

http://www.froggydelight.com/article-16552-Jay_Jay_Johanson.html

http://www.popnews.com/popnews/jay-jay-johanson-et-robin-guthrie-interview

http://crueltobekind.fr/jay-jay-johanson

https://zetalks.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/jay-jay-johanson-develop-your-creativity-and-believe-in-it/

All your inputs are more than welcome: you can reach me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

A.A.V.V. "STEREO COCKTAIL VOLUME ONE"

Well, many factors currently prevent me from working on new masters from vinyl records; the situation should settle down in the coming months, so bear with me. Meanwhile, I thought about treating you with the first volume in a new series of compilations.

So, graced by gorgeous Eve Meyer on the cover, here comes "Stereo Cocktail Volume One"; it contains songs and a few instrumentals taken from some of the albums that I enjoyed the most during this long hot summer.

There's definitely a flavour of americana spread across the tracks, but in the true spirit of this blog many genres have been considered and juxtaposed with each other. Althought the music on offer here spans about forty-five years the final result sounds mostly cohesive to my ears, I truly hope you will enjoy!

Here's the tracklist of "Stereo Cocktail Volume One":

01. EURO BOYS - Deliverance (8:20)
02. BOB DYLAN - To Be Alone With You (1:52)
03. FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ - Twilight Sleep (4:52)
04. GLEN CAMPBELL & MICHELLE SHOCKED with TEXAS TORNADOS
      - Wichita Lineman (3:50)
05. JOSEPH ARTHUR - Honey and the Moon (4:24)
06. PRIMAL SCREAM - Struttin' (Edit) (4:59)
07. SORT SOL - Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town (2:52)
08. AL STEWART - On the Border (3:10)
09. IMANI COPPOLA - La Da Da (4:10)
10. JAY-JAY JOHANSON - A Letter To Lulu-Mae (2:35)
11. LEONARD COHEN - Darkness (4:09)
12. BECK - We Live Again (2:59)
13. BABY HUEY - Running (2:51)
14. THE DURUTTI COLUMN - Friends (5:39)
15. SCOTT WALKER - Montague Terrace (In Blue) (3:23)
16. TERRY CALLIER - I'd Rather Be With You (6:33)
17. THE SEA AND CAKE - Sound and Vision (3:36)

All selections were compiled and mixed in September 2016 and are available in FLAC lossless format along with printable artwork.

Before burning this compilation to CD-R using the provided CUE file you must convert the original FLAC audio file to WAV format using an appropriate software. Please have a look here if you need some help.

As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download link.

A note for the readers: most of the biographic details below were taken from various Wikipedia articles; I believe it is useful to have all the pertinent information about this compilation gathered in one place.

01. EURO BOYS – Deliverance
original CD/2LP issue: Long Day's Flight 'Till Tomorrow, Virgin (1999)
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Euro Boys is a Norwegian band. They were formed in 1990 under the name Kåre and The Cavemen, but changed it to Euro Boys in 1997 for releases outside of Norway. In 2000 they changed their name to Euroboys for all releases including inside Norway. Yes, I know this looks a little bit strange... Anyway, "Deliverance" is the opening number from their second album, which is a small masterpiece. Almost entirely made of instrumental tracks, it is a perfect companion for driving through the night and has kept me good company for quite many journeys. Guitarist Knut Schreiner also plays lead guitar with Turbonegro. More information about the band is also available here.

02. BOB DYLAN – To Be Alone With You
original LP issue: Nashville Skyline, Columbia (1969)
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Bob Dylan needs no introduction. As Wikipedia recites, "Nashville Skyline" is his ninth studio album and was released on April 9, 1969. Building on the rustic style he experimented with on "John Wesley Harding", the album displayed a complete immersion into country music. Along with the more basic lyrical themes, simple songwriting structures, and charming domestic feel, it introduced audiences to a radically new singing voice from his author, who had temporarily quit smoking - a soft, affected country croon. The result received a generally positive reaction from critics, and was a commercial success. "To Be Alone With You" is a simple love song; it was the first one Dylan recorded for the album.

03. FRIENDS OF DEAN MARTINEZ – Twilight Sleep
original CD issue: Atardecer, Knitting Factory Records (1998)
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Friends of Dean Martinez is an instrumental rock / post-rock band featuring members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. Their music may be described as a combination of americana tunes with bits of electronica, ambient, lounge and psychedelia intertwined with surf rock inspired lead guitars. Originally called The Friends of Dean Martin, they were forced to change their name after the actor refused to give them his blessing... "Twilight Sleep" is taken from "Atardecer", the band's third full-lenght release, a postmodern instrumental rock album which is a good illustration of different ways to conjure imaginative reverbed and acoustic guitar lines.

04. GLEN CAMPBELL & MICHELLE SHOCKED WITH TEXAS TORNADOS - Wichita Lineman
original CD issue: A.A.V.V. - Lounge-A-Palooza, Hollywood Records (1997)
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I guess that at least hundreds and hundreds of compilations were released during the lounge / space age pop / cocktail music revival of the mid 90s (...ooops, looks like that with "Stereo Cocktail Volume One" we're just twenty years late...). Among the ones that I purchased then, "Lounge-A-Palooza" is still one of my favorites. As the liner notes put it, the album «is the heart and soul of a new generation of Martini-sipping swingers»... Well, Martini is not exactly my cup of tea, so to speak, but I can only bow in front of the cosmic forces that have brought together Glen Campbell, Michelle Shocked and Texas Tornados for this great version of Campbell's signature song "Wichita Lineman".

05. JOSEPH ARTHUR - Honey and the Moon
original CD issue: Redemption's Son, Real World Records (2002)
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Joseph Arthur is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. Combining poetic lyrics with a layered sonic palette, Arthur has built his reputation over the years through critically acclaimed releases and constant touring. He was discovered by Peter Gabriel in the mid-'90s, and signed to Gabriel's Real World as the first North American artist on the label's roster. Arthur is also an acclaimed painter and designer; his artwork has graced most of the sleeves of his entire discography. "Honey and the Moon" is my favourite song from his third studio album and is a quite fine example of the man's artistry.

06. PRIMAL SCREAM - Struttin' [Edit]
original CD/2LP issue: Give Out But Don't Give Up, Creation Records (1994)
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Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow. The band were a key part of the mid-1980s indie pop scene, but eventually moved away from their more jangly sound, taking on more psychedelic and then garage rock influences, before incorporating a dance music element to their sound. Their 1991 album "Screamadelica" broke the band into the mainstream. The following album "Give Out But Don't Give Up" - from which this edited version of "Struttin'" is taken - was released in 1994 and was a massive departure from their previous output. Where "Screamadelica" was primarily a psychedelic album, this new effort was influenced by classic rock and blues... That's exactly what is needed to beef up this compilation a little bit right now.

07. SORT SOL - Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town
original 12" issue: Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town, Medley Records (1985)
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Sort Sol is a pioneer rock band from Denmark. The group was formed in 1977 as a punk rock outfit, originally under the name Sods. The name Sort Sol was taken in the early 1980s. It translates to English as 'black sun' and is named after a nature phenomenon particular to their Country, where huge bird flocks gather in the sky and appear to block out the sun. I first fell in love with this band thanks to their Joy Division-influenced album "Under en Sort Sol" released sometimes in 1980. "Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town" - a song originally performed by Johnny Darrell in 1967 - is taken from the 12" EP of the same name released in 1985, which is entirely made of covers of famous American songs.

08. AL STEWART - On the Border
original LP issue: Year of the Cat, RCA Victor (1976)
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Al Stewart is a Glasgow-born singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of characters and events from history. Stewart is best known for his 1976 hit single "Year of the Cat", the title song from the platinum album of the same name. "On the Border", which is included here, was the second single excerpted from that album. It offers some quite seductive Spanish guitar riffs and is an example of Pop perfection for sure. My older brother listened to this album for months when it was released. I was just six years old then, so I guess that this is one of my earliest favourites.

09. IMANI COPPOLA - La Da Da
original CD issue: Chupacabra, Columbia (1997)
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What a pleasant discovery I made tonight! I remember to have bought "Chupacabra" some fifteen years ago in the bargain bin of a second-hand records shop out of curiosity, but in the end I never searched for information about its author until now.. I'm quite happy to learn that Imani Coppola has released many other albums after her 1997 debut and that she is still active today as part of the Little Jackie duo. I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of pure hip hop music, but the beats and samples scattered all over "Chupacabra" and its implicit pop feeling always strike a chord in me. "La Da Da" is a lovely mellifluous track and comes at the end of the album. As you have already guessed, it is the one that I like the most.

10. JAY-JAY JOHANSON - A Letter To Lulu-Mae
original CD issue: Tattoo, BMG Sweden / RCA (1998)
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Jay-Jay Johanson is one of my heroes. Yes, no less than that. So, what can I add? I remember the very first time I watched the promotional clip for his first single "It Hurts Me So" back in 1996: what a coloured and strong voice in such a pale and frail body! The lyrics and general atmosphere of the song have instantly entrapped me in melancholy and I never recovered since then... No, seriously, I have thought about it many times and now I would like to publicly state that, in this life, Jay-Jay is the only worthy artist that I discovered stumbling by chance upon MTV at 3:00 a.m., really! Since then I enjoyed each and every album he has made, and I strongly encourage you to check him, you won't regret it. "A Letter To Lulu-Mae" is taken from his second album entitled "Tattoo", which is a trip hop M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E that can easily stand between Portishead's first two albums without being ashamed.

11. LEONARD COHEN - Darkness
original CD/LP issue: Old Ideas, Columbia / Sony (2012)
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If Bob Dylan needs no introduction, then why Leonard Cohen should? As Bruce Eder puts it, «Cohen is second only to Dylan (and perhaps Paul Simon) in terms of influence, he commands the attention of critics and younger musicians more firmly than any other musical figure from the 1960s who is still working at the outset of the 21st century.» I agree with that, well, maybe except the bit about Paul Simon, but I understand that each one of us loves to make his/her own charts. Unfortunately, during the years I lost track of Leonard Cohen, you know, twenty-four hours a day are never enough for everything... My fault! I was lucky enough to watch the second season of "True Detective" (...and I can't help to mention that, just like almost anyone else in this planetary system, I enjoyed the first one much more...) and the use of Cohen's "Nevermind" - off his latest album "Popular Problems" - as theme song was a welcome surprise. The bluesy "Darkness" is taken from his 2012 album "Old Ideas", which is delightful too.

12. BECK - We Live Again
original CD issue: Mutations, Geffen Records (1998)
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Beck is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his sonically experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide genre styles. While playing some open mic events, he got noticed by a small local label, Bong Load Custom Records. In 1993, "Loser" was released to the world in a limited pressing of 500 copies and sent out to radio DJs across the U.S. The song became quite popular, and Geffen signed him in November of 1993, giving him the freedom to work with independent labels and to make 'uncommercial' music. Today, he musically encompasses folk, funk, soul, hip hop, alternative rock, country and psychedelia. "We Live Again" is an evocative ballad that will give shivers from here to eternity to anyone who has a heart, and is taken from the album "Mutations".

13. BABY HUEY - Running
original LP issue: The Baby Huey Story - The Living Legend, Curtom (1971)
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James Ramey, better known as Baby Huey, was an American rock and soul singer. He was the frontman for the band Baby Huey & the Babysitters, whose sole LP for Curtom Records in 1971 was influential in the development of hip hop music. Due to a glandular disorder, he weighed about 350 pounds (160 kg). His size contributed to his stage presence, but also to health problems. By 1970, he had developed an addiction to heroin, and his weight had increased. In addition to the heroin problem, he was also drinking... Baby Huey was in the midst of recording tracks for his debut album when he died as a result of a heart attack. Some time lapsed before his manager Marv Stuart and Curtis Mayfield took what had already been recorded, added some instrumental tracks that had been recorded previously, and managed to gather up enough material for the album's release. A quarter century later, the record went on to become a cult classic among soul musicians and hip hop fans and has been sampled many times. "Running", written by Mayfield, was released as "You've Got Me Running" by The Impressions in 1967. Baby Huey's version is much stronger than the original in my opinion.

14. THE DURUTTI COLUMN - Friends
original CD-R issue: Chronicle, Kooky Records (2011)
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The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England. The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly who is accompanied most of the times by drummer Bruce Mitchell. Since its inception, the band has been associated with Factory Records, until the label's collpase in the early 1990s. Let's put it simple: The Durutti Column are my favourite band of all times, full stop. I've been listening and supporting them for about thirty years now. Althought still partly incomplete, my collection of Durutti's releases is wide enough to include some sought after rarities, just like the "Chronicle" limited edition CD-R for example. The music on the album was premiered at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 30 April 2011 and the disc was sold on such occasion. Although I couldn't attend the concert, a few copies were sold directly from Kooky Records the following May. The official release of the album was delayed until June 2014 when it was finally made available as "Chronicle XL". In the meantime "Friends" was given a different - and shorter - mix and re-entitled "Fanfare Reprise". I am more inclined to appreciate the original version, that's why you can listen to it here.

15. SCOTT WALKER - Montague Terrace (In Blue)
original LP issue: Scott, Philips (1967)
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Born Noel Scott Engel on 9 January 1943 in Hamilton, Ohio, and gifted with a really interesting voice, that later will evolve into the contradistinctive baritone timbre, the young Scott Walker started with television appearances in 1957 and became a worldwide acclaimed star after moving to London and releasing for Philips as part of the The Walker Brothers. For some months the group even overshadowed The Beatles in popularity becoming icons always followed by a crowd of adoring fans. From 1967 the Walkers disbanded and Scott started to produce his first solo albums, the critical acclaimed "Scott", "Scott 2", "Scott 3", "Scott Sings Songs From His T.V. Series" and "Scott 4". For three years Walker worked in strict collaboration with the expert arranger John Franz, Philips A&R man, the young engineer Peter Olliff, and classical-trained directors like Wally Stott, Reg Guest and Peter Knight. "Montague Terrace (In Blue)" is taken from his debut solo album, and is a suggestive masterpiece full of lyricism and pathos.

16. TERRY CALLIER - I'd Rather Be With You
original LP issue: What Color Is Love, Cadet Records (1972)
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Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012), was an American jazz, soul and folk guitarist and singer-songwriter. His debut album, "The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier", released in 1965 on Prestige, included eight traditional songs and established that he was quite difficult to categorize. In 1970 he joined Jerry Butler's Chicago Songwriters Workshop and in 1972 he released his first self-penned album entitled "Occasional Rain", which was soon followed by "What Color Is Love". During the 1970s he released three more albums on Cadet and Elektra, but by the end of the decade his career had slowed down. Soon after recording a single, "I Don’t Want to See Myself (Without You)", which he paid for himself, in 1982 he quit music... He re-emerged from obscurity in the late 1980s when his music attracted a cult following among British soul music collectors and DJs. In the late 1990s Callier began his comeback to recorded music, collaborating with Urban Species and Beth Orton, before releasing the album "TimePeace" in 1998, which was followed by many more releases until his untimely departure. "I'd Rather Be With You" perfectly sums up Callier's approach both to life and music.

17. THE SEA AND CAKE - Sound and Vision
original CD/LP issue: One Bedroom, Thrill Jockey (2003)
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The Sea and Cake is an indie rock band with a jazz influence based in Chicago. The group formed in the mid-1990s from members of The Coctails, Shrimp Boat and Tortoise. Starting with 1997's "The Fawn", the group has relied on electronic sound sources, such as drum machines and synthesizers, to color its music, but has retained its distinctive post-jazz combo style. Contrary to his multi-instrumentalist role in Tortoise, John McEntire almost exclusively plays drums in The Sea and Cake. The cover art of their albums are largely created by members Eric Claridge (paintings) and Sam Prekop (photographs). Their most recent studio album, entitled "Runner", was released in 2012. "Sound and Vision" is taken from "One Bedroom", an album released by Thrill Jockey in 2003. The song was originally included on David Bowie's "Low", released in early 1977. Closing the compilation with this small tribute seems fair to me.

All your inputs are more than welcome, if you feel so inclined you can reach me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JAY-JAY JOHANSON - FEATURE/INTERVIEW FROM "LES INROCKUPTIBLES" #124, 29.10.1997

"Je suis quelqu'un de profondément mélancolique, tendance dépressif chronique. C'est un sentiment dont je ne retire aucune fierté mais il est là en permanence. Le seul aspect positif à tout ça est qu’il m'aide à composer. Lorsque je suis d'humeur joyeuse, impossible d'écrire une ligne ou une mélodie correctes. Ecrire est pour moi une espèce de thérapie, une façon de pactiser avec mes problèmes: OK, vous me pourrissez la vie, mais donnez-moi au moins de bonnes chansons en échange."

[Jay-Jay Johanson, 1997]

Jay-Jay Johanson as cover-star of Les Inrockuptibles #124

The following interview is taken from issue #124 of French magazine Les Inrockuptibles published in October 1997. After the success of "Whiskey", and with a view to his very first tour in France, the magazine elected Jay-Jay "revelation of the year" and featured him as cover-star.

The complete feature/interview is available in PDF format, please have a look at the comments for the download link of a compressed file that also include - both as TXT files - the original French text along with a rough English version created with Google Translate.

Advertisment for Jay-Jay Johanson's promotional tour in France, image taken from the same issue of Les Inrockuptibles

The following videos are two extracts from a 1998 documentary by Michel Viotte. Coproduced by La Sept ARTE, now ARTE France, the documentary was broadcasted in January 1999. More information about this project are available here.

More information about Jay-Jay Johanson is available here:

http://twitter.com/#!/JAYJAYJOHANSON

http://www.jay-jayjohanson.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jayjayjohanson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Jay_Johanson

http://web.me.com/michelviotte/Michel_Viotte_-_Site_Officiel/jayjayjohanson.html

If you have any useful information about this post - or if you spot any dead links - please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JAY-JAY JOHANSON - FEATURE/INTERVIEW FROM "LES INROCKUPTIBLES" #99, 09.04.1997

"J'écris mieux lorsque je suis triste. La frustation est ce qui m'a fait avancer. Si j'avais grandi dans une grande ville, où la culture est disponible à tous les coins de rue, je n'avrais jamais eu une telle curiosité. Mais a Skara, il fallait créer son propre univers, rien n'arrivait tout cuit: je peignais, jouais de la musique, écrivais des fanzines. Ça m'a endurci."

[Jay-Jay Johanson, 1997]

Jay-Jay Johanson at home in Stockholm, 1997

The following interview is taken from issue #99 of French magazine Les Inrockuptibles published in April 1997. It is probably the first important article/interview about Jay-Jay Johanson published outside of Sweden. A few months later the magazine elected Jay-Jay "revelation of the year" and featured him as cover-star on issue #124.

The complete feature/interview is available in PDF format, please have a look at the comments for the download link of a compressed file that also include - both as TXT files - the original French text along with a rough English version created with Google Translate.

"Here's where it started: Erik on my Hohner, Heikki Kiviaho on guitar and DJ Seep scratching that Al Green beat..."

More information about Jay-Jay Johanson is available here:

http://twitter.com/#!/JAYJAYJOHANSON

http://www.jay-jayjohanson.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jayjayjohanson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Jay_Johanson

http://web.me.com/michelviotte/Michel_Viotte_-_Site_Officiel/jayjayjohanson.html

If you have any useful information about this post - or if you spot any dead links - please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JAY-JAY JOHANSON "THE BLACK SESSIONS #104, 30.04.1997"

Every night I go to sleep and begin to dream
The story of my dream has got the same old theme
It’s you, baby, it’s you

Turn off the light, sit down on the couch, pour me a whiskey too
Take off your dress, I’ll help you with that
I fantasize of you

The scent of your skin gets to my head, as the smoke from your cigarette do
With Monk in the speakers and love in your eyes
I fantasize of you

[excerpt from the lyrics of "I Fantasize of You" by Jay-Jay Johanson]



With his debut album entitled "Whiskey" published in August 1996, swedish musician and singer-songwriter Jay-Jay Johanson (born Jäje Johanson) made crooning fashionable again at the end of the 20th century.

"I Fantasize of You", whose lyrics introduce this post and whose musical performance is the opening number on the bootleg recording of "The Black Sessions #104", is a fine example of his original style and genuinely affecting warm voice.

Originally published on Commando! / BMG (Sweden), and probably aimed at the Swedish market only, "Whiskey" was soon reprinted in a larger scale and made quite a sensation in France. Jay-Jay was elected "revelation of the year" by Les Inrockuptibles magazine and featured as cover-star on issue #124 in October 1997.



The Black Sessions are concerts performed for the French radio station France Inter as part of the C'est Lenoir Show. They were created in 1992 by Bernard Lenoir ("le noir" = "the black" in English) with the collaboration of Michèle Soulier. Often compared to the legendary Peel Sessions hosted by John Peel for BBC Radio 1, they are recorded in front of an audience and broadcasted live.

Also known as the "French John Peel", Lenoir has a strong reputation and is highly regarded as a radio pioneer, talent scout and prime mover of independent Rock music.

The Black Sessions are usually exploited by Sangatte Records, a bootleg label specialized in French radio shows. Marked as promotional releases, and resembling a connection with both Radio France and Bernard Lenoir, althought advertised as CDs they are CD-Rs "limited" to 2.500 individually numbered copies.



"The Black Session #104" by Jay-Jay Johanson was recorded live at Studio 105 in Paris on April the 30th 1997 and features the following songs:

01. I Fantasize of You (5:26)
02. The Girl I Love Is Gone (3:56)
03. It Hurts Me So (4:44)
04. So Tell the Girls That I'm Back In Town (5:25)
05. Mana Mana Mana Mana (5:50)
06. Tell Me Like It Is (3:19)
07. Suicide Is Painless (3:52)

All tracks were remastered from the original CD-R bootleg in November 2011 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files, both formats include complete PDF artwork. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.


Jay-Jay Johanson performing live at The Black Sessions #104, picture by Maxime Lévrier

Technically speaking, the recordings on the original bootleg in my possession are not in the best shape. They have probably been recorded on cassette and present quite a lot of hiss and radio static.

Furthermore, one of the songs ("So tell the Girls That I'm Back In Town") has a ten seconds cut during the first refrain. Luckily, I was able to fix most of these problems and the performance is quite more than just enjoyable in the fully remastered version that I'm offering for download here.

I must add that "Tell Me Like It Is" doesn't seem to come from the same source as the other tracks. It has a completely different ambience and it looks like it simply is a low-bitrate version of the original studio version that appears on "Whiskey".

I can't understand the reason for this, maybe the recording of this track was completely unusable for some reason, or maybe the bootleggers failed to record the song during the broadcast. As an alternative explanation, maybe the track was added just to increase playing time, who knows... Anyway, since it is part of the original bootleg I decided to keep it together with the other numbers.


Jay-Jay Johanson performing live at The Black Sessions #104, picture by Maxime Lévrier

Most of the tracks presented on this Black Sessions were originally released on "Whiskey" about one year earlier. Musically speaking, these songs are in strong debt with the Bristol trip-hop scene and especially with "Dummy", Portishead's debut album released back in 1994.

The cool arrangements are fed with hints of Jazz, Noir soundtracks and Bossanova, and Jay-Jay's voice stands out against the cinematic and lush backgrounds of Rhodes piano (courtesy of Erik Jansson, a precious and constant presence throughout Jay-Jay's entire career) and samples.

And about samples: althought the sleeve notes of "Whiskey" only credits Michael Nyman's "Fish Beach" as a sample source for "I'm Older Now" (...unfortunately a version of this track performed and recorded during this Black Session was not included on the Sangatte Records bootleg CD-R, but it available on the second edition of the rare "So Tell the Girls That I'm Back In Town" CD-single released by BMG (Sweden) in 1997...), there are other uncredited samples that you can hear in some of the tracks presented here that are worth mentioning.

First of all, the masterpiece "It Hurts Me So" is completely revolved around an orchestral loop taken straight from Francis Lai's "Plus fort que nous" (or "Stronger Than Us" in the English version) which is part of the soundtrack to Claude Lelouch's "Un homme et une femme" ("A Man and a Woman").

"So Tell the Girls That I'm Back In Town" features a small sample from Lalo Schifrin's "Danube Incident" (from an episode of "Mission: Impossible", which also consists the core of Portishead's "Sour Times") and a basic drum loop from Al Green's "I'm Glad You're Mine" (from the 1972 album "I'm Still In Love With You", also used by Massive Attack on their "Five Man Army" included on "Blue Lines").

The original music videos of "It Hurts Me So" and "So Tell the Girls That I'm Back In Town" are available here below courtesy of YouTube.

"Suicide Is Painless", the closing number on "The Black Session #104", is a cover of the theme song from the famous American TV series "M.A.S.H." written by Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman. According to Jay-Jay's own spoken introduction, this is his favourite TV series of all times.

The song was included on "Un automne 97", a special CD sampler released as a supplement to Les Inrockuptibles in October 1997 (...I'm not sure if this was a subscribers-only gift, or not...), and has been regularly performed live by Johanson through the years.

Since at last it has been properly recorded and included on his latest studio offering entitled "Spellbound" in 2011, it seems that Jay-Jay is still fond of M.A.S.H. and hasn't changed his mind about it.

By the way, just like all the previous Jay-Jay Johanson's releases, "Spellbound" is a great album. A double CD limited edition that includes new acoustic versions of older tracks is also available, I strongly encourage you to buy a copy and check for yourself how good it is.

Jay-Jay is often touring, if he happens to be in a city somewhere near you don't forget to pay him a visit, you will be rewarded and touched by his great artistry and his lovely persona.


Les Inrockuptibles #124, 29.10.1997

[last update: 31.01.2012]

More information about Jay-Jay Johanson and The Black Sessions is available here:

http://twitter.com/#!/JAYJAYJOHANSON

http://www.jay-jayjohanson.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jayjayjohanson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Jay_Johanson

http://web.me.com/michelviotte/Michel_Viotte_-_Site_Officiel/jayjayjohanson.html

http://www.blacksessions.fr/

http://www.freewebs.com/blacksessions/

I will hopefully post more Jay-Jay Johanson live recordings in the future. If you have any other useful information about him and this Black Session - especially corrections and improvements to what I wrote above - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

RECORDS I'M LOOKING FOR

This is a short list of records that I'm looking for, if you have any copies available for sale or trade please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

[last update: 25.06.2025]

JENSEN, DICK
Pour On the Power
(cassette, unknown label, 198?)

JOHANSON, JAY-JAY
Dilemma / The Thrill Is Gone (New Acoustic Version)
(CD-Single, 2011)

NICHOLS, NICHELLE
Shoop Shoop / ???
(7", 20th Century Records, 197?)

NICHOLS, NICHELLE with THE SPACE CADET CHOIR
Christmas Day / A Personal Thought From Nichelle
(7", 1980)

SALOMA
Mengapa Di-Rindu
(LP, EMI / Regal, SREG 9544, 1973)

SALOMA
Sesudah Seboh
(LP, EMI / Regal, SREG 9806, 1974)

SIT, NANCY (薜家燕)
我願為情犧牲
(LP, Fung Hang Records Ltd., FHLP 533, 1975)

WARNER, SANDRA
Willow Weep for Me / Comes Love
(7", Olympia Records, #820, circa 1959/1960)

ビートたけし&たけし軍団 (BEAT TAKESHI & TAKESHI ARMY CORPS)
Live!/野戦病院 (Live! Field Hospital)
(LP, Victor, SJX-30272, 1985)

ビートたけし (BEAT TAKESHI)
浅草キッド - Asakusa Kid
(LP, Victor, SJX-30305, 1986)

ビートたけし (BEAT TAKESHI)
豪華絢爛 - Goka Kenran
(LP, Victor, SJX-30363, 1988)

郷 ひろみ (HIROMI GO)
Hiromi on Stage! - よろしく哀愁 (Yoroshiku Aishuu)
(LP, CBS Sony, SOLL-113, 1974)

劉鳳屏 (PANCY LAU)
劉鳳屏之歌 - 莫負青春
(LP, Life Records, LSP 9031, 1970)

劉鳳屏 (PANCY LAU)
難忘負情的你
(LP, Life Records, LSP 9037, 1970)

???
???
(LP, New Wave Records Co., NWLP 1, 196?, not sure if this really exists...)

???
???
(LP, New Wave Records Co., NWLP 2, 196?, not sure if this really exists...)

???
???
(LP, New Wave Records Co., NWLP 3, 196?, not sure if this really exists...)

???
???
(LP, New Wave Records Co., NWLP 7, 196?, not sure if this really exists...)

???
???
(LP, New Wave Records Co., NWLP 13, 196?, not sure if this really exists...)

夏台鳳 (XIA TAI FENG) 夏心 (XIA XIN)
妹妹要我嫁 - 插曲原聲帶 (My Sister Asked Me To Marry Her - Original Soundtrack)
(LP, New Wave Records Co., NWLP 15, 196?)