ED JAMES
Poprocket (Jam Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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In 1999, a CD arrived in my mailbox inviting me to "Meet Ed James." A quick look at the liner notes told me the guy worked alone. Greeeeat. You have no idea how many one man band CDs we get and how few sound like anything more than, at best, demos with potential. Ed James, on the other hand, became an immediate argument for cloning. "Get this man three more of himself so he can do this stuff live," I cried! It was exciting, fresh, clever if not brilliant powerpop that sounded like a real band. Not just any band, but a real GOOD band! It's one of only three CDs from that time period that remains near my player and has never been moved to the room where CDs are kept. It's that good. My 1999 review concluded with "This is only his debut release, which means the guy's just going to get better. I can't even imagine what that'll be like."

And I waited and waited. By 2001, I figured he'd gotten discouraged and disappeared into Corporate America.

Then this CD rockets into the mailbox with an audible pop. Within a few songs I'm comfortable saying that Ed James has matured as a writer, a singer, a player, and a producer to levels far greater than one could expect to see in a mere three years. I never doubted he was the real thing, but... wow! The songs on Poprocket are fantastic, energizing, fully realized compositions with more hooks than Col. Blake's fishin' hat, lead vocals that make me think of what Dennis DeYoung (Styx) would have sounded like without all that opera vibrato crap and more rock edge, and background vocals (same guy, mind you) so tight and perfect that they take your breath away. Just as it was in 1999, James pays full attention to each song in the writing process, leaving no half-assed filler tracks between gems. "Bad Day" is great on two levels, with a salty/sultry guitar undertone that echoes the lyrical sentiment in an otherwise upbeat song, and the retro feel of "Holly Would" never overwhelms the listener to the point where they'd think "sounds old." Any moment when James chooses a retro ornament in a tune, he does something great with it that makes it all his own. Retro by hint rather than borrowing riffs. More artists should try it. There are a dozen gems, no coal.

James is still playing all the instruments on his CDs himself. No band. I don't know what his plans are, or if he has a working band for gigs, a la Foo Fighters. If he doesn't, I suggest - no, BEG - that he puts one together and get some exposure, because this guy is possibly the best AND least-known talent in power pop today. After weeks of listening to Poprocket to make sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing, I'm upgrading my 1999 assessment. You won't see me tagging him with "clever, 'if not brilliant'" anymore. This brilliant CD is just about a lock for my Top 5 Of The Year list.

© 2002 - DJ Johnson