Saturday Night - Jack Holmes (1968)
An insightful social commentary on modern day mating rituals or misguided angry jealousy directed at his ex-wife (Katherine)... probably both... whatever it is, it's a very 60s lyrically downbeat yet musically upbeat tune with strange orchestrations and wayward six string explorations.
When somebody tells you there's a record you should check out "It's a bit like Love's Forever Changes by a dude who used to be in a band with Tim Rose" you can only ever end up disappointed. However after leaving the bootleg cd of A Letter To Katherine December languishing in my cobwebby collection for ages (twenty years) I've had a slight change of heart after coming across Holmes recently on a website.
For those that don't know Jake Holmes was an acid-folk singer/songwriter with psychedelic jazz undercurrents whose first LP The Above Ground Sound Of Jake Holmes (1967) had a little song on it by the name of Dazed And Confused which he wrote. Later in the 70s he would lend his songwriting talents to The Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte and eventually the advertising world.
Anyway we're talking here about the second Jake Holmes LP A Letter To Katherine (1968) which has surprisingly never had an official reissue since its original release date in 1968. The master tapes have never been found although a fairly sub-standard version did turn up on spotify a few years back. Several tunes have a lounge-y cabaret/show tunes influence while others are almost proto-new-wave, perhaps making Katherine not as cohesive as many would like. Whilst not exactly a masterpiece it definitely has its moments... there's really only one track, the irritating High School Hero, preventing this record from minor classic status. The Beatles always had annoying tunes on their great albums so perhaps I'm being too harsh.
Late Sleeping Day - Jake Holmes (1968)
A tune of quiet turmoil that unfolds intensely yet cautiously featuring subtle understated acidic spike-y jazz guitar tones and strings. Nice.
Chase Your Eyes - Jake Holmes (1968)
Chase Your Eyes is pretty impeccable 60s stuff, acid-folk gold. It's one of the tunes on the LP that is actually comparable in quality and aesthetic vision to Love. This vocal performance is quite a journey with its restrained melodic twists and turns. Add in an ace string arrangement and voilà...
Moving Day - Jake Holmes (1968)
Having been in the situation depicted in this song's scenario several times in my life, I find this heartbreaking. I get the feeling she left him and not the other way around. It's heartbreaking no matter who's doing the leaving though... er fabulous arrangement so quite the artistic achievement here.
Leaves Never Break - Jake Holmes (1968)
The noisy heavy-psych freakout track on the LP. This tune leaves a lot of people wondering what could have been if he'd done a whole side in this extreme chaotic acid-rock style or indeed an entire LP.
Sleeping Woman - Jake Holmes (1968)
Dreamy Rickenbacker twirls, that mesmerizing bass, luscious strings fused with soaring vocals all intertwine to make this THE incandescent jewel of this lost treasure. Surely one of the great lost moments in 60s music, am I wrong?
Houston Street - Jake Holmes (1968)
A restrained dark and intense whispered vocal with sparse ghostly guitar picking... kinda almost proto-Slint innit.
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