Jack

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i discovered years-old-now 'Sleeping Makes Me Thirsty' via popjustice but googling reveals it was also featured on the CD that came with issue 4 of Papercuts. i'm starting to think i need all the Papercuts CDs pronto.

'Sleeping...' is a great track. I was almost going to put it up on the ILXMixor blog but decided I'd better rep rave (again). Shades of Frame and Almond throughout, really nice guitar - almost 'I Will Survive' from a sombre(sober) male perspective, which in turn made me try to imagine Robbie Williams doing something like this, as an album track at least, and whether this would be a better thing for him to do than the dross he's stuck on at present.

What else is good by Jack?

― Alienus Quam Reproba (blueski), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 18:18 (twenty-one years ago)

We're talking about the band that was on Too Pure, yeah? Liked them quite a bit but I've only got the first two albums and no singles -- I think they were lumped in with Tindersticks on the one hand and My Life Story on the other (the former's Scott Walker/Leonard Cohen fixation on the one hand, the latter's lusher strings [though far less jaunty] on the other), but I'd have to check. I'll need to dig them out but the first album was especially good (Leon the Fatboy might well have been into this one) -- also, there's the Jacques album, where the lead guy collaborated with...Momus!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 18:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Jacques = Jack + Neil Hannon, no?

― echoinggrove (echoinggrove), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

nope, sorry. thinking of something else. or nothing at all.

― echoinggrove (echoinggrove), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 18:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I only have the last album from 2002 which is The End Of The Way It's Always Been (which is what Sleeping is on, unless it was on something else prior to that also) which I got after rabid Chris Roberts review in Uncut (which in turn jangled vague memories of Wintercomesummer from about 1996, maybe). It is pretty glorious, the title track was compared to Soon vs. Iggy (or something along these lines) and there is a tremendous swathe of octave-higher-Tindersticks slowburner things. It's all very satisfying and ace, bits of it (The Emperor Of New London, No North Left etc) are also downright frightening if played at night/in correct frame of mind.

Also, ace DiS review of it by redoubtable D.Merryweather (of this parish also I believe) here ---> http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/3871.html (I don't know how to hotlink, or whatever, grrrr)

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I was quite into Jack and Jacques for awhile, though I never got the 2002 album. I think it was put out on a smaller label, right? The first two albums are both worth owning. Great great songs on both of them, like "Cinematic," "Lolita Elle," Biography of a First Song, Filthy Names and more. Some of the b-sides are worth having too (I have all of the singles for the first two albums), like "You Will Forget Me" from the Steamin' single.
Anthony Reynolds, the singer/songwriter, put out a solo album last year, but I never heard it. I think the second Jacques album really put me off him, because it was poorly produced, had weak songs and I paid quite a bit for it since it was an import.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Hm, Alex and Jonathan, drop me a line, I might want to talk CDR trade here or something...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Just emailed you, Ned. In doing so I was reminded of the Kirk Lake/Jacques single "Five Finger Discount." A great four song EP, especially the title track.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Wednesday, 16 February 2005 20:01 (twenty-one years ago)

the first jacques album had that great second song that was an instrumental and 'the harvest is over' was pretty too but was mostly missable.

the first jack album is wonderful. the second is pretty nice too. never heard anything since, oh wait, i got that ep that came out before the third album and it was so bad i didn't bother with the album. figured if they couldn't afford the string sections they'd probably lose most of their appeal for me.

― keith m (keithmcl), Thursday, 17 February 2005 05:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I remember their second album, "The Jazz Age", being written off as a poor man's Dog Man Star in one of the music papers, which just made me want to hear it, really. Would it be worth the time to download it?

― Philip Alderman (Phil A), Thursday, 17 February 2005 13:31 (twenty-one years ago)

If you have a fast connection, sure.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 February 2005 13:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Steve I have the first 2 albums and the papercuts cd (there was only one). Didn't they change their name to Jacques after that? I have never posted on ILM before. I feel like I'm gatecrashing.

― alix (alix), Thursday, 17 February 2005 13:34 (twenty-one years ago)

ONE OF US

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 17 February 2005 13:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Alix, I think Jacques started off as a side project of Jack and Momus (Momus working the controls and production, Jack doing the music). However, Momus didn't work on the second Jacques album, so I'm not sure what the story is there. And the second Jacques album came out before the third Jack album. I think both groups have broken up (though they were mostly the same people) and now Reynolds is on his own.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Thursday, 17 February 2005 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

A.Reynolds also co-wrote Mo' Pop for Dot Allison which is a glorious magnificent record that cannot be namechecked enough, what other noteworthy things has he done, for anyone, ever?

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Thursday, 17 February 2005 14:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I just found some Jacques info on the Schemers Dreamers site. It seems that Jacques was more Anthony's project, and it seems he used it to work with other people (Kirk Lake, Momus, and on the last album, Bryan Mills from the Divine Comedy.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Thursday, 17 February 2005 14:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I think he did a song for Marianne Faithful, but I have no idea where I heard that, nor can I direct you to the album where the song appears. And allmusic.com seems limited in it's info on the guy.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Thursday, 17 February 2005 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

Yeah, Jacques was a side project for Anthony. I produced the first album only. I made this record around the time I made "Orgonon" with Laila France, and in the same studio (The Spike in Fulham), but although they were made the same year (1997) were such different records. Anthony is a very productive and dominant person, so "How To Make Love" is very much his record, whereas "Orgonon" is very much mine. HTML (as I'll abbreviate it) is stylistically a bit all over the place, whereas O is quite a successful blend of lounge and club pop beats, including some doublespeed drum'n'bass percussion. It reflects much more where I was at in 1997 (Squarepusher meets Francis Lai) than the Jacques album. But it was fun to hang out with Anthony, and the production led to my releasing "Ping Pong" on the Setanta label (it was later bought back by Analog Baroque / Cherry Red). I must say I've listened to HTML very little, and I recall the reviews at the time being atrocious.

― Momus (Momus), Sunday, 20 March 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

www.anthonyreynolds.net

― Frankie Schummaker, Friday, 12 August 2005 12:26 (twenty years ago)

ten years pass...

Been listening to Jack & Jacques singles and oddities all day long. Anthony's influences (Walker, Sylvian) are apparent but by no means dominant. I've always loved the smokey, tired, late-night vibe of it all and his use of strings and piano enhance the often melancholy feel.

Any other fans left?

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 7 August 2016 02:00 (nine years ago)

five years pass...

Anyone read the books The Promosexuals and Momosexual?

― djh, Friday, 20 August 2021 16:40 (four years ago)

Any good?

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 20 August 2021 17:33 (four years ago)

I've no idea! I think the only thing I've read by Anthony was a Classic Pop article on The Lilac Time.

― djh, Friday, 20 August 2021 20:06 (four years ago)

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