Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
In the act of ferocity, we can detect the bright spark of creation, a universe after all rarely starts with a whimper, but with a noise that should anyone be able to withstand the blast, the ignition, then the roar would be as spectacular as the light show, as the cosmic fireworks that appear to rip apart the darkness and giving all the beauty of illumination.
For Jim Eannelli the progress to the advent of his own solo creation, Just Deserts is formed from the big bang of having worked with some seminal names such as Rick Derringer, and it is from that spark of collaboration and learning that the musician has found the momentum to unlock his own vault, the long time build up of treasure in his soul’s repository, and reveal the riches within unburdened and confessed with joy.
Just Deserts doesn’t aim to be a sweet emotion, but it does unleash the energy of explosive large enough to dislodge the ground from your feet, the place where you have become rooted and unmoving, and insist that you feel the beat in every pore and fibre of your body and realign your position on many of the dramas and emotions playing out in the world today. To have that ability is a gift, an offering from the universe to light the wire that causes the dynamite to explode.
Epiphany comes in the form of immediate groove from the musician, and as songs such as Where I’ve Been, Train From Chicago, Christine, I Want To Be Your Man, Old 97, and the smashing opener of 29 Women, the treasure trove erupts, the combination lock is not only disabled, but smashed apart into smithereens, and the glow, that radiance that appears is blinding, but absolutely welcome.
The experiences, the sense of Rockabilly, the sources of Blues and even Punk attitude all merge, meld and fuse together to form an album of desire and the electric shock of grace. Just Deserts is a reward of Time, and the pleasure the listener receives is worth every moment in the blast zone.
Jim Eannelli releases Just Deserts via Happy Growl Records on 27th September.
Ian D. Hall