Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Life
Company: Perspection
Catalog: PLP
1
Year: 1970
Country/State: Queens, New York
Grade (cover/record): NM / NM
Comments: still in shrink wrap
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5590
Price: $50.00
As a vinyl collector Jimmy Curtiss is one of those names I've regularly come across in association with different groups including The Bag, The Jon Bartle Group, The Hobbits, Velvet Night, etc.. He's also one of those rock enigmas - not a great deal of information available about the man and he seems to savor maintaining some degree of privacy around his personna.
One of the first releases on Curtiss' own New York based Perception label (in spite of the catalog number it wasn't the first release), 1971's "Life" reinforced his penchant for anonymity. As to be expected there was nothing on the album that said 'here's my solo album debut'. True the initials "J,C," appeared on the title and were credited with playing rhythm guitar. Moreover all nine tracks were co-written by 'Curtiss'. Oh, the murky black and white cover photo appeared to be the notoriously reclusive Mr. Curtiss. (There was apparently an alternative cover of the LP - never seen a copy and I don't know if there are any differences in terms of the material, but the image sure looked like Mr. Curtiss.)
Given Curtiss earlier work in blue-eyed soul (The Bag), psychedelia (The Hobbits), etc., you couldn't help but wonder what this 'solo' outing actually sounded like. Always aware of musical trends and popular tastes this time around Curtiss focus area was the sensitive singer/songwriter arena. Perhaps that shouldn't have come as a major surprise since he'd enjoyed his biggest commercial success with the hyper-sensitive 'Child of Clay' which Jimmie Rodgers had taken into the top-40. Opening up the album, Curtiss' own version wasn't all that different from the hit. Yeah, the song was incredibly sappy, but I'll admit to liking the wah-wah touches.
Elsewhere the collection sought to touch all of those important 1960s counter-culture highlights:
- 'Francesca' found Curtiss taking a stab at being a Tim Buckley/Tim Hardin/Phil Ochs-styled folkie. The spoken word segments were lame, but the song itself wasn't bad.
- Complete with a 'not for programming' warning, the anti-Vietnam/anti-society 'Lack 'o' Testicle Blues' came off as second-rate Country Joe and the Fish. Every time I hear the song I think of a 'G' version of the Fish chant. 'Johnny Get Your Gun' was even less subtle.
- 'Sunday Son' and 'He was My Father' poured out the heartbreak of broken families.
- And of course where would any early 1970s musician be without at least one ode to San Francisco - in this case 'San Francisco Do You Remember Me'. In spite of the the lame subject matter the song was actually pretty good - nice melody and some tasteful wah-wha guitar.
Yeah the set was far from perfect and was probably a real danger to anyone with anger management issues. Still I'll admit to like the collection; personal favorites were the funky (!) 'Where Can I Hide' and 'You Can't Tell a Man By the Song He Sings'. Needless trivia, but Curtiss' first-rate backing band guitarist Bob Abrahams, bassist Billy Elminger, keyboardist Jerry Vance, and drummer Howie Wyeth recorded an album for Perception under the name Albert.
"Life" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Child of Clay (Jimmy Curtiss - Ernie Maresca) - 5:57
2.) Where Can I Hide (Jimmy Curtiss - Green - Marcia Hillman) - 4:21
3.) Francesca (Jimmy Curtiss - Wexler - Marcia Hillman) - 4:05
4.) San Francisco Do You Remember Me (Pollock - Jimmy Curtiss) - 4:30
5.) Lack 'o' Testicle Blues (Sell - Jimmy Curtiss) - 6:33
(side
2)
1.) Sunday Son (Jimmy Curtiss) - 4:57
2.) You Can't Tell a Man By the Song He Sings (Jimmy Curtiss - Marcia Hillman) - 5:25
3.) Johnny Get Your Gun (Pollock - Jimmy Curtiss) - 3:35
4.) He was My Father (Jimmy Curtiss - Marcia Hillman) - 4:45
Curtiss released a non-LP 45:
- 1969's 'For What I Am' b/w 'Johnny Get Your Gun' (Perception catalog number P-2)