JIM SULLIVAN- S/T (Playboy Records 103, 1972)
I still remember the exact moment I came face to face with Jim Sullivan's Century City lp in a Round Rock, Tx Half Price Books this past July (Dig It!!! HERE). Though not actively pursued, the idea of finding a 'wild' copy of the lp seemed far fetched (I'm sure I can forget about the 'drums' mix of the album). I never thought to search eBay, but that just seemed like cheating. This was an album you needed to 'find' to appreciate.
I was also aware that Jim had gone on to record an album for Playboy records. Like his previous releases (who was behind those?) somebody really believed in Jim. The Playboy lp package is fairly fancy and there's a big production which includes horns o' plenty this time around. The guitars are a bit heavier. As a whole it stands firmly in the shadow of his previous releases. If this was someone else's one and only album it might really be something... maybe talked about. But as it's Jim Sullivan it ain't holding a candle.
The first time through I could not deal with the horns found here and there. At times it borders on the 70s version of the Saturday Night Live band. But after spending a few weeks with this release 'on the road' I've come to appreciate those very songs. "Tom Cat", the lead-off to side 2, is fine enough minus the horns. I'm not fully sure the song needed the horns. But there they are on the disc and there they are in my head. "Plain As My Eyes Can See" from the previous release is reprised here in a faster, more Santana-esque version titled "Plain To See". It's good. It moves. But it ain't got the smolder of the old way. A reworking of "Sandman" does not fare as well.
It ain't what came before, but few things by few people are. But it's not a halfway bad album. Out of 11 tracks there are a few strong numbers like "Don't Let It Throw You", "Amos", and "Tea Leaves" and then a couple of lessers which are still fairly good. I'll even suffer through the worst- "Biblical Boogie" and "Sonny Jim"- which really ain't that bad.
Make sure you check out the story on U.F.O. over at Waxidermy. Some interesting comments from people that remember ol' Jim.
