Any time is the right time for a dose of Jellyfish. Absolutely one of my all time favorite bands, so very talented and yet they only made two albums before disbanding. This nugget is from their first LP Bellybutton - The King is Half Undressed. The vocal harmony work is top notch, and Jason Falkner delivers some amazing guitar licks. A perfect song to bring my day to a close.
For a change of pace, here is a live Beatles' cover by Jellyfish that breaks the mold and goes off into its own little world of melancholy. It really gets me how the chords have been altered ever so slightly in a way I could never have imagined would work. Normally I would toss off any attempt to alter this classic, but it all works beautifully.
Jellyfish could do no wrong in my book. Yet they barely dented the charts during their regrettably short two LP career. Grunge was ruling the airwaves in the early 90s so there was no large audience for a band with killer chops, Beach Boys harmonies, and complicated melodies. Pity because if there is any band that I wish had hung together for more recordings, it would be this one.
Listen to the impeccable harmony work in The Ghost and Number One. I have no idea who the "knappy superstar" is who inspired the rant in the lyrics but there is real venom exuding here.
Sure life's no cherry but a cupcake for the meek So he shoots up his poison until the frosting tastes so sweet
At 1:23 the song enters a Pet Sounds-inspired musical universe. And again at 2:40, what with the banjo, chimes, and bass line, the spirit of Brian Wilson lives on.
Mrs.Lynn the fruit of your labour Gives us a savior, nappy superstar. To you we bid congratulations, to him adulation. A blessed life begun, for the ghost at number one.
