Jim Bob - A Humpty Dumpty Thing

A novel approach to an album

Having temporarily resurrected his partnership with Les Carter, Carter USM, with two packed-out Christmas gigs, Jim Bob resumes his solo career. This engaging little package has the look and feel of a children’s book, containing a brief 12,000-word novel and a full-band album. Underneath its deceptive exterior, however, there beats a heart driven by deliciously sardonic wordplay and eyes that survey modern life in all its understated greyness.

Mostly, it’s Jim Bob’s view of London and its characters. They’re as sharply delineated as Colin MacInnes might have portrayed them, but never as glamorous or quite as seedy. Fathers For Justice scale church towers to the delight of rubber-necking passers-by who hope for non-fatal falls, the alcoholic marathon runner is a long way off his personal best and crematoriums despatch you on the final journey with a stereo, the left-hand speaker of which is broken. Modern life is crap and here it’s shown in all its bland futility, but with an undercurrent of rosy optimism trying to break through.

This is a beautifully crafted collection of bittersweet songs, some full-on Carter-style rockers and other more gently reminiscent of pre-Carter Jamie Wednesday numbers. Whatever tone Jim Bob is taking, he’ll make you smile and have you thinking.

Cherry Red | CDBRED 332

Reviewed by Ian Abrahams
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