Judas Jump
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1969-71) - Andy Bown -- vocals, guitar, keyboards - Charlie Harrison - bass - Alan Jones -- woodwinds - Henry Spinetti -- drums, percussion - Adrian Williams -- lead vocals - Trevor Williams -- lead guitar
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- Amen Corner (Alan Jones) - Andy Bown (solo efforts) - Chapter 24 (Charlie Harrison) - Coast Road Drive (Charlie Harrison) - Denick and Armstrong (Henry Spinetti) - The Herd (Andy Bown and Henry Spinetti) - Hustler (Henry Spinetti) - The Mindbenders (Charlie Harrison) - Paradox (Charlie Harrison) - Poco (Charlie Harrison) - Scrugg (Henry Spinetti) - Status Quo (Andy Bown) - Storyteller (Andy Bown) - Thunderbyrd (Charlie Harrison)
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Genre: rock Rating: 4 stars *** Title: Scorch Company: Pride Catalog: PRD-0003 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor cover wear; white label promo copy; DJ sticker on back cover Available: 1 Catalog ID: 6058 Price: $40.00
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Here's one I bought for the album cover even though I knew nothing about the band. Just looking at the cover photo gave me the heebie-jeebies; the thought of being spray painted with a heavy coat of gold paint (or any color) made me start scratching ... Besides, who doesn't remember the James Bond film "Goldfinger" where actress Shirley Eaton is killed by covering her with gold paint.
With
Andy Fairweather-Low having broken up Amen Corner, multi-instrumentalist
Alan
- 1969's 'Run for Your Life' b/w 'Beer Drinking Woman' (Parlophone catalog number R 5828)
While it wasn't a massive hit, the song did well enough for Parlophone to finance an album. Produced by Andy Bown and Michael Viner (the liner notes actually listed him as 'Andrew Brown'), 1969's "Scorch" offered up an entertaining collection of Bown-penned rockers. Curiously, several online reviews portray the album as being 'jazz rock' or 'progressive'. To my ears neither description's particularly accurate. True, Alan Jones' woodwinds were occasionally featured ('John Brown's Body') giving the arrangements a mild Traffic feel, while Bown added some Mellotron to the proceedings. While Adrian Williams was listed as lead singer, most of the vocals were actually handled by chief songwriter Bown who was gifted with a nice voice that was capable of handling both the band's lighter pop numbers and their tougher material. He occasionally reminded me a bit of Stevie Winwood, if with a slightly fuller voice. Still, tracks like 'Rocking Chair', 'Beer Drinking Woman' and 'Purple God' offered up a fairly commercial blend of blues-rock, pop and conventional rock. The rest of the band were all quite impressive with Bown deserving kudos for his tasteful keyboards and Jones having the sense to keep his contributions short and largely in the background. Certainly not the most original album pf 1969, but the only real mistakes were the band's ill-advised detours into blues ('49 Fingers' and 'Mississippi Turnpike'). I found the collection solid and enjoyable from start to finish.
Curiously, in 1972 MGM's short-lived Pride subsidiary decided to release the album posthumously in the States. Gawd only knows what their marketing department was thinking. The US release dropped the original gatefold sleeve for a cheaper, conventional package and shed one song found on the UK original - the drunken sing-along 'Private Holiday Camp.' No loss there.
During their two-year life the band attracted considerable publicity. They were selected as the opening act for 1970's Isle of Wight Festival, generate lots of press coverage including a cover story on the New Musical Express, but just couldn't break though in terms of sales. Neither their album or any of the singles charted.
"Scorch" track listing:
1.) John Brown's Body (Andy Bown) - 3:24 rating: **** stars 'John Brown's Body' opened the album with a likeable slice of blues-rock. That said, this wasn't your standard variety of Savoy Blues-styled English blues-rock, rather featured a surprisingly up-tempo and commercial edge - imagine Steve Winwood and Traffic having a couple of beers and actually enjoying themselves while performing a blues song. When the album was finally released in the States, the label tapped this as the US single:
- 1972's 'John Brown's Body' b/w Cry-de-Cry'' (Pride catalog number 1007)
2.) Rockin Chair (Andy Bown) - 3:09 rating: *** stars Kicked along by some tight horns, the bouncy 'Rockin Chair' was one of the album's most commercial endeavors, The track had a nice pop melody and showcased the band's unexpectedly tight vocal harmonies.. Probably would have been a better choice as a single than the tunes that were actually released. 3.) Beer Drinkin' Woman (Andy Bown) - 3:38 rating: **** stars 'Beer Drinkin' Woman' was almost as good as the title. Sure, the storyline was depressing - who wants a girlfriend with a severe drinking problem? Imagine Savoy Brown deciding to ditch the blues influences and instead record a taunt rocker. Easy to see why this one was tapped as a single.
- 1970's 'Beer Drinking Woman' b/w 'I Have The Right' (Parlophone catalog number R 5873) 4.) Medley: 49 Fingers/Purple God (Andy Bown) - 4:11 rating: * star / rating: **** stars Kicked along by Bown's barrelhouse piano, other than some drunken harmony vocals singing/slurring the title track over and over, there wasn't a great deal to '49 Fingers'. Yeah this one sounded like an early Savoy Brown performance. In contrast 'Purple God' made it clear these guys had a commercial, pop edge and weren't afraid of popular success. With one of those melodies that buries itself in your head it was hard to figure out why Parlophone didn't tap it as a single. 5.) Bossa Jump (Andy Bown) - 4:32 rating: **** stars 'Bossa Jump' had a breezy melody (perhaps the album's most captivating melody), complete with lots of strumming acoustic guitars and another drunken sing-along chorus - the main lyric being the refrain "don't cut my hair, or my brains will fall out". Hard not to like that type of in-depth social commentary ...
(side
2) 'Cry-De-Cry' started side two with one of the album's stranger efforts. An acoustic ballad bathed in a 'hippie vibe', this one sounded like an outtake from a mid-1960s Donovan set. Full of pretty harmony vocals and another dark lyrics, it sounded like nothing else on the album. Admittedly it took a while to warm up to it, but now I consider to be one of the album's hidden treasures. 2.) Run For Your Life (Andy Bown) - 3:29 rating: **** stars It took awhile for me to place it, but powered by some nice Stax-styled horns the mid-tempo rocker 'Run For Your Life' sounded like a good Thunderclap Newman track. I have no idea if it was intentional, but Williams nailed Newman's vocal style on this one. Another track that should have been released as a single. 3.) Cully (Andy Bown) - 2:36 rating: **** stars 'Cully' was the album's most straightforward rocker and one of the set's highlights. Williams' slide guitar stole the show on this one. 4.) Mississippi Turnpike (Andy Bown) - 2:59 rating: ** stars For better or worse every early-1970s UK band seems to have felt obligated to include at least one country flavored number. Judas Jump's contribution to the genre was the bland and instantly forgettable 'Mississippi Turnpike'. 5.) Medley: Primrose Lady / Scorch (instrumental) - (Alan Jones / Andy Bown) - 6:01 rating: ** stars / rating: **** stars Showcasing Bown's keyboards, 'Primrose Lady' was a pretty, country-rock tinged ballad. Nice, but not particularly memorable and the song had a weird, echo-heavy production sound - the track literally sounded like it had been recorded in a shower stall. While it sounded like a throwaway instrumental, the Stax influenced title track was actually one of the album's most impressive performances - Bown's Hammond B3 and Williams fuzz guitar certainly made it the funkiest number. Shame they didn't spend the time to flush the track out.
For fans there was a final, non-LP single:
- 1970's 'This Feelin' We Feel' b/w ''Hangman's Playing' (Capitol catalog number P-2859)
And with that, the band called it quits.
© Scott R. Blackerby July, 2024
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Jones was apparently the driver behind forming what became Judas
Jump, Finding a sponsor in the form of infamous manager Don Arden.
Arden fronted Jones an advance and suggested a number of potential
collaborators including singer Adrian Williams, former Herd
keyboardist/guitarist Andy Bown and drummer Henry Spinetti. The band
line up was eventually completed via the addition of lead guitarist Trevor
Williams, and ex-The Mindbenders bass player Charlie Harrison. Pulling
a page out of the Traffic career management manual they relocated to the
Isle of Wight, where they spent a couple of months in seclusion rehearsing
and getting comfortable with one another. With continued support from
Arden, their impressive musical pedigree helped get them signed by the
British Parlophone label. In an unusual move, Parlophone sent them on
a tour of the States, followed by a European jaunt. Only then were
they given a chance to enter the recording studio resulting in the release
of their debut single:
