Take the clich?© of an introspective, suffering singer/songwriter playing an acoustic guitar. Add a record contract with Maverick Records, opening act gigs for Ben Folds Five, limited radio airplay, and financial support for recording. The outcome is King of Yesterday, Jude's third full-length album, released last September.
In the last few years, Jude, an artist with strong Boston ties, has gained a small but devoted following of fans, gaining prominence for his heart-wrenching, thought provoking songs about love, loss, betrayal, and his disgust for the city of Los Angeles. His second album, No One Is Really Beautiful (his first on Maverick Records), earned limited commercial success - but it was enough to capture critics' attention. It was the perfect album for a depressed or soul-searching mood.
But with his new album, Jude decided to take a sharp turn from his successful formula. The songs are all well-constructed pop pieces that resonate with positivity and optimism. The signs of artistic and financial success are clear. But before any music fans emblazon the term "sell-out" on Jude's forehead, they shouldn't overlook a simple fact - the style works. It works well.
"Jangly" is the only word that can define this CD's sound. The songs are mostly up-tempo works with peppy guitar chords and upbeat lyrics. The beats are sharp, and Jude easily blends his voice into the mix. In some songs, such as "Everything's Alright (I Think It's Time)," a full horn section resonates providing a funky effect. The positive, adult contemporary pop sound is eerily reminiscent of several mid-'90s adult contemporary musicians, namely Chris Isaak.
Amongst the upbeat, so-called "party" songs, Jude throws in a few ballads - partly for the album's style, and partly to appease his fans. These are all lush, with subtle instrumentation and beautiful vocals. This is mostly evident in the majestic "I Do" (a song that has appeared in different versions on each of his albums). As the song rolls on, he sweetly muses over lost love in a wistful and somber voice, with trained and distinctive vocal. The most notable feature of Jude's voice is his ability to hit the high notes. And I mean high notes. At times in "Indian Lover," and "I Will Not Die" he comes off as a male Mariah Carey (only in vocal styling) nailing down a perfect, and well-timed falsetto.
Along with the positive sound and style, the songs' lyrics have also been affected. Instead of philosophizing over love as he has in the past, he states it much more simply on this disc with lyrics like "You look sexy, you look hot. Is that really all we got?" Well put. In other songs, Jude brings back never tired lines like "I like it to make it with my baby every night." With lines like that, how can one not have a good time.
Jude's sense of humor that is on great display here, too - he approaches most of his songs with a very sly, tongue-in-cheek sort of humor. In "Teenage Girlfriend," he melodically croons above a sugar coated guitar line about the new love he met at the mall. The lyrics are pathetically sensitive, and they're meant to be. Furthermore, his dry musical humor comes out in his cover of Bread's "Everything I Own." He attacks the original cheesiness of the original, and strips away the country-rock tendencies, adding a much softer, self-mocking sentiment, which highlights the ultra-sappy lyrics. Such an addition to this cover song amongst several upbeat, pop songs proves that Jude is out to have a good time with his music.
King of Yesterday is a pop CD that you can listen to while keeping your musical integrity. It's fun, yet it's still musically sound. In a way this album is like the guy who starts wearing Hawaiian shirts, after years of dressing in all black. For people that knew him before, it's strange and unusual, but also wonderful and exciting. For people that are introduced to him for the first time, it's like "Hey, who's that guy in the Hawaiian shirt? I bet he's fun to be around. Let's get to know him better." That's a good way to put it - King of Yesterday: very fun to be around.
