SONG REVIEWED: "Tales From the Boogieman"
OK, SO I'M REVIEWING THE FIRST DISC AFTER THE SECOND ONE; WE OPERATE KIND OF BASS-ACKWARDS HERE SOMETIMES. ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN THE PREVIOUS REVIEWS KNOWS THAT I'VE KISSED JESTER'S COLLECTIVE ASS UP AND DOWN IN THE PAST, AND THIS REVIEW WILL MOST LIKELY CONTINUE ALONG THAT PATH. "BOOGIEMAN" WAS RELEASED IN 1997, PRETTY MUCH RIGHT AROUND THE TIME GRUNGE AND ALTERNA-ROCK STARTED TO SHIT THE BED, KISS WAS DOING THEIR REUNION TOUR BLOWING UP ARENAS ALL OVER THE GLOBE, AND WE ALL LEARNED THAT MELODY WASN'T A FOREIGN CONCEPT AS FAR AS SONGWRITING WAS CONCERNED... WELL, DIDN'T WE?
WHILE NOT THE TITAN DISC THAT "DIGITALIA" (JESTER'S SECOND RELEASE) IS, THIS ONE WILL HOLD ITS OWN QUITE WELL WITH MELODIC ROCK AFFICIONADOS. THE TITLE TRACK "TALES FROM THE BOOGIEMAN" BOASTS A SERIOUSLY STRONG CHORUS, AND SOME SCREECHING VOCALS COURTESY OF VOCALIST JOE KORI (A FEW TIMES HE'S ABLE TO HIT THOSE "HEY, I JUST GOT MY NUTS STUCK IN A VICE" HIGH NOTES THAT SEBASTIAN BACH IS KNOWN FOR). DOUG ARMS' GUITAR SOLO IS VERY EDDIE VAN HALEN, AND IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MUSICIANSHIP IN THIS BAND. THE SONG STARTS OUT VERY ERIE, BUT QUICKLY KICKS INTO GEAR WITH THE MAIN RIFF. LYRICALLY, IT AIN'T SHAKESPEARE. BUT I MUST GIVE THEM CREDIT FOR NOT WRITING ABOUT SCREWING OR PARTYING. STRONG CHORUS OR NOT, THE FIRST "OH BABY" OR "COME ON" OUT OF JOE KORI'S MOUTH WOULD HAVE SENT THIS SUCKER ACROSS THE ROOM (OK, SO THE PHRASE "COME ON BABY" SHOWS UP LATER IN THE DISC, BUT I'M REVIEWING THIS SONG, NOT THAT ONE). THE SHAME ABOUT JESTER IS THAT WHILE THEIR MATERIAL IS TOP-SHELF, THEY'RE ABOUT TEN YEARS TOO LATE...IN THIS COUNTRY, THAT IS. I STILL MAINTAIN THAT THEY COULD GET AN OVERSEAS DEAL... POSSIBLY A LABEL LIKE SPITFIRE COULD PICK THEM UP IN THIS COUNTRY, AND IF FELLOW JERSEY-ROCKERS SKID ROW PICKED THESE GUYS UP AS AN OPENER, THEY MIGHT JUST MAKE SOME WAVES STATESIDE. "BOOGIEMAN" IS A SERIOUSLY STRONG SONG, AND PROVIDING THEY KEEP WRITING HUMMABLE TUNES LIKE THIS, YOU'LL CONTINUE TO HEAR MORE AND MORE ABOUT JESTER.
