Early Jack Jones on JASMINE label

[Mark Fox]

The album tracks (13-23)do sound like Jack but he was very young here.The'singles'section (1-12)aren't quite in the JJ-mode.
However,the arrangement on'I'M A FOOL TO WANT YOU'is rather'odd'.Maybe they were trying a complete departure from the Sinatra version-overall a welcome addition to the Jack Jones CD catalogue.

[Gloria]

This CD does indeed sound great, and I won't hesitate to order more Jasmine products in the future.
The back photo is actually Jack's cover shot for Our Song, his '67 LP - when he was almost 30 years old.
Only one of Jack's Capitol songs didn't made it onto CD, the Victor Young-Peggy Lee title, "Where Can I Go Without You?" Even when Capitol reissued This Love of Mine, as Jack Jones In Love, this song was dropped from the newer LP (there must've been a copyright problem). Oh well, not truly complete, but it's great having the remaining 23 songs together.

I can't understand why Shall We Dance is such a forgotten album - this is one title I can leave playing 2 or 3 straight times without even thinking of stopping it. But, to be honest, I'm not sure that Jack cares what happens to the Kapp recordings. If he did, he would've likely bought back his masters from Universal. Instead, Jack seems to undermine those days - even his own abilities as a young vocalist (which were truly extraordinary). Maybe he feels some bitterness towards those years. His 20s were a constant whirlwind of recording, touring and TV appearances, and he didn't have time to pursue movies or other performing options. Kapp obviously had to keep the money pouring in while they could, since traditional pop was fading. But without Kapp, Jack would've never won his two Grammys. He was luckier than 99% of all singers, having a record company so dedicated to producing quality albums. History will eventually catch up with the Kapps, who were truly among the unsung heroes of 60s pop. The recognition (and the CD releases) may likely happen after Jack is gone, but I get the impression that he really doesn't care.

[Mark Fox]

yes,of course,about the missing Capitol track-I have found it now on a previous LP-CD copy I did some time ago.I guess the folks at JASMINE do what they do,not having a JJ fans' accuracy.
'SHALL WE DANCE'is a real puzzle-could it be that Billy May holds/held some jurisdiction-can't think of anything else.
A very good friend who posts here sent me a superb CD copy of this elusive album which I treasure-your prompt has it now in my car for our Devon trip.

[Terence Lee]

Where Can I Go Without You is on this JJ CD which has just gone out of print.
http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Jones-Greate ... 55&sr=1-12

[Gloria]

Yes, how could I forget that Curb Greatest Hits CD? I purchased that before I owned the LPs, and it seemed so strange when I first heard it. Half of the songs were Kapp and the rest Capitol, and the two styles did not belong together. But it made me buy the LPs soon afterwards, just to understand and appreciate the Capitol songs in their original context. What a shame that it took 50 years to stop these Capitol songs from being licensed out in fragments to so many companies.

Thanks, Terence, for pointing this out, that the missing song is on the Curb CD. At least we now have a reason for holding on to this strange release.

I was listening to the Jasmine CD a lot today, and I couldn't help but notice how Jack was singing Laffin' at Me. While it's rare that Jack isn't putting his whole heart into a performance, on this number he seems to almost be gritting his teeth at having to sing this song, while that shrieking chorus keeps on repeating ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Those 50's choruses were UNBELIEVABLE sometimes.

[mariana44]

I agree with you on that one Gloria---that was one of the ones I could hardly believe was Jack---I thought quite a few of those earlier songs had very dated sounding backing tracks---perhaps at the time they sounded good, but I only remember hearing one or 2 of them before.

But it is interesting hearing them, and how much he has changed.

[Gloria]

For myself, I'd have had no trouble identifying Jack's voice in the rock 'n' roll songs (tracks 1-12), if someone had played them to me without introduction. It's essentially the same voice Jack carried into the Kapp years and through his 20s (beautiful and powerful), and he was noticably beginning to stretch his notes far longer. But apparently, individual singers weren't considered interesting enough to sustain audience attention in the 50s, considering all the choruses hired to repeat or sing back to them. Jack has often mentioned how Capitol tried making a rock 'n' roller of him, and that he "wasn't into it" - and with "Laffin' at Me," I finally knew just what he was talking about.

[Terence Lee]

The original album cover is sort of cute.

[Mark Fox]

I guess'sort of cute'is one way of putting it!

[Don Cooper]

...and he was noticeably beginning to stretch his notes far longer

I'm in my early 50's and I still do that each and every day.They call it poverty, Marian.

Don

[Gloria]

The original cover is definitely a "cute" curiosity piece in music history. I've tried to imagine the 1959 mindset behind it, and the intentions of the Capitol marketing department, but . . no clue. It even predated the Flintstones cartoon by one year. You might also assume that Capitol was trying to sell Jack as a stud for the rock 'n' roll audience, but they attached this photo to his traditional pop recordings. I wonder if Gloria Steinem has ever seen it.

I already had several of the Capitol/compilation LPs copied to my iPod, and noticed that two of Jack's rock 'n' roll songs didn't make the Jasmine CD: Suddenly and Careless Hands. So, I decided to make a new playlist featuring all 14 of the rock 'n' roll titles. I'm sure that most people would consider these songs quite forgettable, but when the summer months come along, I always enjoy such light-hearted (and silly) music blasting from my car stereo.

[Mark Fox]

Thanks for the heads-up,Gloria,I thought there were other tracks missing-I shall look up my CDs taken from LP/singles etc sources and compile too,as you suggest.

[Marian]

Yes, those two tracks are clearly missing Gloria, but the album seems to be a compilation from several early JJ LPs. As well as This Could be the Start of Something, compilations.. A Very Precious Love, We'll Be Together Again, In Love and The Romantic Voice Of.
Suddenly and Careless Hands both have cross next to the titles on the JJ discography, but I don't know what it means.
Marian

[Gloria]

Just another thought about the Shall We Dance LP: Why is it that every writer who interviews Jack claims that Lollipops and Roses was the first single and album he ever recorded with Kapp? There are a few such interviews appearing right now on his site, and Jack never says anything to the contrary. Yet, if you own the Lollipops and Roses LP, you get Kapp's writeup on the back of the jacket about first assigning Jack to sing with Billy May at the mere age of 22. Even my mother has mentioned to me that she remembers hearing the song, The Spin I'm In (from Shall We Dance), being played a lot on radio. So why doesn't Jack ever acknowledge this? And it's such a shame that Billy May is not known for this album. He completely recreated familiar standards to suit Jack's young and powerful vocals, and with greater sophistication than he's usually remembered for. The silence that has surrounded this album for nearly 50 years is a huge mystery.

[Marian]

That's right Gloria. Shall We Dance was recorded for Kapp in 1960 and also I've Gotta Lot of Living to Do. Lollipops and Roses was recorded in 1961.
Marian