GET BORN - JET Home

Jet talks about The Stones, The Beatles, The Who etc. as being their idols and influences growing up. Their album Get Born, named after a Paul McCartney song, have made them a musical force to reckon with. One could almost see them hanging out with the likes of John Lennon and Keith Richards, if we were still in the late sixties. Their music on the album is pure and simple, raw and wild like the rock n roll from that bygone era. Jet is a four-piece band from Melbourne, Australia consisting of Nic Cester (guitar/vocals), Chris Cester (drums/vocals), Cameron Muncey (guitar/vocals), Mark Wilson (bass). They could be here today like Austin Powers from the movie International man of mystery, who was cryogenically frozen in the sixties and woke up in the 90s without a clue as to where he was in the space- time continuum... or they could just be rebelling against the alternatives in today’s music... either way their music is pure rocking pleasure. The album cover gives you a few clues about the musical flashback that you are about to experience. It features black and photographs and drawings of the band members against the backdrop of intricate patterns that seem like the hallucinations of a flower child. And as you start listening to Last Chance you feel a vortex taking hold of you, transporting you back in time, and you experience for the first time the passion of the vocals and the rattle and burn of the guitars and drums. From there you move on to Are you gonna be my girl”, the signature tune of the album, and the one that has staked the biggest claim on the American airwaves. The recording starts off with the sound of sound of someone clearing his throat as the drums and bass start the opening riff, which gives the song (like several others on the album) an unrehearsed, garage-band feel. The song revolves around a simple formula (after all that is one of the tenets of rock n roll) and soon the throbbing of the accompaniment and the primal scream of the voice begin to take hold of your senses... its no wonder that this song is reminiscent of The Doors. The tension eases up a little bit in Roll Over DJ. If the intent was to provide a twist to “Roll Over Beethoven, it was hugely successful. This smooth, Lennonesque tune could belong in the Beatles Rock n Roll album. And the slogan “Roll Over (contemporary) DJ could be the message of this entire album. You then enter ballad territory, with Look What You’ve Done. If Roll Over.. was Lennonesque, this one reminds more of the McCartney voice and melody, but meanders into a rocking format occasionally. The full length video for Look What You’ve Done” (available on the web site, as is a couple of others from the album) impresses as well, showing the band jamming in a wooded area outdoors, gradually attracting a crowd of unlikely (animated) onlookers in a kind-of Elton John setting. The animation, interestingly, goes from cute to violent as well, to stay in touch with the transition of the song from ballad to rocker. The album continues with the same consistent quality to the end, moving occasionally into acoustics with Move On and Radio Song, to an extent, showing that Jet is not just a three-chord wonder, but never goes too far from its chosen path. And when you finally eject from your “time capsule”, you feel that the trip was worth it. With their music coming from their heart, as opposed to the whims of today’s airwaves, Jet promises to bring us more opportunities in musical time travel. And with the kind of talent that is on display on Get Born, it could very well happen in the near future. Band Web Site: www.jettheband.com Lyrics Web Site: http://www.lyricscafe.com/j/jet.htm Reviewer's Web Site: www.theaxemancometh.com Moody Blue