The Jim Jones Revue
The Savage Heart
Their most exhilarating work to date, The Savage Heart expands the sonic remit of The Jim Jones Revue beyond their renowned brand of manic rock ’n’ roll to explore a virtual “heart of darkness” of new musical territory in the form of tribal stomps, field hollers, a capella rave-ups — even a fuzzed-out feedback-laden doo-wop ballad! The Savage Heart swaggers with all the balls-out rocking of its predecessors, but offers too an expansive vision of the band, with a wider palette of sounds and even socially conscious lyrics. “While the group look back into the roots of rock n’ roll, we’ve never gone backwards in what we do,” says Jim Jones. “It’s always about pushing things forward for us.”
Contributing mightily to the vigorous sound captured on The Savage Heart is new member Henri Herbert on keyboards. Henri, who joined just last year, has diversified the band’s keyboard vocabulary, drawing not just on the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard but Otis Spann, Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons as well. “He’s the Professor of Piano,” affirms Rupert. “His wealth of knowledge is astounding. He’s really re-shaped our approach.”
In this same spirit of bringing new elements into the proceedings, Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, DJ Shadow, The Temper Trap) was called in to mix the album at Elephant and Castle’s The Engine Room, and Nick Lowe (credited on The Savage Heart as “spiritual advisor”) dropped by rehearsals one day for a casual one-on-one with the band. “It was an honour for us to get Nick Lowe’s thoughts and advice on the record,” says Rupert.
Notorious for their maniacal high-energy shows, The Jim Jones Revue have been described by MOJO as “the greatest rock n’ roll band in the world right now”.
Tracklist
1. It’s Gotta Be About Me
2. Never let You Go
3. 7 Times Around The Sun
4. Where Da Money Go?
5. Chain Gang
6. In and Out of Harm’s Way
7. Catastrophe
8. Eagle Eye Ball
9. Midnight Oceans & The Savage Heart