Let the World-Eating Start...with Jimmy Eat World's Early Days...

Well, this has been a long time coming. I wanted to start posting some Jimmy Eat World for a good long while now but something else always jumped the line. But now we finally launch the series of albums from Mesa, Arizona's finest. Like that other punk-cum-pop band Jimmy Eat World needed a couple of albums and a change of lead vocalists two albums in to really get somewhere. And the somewhere is Jimmy Eat World being probably the most beloved of all 'emo' bands coming out in the late 90s and early 2000s. And then, with Bleed American in 2001 they actually did hit the big time. 

The emo tag shouldn't turn you off, by the way, as misunderstandingit might indicate that this is somehow music for teen boppers. Instead, it is some of the best pop punk and power pop you'll hear. It's lyrical content and pleading vocals could probably account for the 'emo' label, but as someone who never was 'emo', I can't really say much other than that Jimmy Eat World are first and foremost a kick-ass rock band with smarts and songs to spare.

But it's undeniable that Jimmy Eat World make music for young people - or at least the young at heart. The - yes - emotional content amplifies and accompanies the heightened emotional states of teenagers and young adults, the time where every romantic drama promises to be the end of the world and everything feels ten or a hundred times more important than it turns out to be. But that's what getting old(er) teaches you. Anyway, I digress. So, whether you call them punk, or emo, or power pop, or simply good old fashioned rock'n'roll, Jimmy Eat World was a great band for a couple of years around the change of the millenium. And today's Earlybird Special will hopefully start the mission in style, while focusing on the quicker and heavier music they did during their early days.  

The main basis for Earlybird Special is their Singles compilation, from which ten of the sixteen tracks here are sourced. There is one track ("Splat Out Of Luck") from their demo tape (just edging out the same track in the finished version from their not particularly impressive debut album), three from Static Prevails, their sophomore effort and major label debut, which has its moments - most of them collected here - but not hinting at what they could and would be just a little later. The one track from their self-titled 1998 EP, album closer "Roller Queen" already points in that direction, as do early versions of "Cautioners" and "The Most Beautiful Things", both of which would show up on Bleed American. There is also their cover of Duran Duran's "New Romance" which for some copyright dispute reasons wasn't included on Singles, with Jim Adkins' liner notes advising the reader to "get it off Napster or something. You have our blessing". well, that's nice; It also really dates the release and these liner notes...I mean, when was the last time you heard the word Napster..?

So, who's ready for some crunchy guitars and some well-adjusted noise? Get the jump on these guys early during their tenure here at One Buck Records and enjoy this Earlybird Special, for a kickass start to your weekend...