Easily Misunderstood by The Samuel Jackson Five (SJ5)

Easily Misunderstood by The Samuel Jackson Five (SJ5), released in 2005.

Two 45 RPM vinyl records for 11 beautiful tracks, perfect for listening on a peaceful sunny weekend or a reflective or romantic evening.

I only discovered this band thanks to a precious recommendation from Oddbjørn Kvalvik (Thanks!) of Fuzzy Platebar, whom I met on a recent trip to Norway. Once he understood my tastes, he didn't hesitate, completely selflessly (I didn't get it from his store where I'd already bought other albums, but online), to recommend this album to me. This album demonstrates once again that music is a universal language capable of uniting people from distant worlds but with similar sensibilities, breaking down all linguistic barriers and telling us that there are no cultural barriers in music, because feelings are the same everywhere.

Recommended, ordered, arrived yesterday, and I listened immediately.

The Samuel Jackson Five are a band from Oslo, formed at the turn of the century. Influenced by prog, jazz, and classical music, they compose instrumental music capable of condensing these genres into a single piece. Despite the complexity of the songs, the sound is very accessible; the high-quality musicians manage to make what is actually very complicated to compose and play simple to listen to.

This album has it all: symphonic rock alternates wonderfully with jazz, strings and piano create a melancholic texture, and there's an excellent and virtuoso rhythm section. Intentional dissonances move the melodies, making them interesting and innovative.

It's worth repeating that Norway once again holds the world of prog high, this time in its jazz-rock guise.

On the cover, a nautilus, with its perfect geometry, a living fossil once thought extinct and only rediscovered in the early 1900s... a relative of us prog-loving dinosaurs.

Highly recommended!

The Tracks

1. Skinflick Dress Rehearsal (5:46)

2. If You Show Off The Milk, Who's Gonna Buy the Cow? (3:58)

3. Easily Misunderstood (3:20)

4. Charlie Foxtrot Queen (2:24)

5. Person Most Likely to Enjoy the Taste of Human Flesh (5:57)

6. Unimog (7:21)

7. No Name (4:05)

8. Song for Sarah (5:08)

9. Psycho Derelict (1:49)

10. Michael Collins Autograph (7:09)

11. Switch Ambulance Trip (2:20)

Running Time 49:23

Line-Up

- Kjetil Gundersen - guitar, percussion
- Thomas Kaldhol - electric and lap steel guitar, effects
- Thomas Meidell - electric and lap steel guitar, Rhodes, organ, synthesizer, sampler, oscillator, percussion, effects, vocals
- Sigmund Bade - bass, guitar, piano, Rhodes Synthesizer, percussion, FX
- Stian Tangerud - drums, percussion
With:
- Ingar Hunskaar - synthesizer
- Dag Stiberg - alto saxophone
- Jørgen Sissyfus Skjulstad - clarinet
- Magnus Moriarty - violin, viola
- Ingebrigt Håker Flaten - double bass
- Sven Andréen - percussion