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Jump - The Freedom Train

Artist:	Jump
Title:	The Freedom Train
Label:	Cyclops CYCL 081
Length(s):	74 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1999
Month of review:	02/2000

Line up

Mo - keyboards
Steve Hayes - electric and acoustic guitars
Peter Davies - electric guitars
Andy B - drums
Hugh Gascoyne - bass
John Dexter Jones - vocals, acoustic guitar
Andy P - flute

Tracks

1)	A Nation Of Friends	3.39
2)	The Lightbox	3.04
3)	Poison In The Sea	5.05
4)	Personal Revolution	5.18
5)	Alone Ahead	4.57
6)	The Pressed Man	4.48 *
7)	Shed No Tears	6.32 -
8)	On My Side	6.19 +
9)	The Freedom Train	4.27
10)	Highwayman	9.38
11)	Valediction	4.24 +
12)	Used To The Taste	4.18 *
13)	Judgement Day	3.53 -
14)	Keep The Blues	7.39 +

- And All The King's Horses + The Myth Of Independence * Living In A Promised Land

Summary

A live record from Jump. The band recorded five albums already and the album features songs from all of them, including four that were never yet on CD. Also the farewell CD of Hugh Gascoyne.

The music

The album opens with the off-beat Nation Of Friends. A typical live atmosphere in this guitar dominated track. Not very proggy this, but of course, that was always one of the things with Jump: accessible songs with a strong rock presence and pop vocals. This also holds for The Lightbox. Rhtyhmically things are happening here, but melodically it's all rather straightforward and not very interesting. Poison In The Sea opens with rough slide guitar and has a strong bass presence. As oftener happens on these songs, there is a strong blues feeling. The addition of keyboards and the rhythms section move the music a bit in the direction of what we would deem progressive. The vocalist has a rather typical voice and sometimes has a good emotional ring to it. In this third track there's even a reggae rhythm. Personal Revolution is another track I did not yet know. Again a bit of a lightweight composition reminding me in some way of the band Laid Back. Mid-tempo and rather merrily bouncing, but the chorus is quite nice, and powerful. The best track so far. Alone Ahead is a laid back track, with relaxed bluesy guitar work. The vocalist does become a bit more involved here. The Pressed Man is the first track I already knew. Quite a good track, driven with more keyboards and therefore more in the proggy corner of melodic rock. Shed No Tears brings little new to light, except maybe a more percussive approach and the message that there's more to Jump than the music, there's also the message. In a way the singer reminds me a bit of Fish here, not because of his vocals, but the aggression and emotion he lays down in his vocals. The Freedom Train never really gets underway. Highwayman is a long track, vocally not very interesting but packing some rowdy guitar solos. Valediction is well-built. Used To The Taste opens with a good guitar lick, and unfolds as a rather nice track. The chorus is not that great, but still a nice song. After Judgment Day the album closes with Keep The Blues. Again a good opening and a moody vocal part and a emotive vocal part.

Conclusion

This is not prog, but plain driven melodic rock (not too melodic though). I wasn't too impressed with most of the songs. Strong point is the spirited vocalist, that might remind people of Grey Lady Downs vocalist. The music can be compared to later Abel Ganz and is typically English.