On the Way

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For other uses, see On the Way (disambiguation).
On The Way
On The Way cover
Studio album by Jandek
Released 1988
Recorded Unknown
Genre Blues Rock / Avant-garde / Folk Music
Length 43:45
Label Corwood Industries
Producer Corwood Industries
Professional reviews
Jandek chronology
You Walk Alone
(1988)		 On The Way
(1988)		 The Living End
(1989)

On the Way was the seventeenth album by Jandek and was released in 1988 as Corwood 0755. It was reissued on CD in 2002.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Similar in sound to the proceeding You Walk Alone, Jandek is backed here by what seems to be the same free-wheeling "blues" band, and most of the tracks are loose, electric and bluesy. One song, "Message to the Clerk," has shown up before, in two different versions on The Rocks Crumble, but the version here combines the prior two, seeming almost fit for release as a single, with crazy harp blown all over. But there's a lot of diversity here, just compare that to the extended acoustic number "I'll Sit Alone and Think a Lot About You," which has become something of a classic in the catalog. Long and lonesome, the gently picked guitar and soft-spoken delivery at times threaten to fade into nothing.

Two tracks (the raucous "Give It the Name" and rhythmic "Sadie") appear to be sung by "Eddie" (who also may be on guitar), the vocalist-guitarist who appears to have accompanied the Corwood Representative on three of the previous four releases. The other electric tracks seem a little looser than what's on the majority of You Walk Alone, but the acoustic tracks seem like logical follow-ups to the Blue Corpse material, though a little more "spaced out" than those songs. From here female vocals would return and the band would work on perfecting the off-rhythm "Blues-Lounge Rock" found here.

[edit] Track listing

  1. Wrap it Up – 3:19
  2. Bring it Back to Seventy-Five – 2:34
  3. Message to the Clerk – 6:44
  4. Give it the Name – 5:38
  5. Ambient Instrument – 2:32
  6. Sadie – 2:36
  7. I'll Sit Alone and Think a Lot About You – 8:36
  8. The Only Way You Can Go – 5:33
  9. I'm Ready – 5:47

[edit] Album Cover Description

Wins the award for all-time most indistinct Jandek cover photo, which is no small featuring Very dark interior of a house with the silhouette of a drum kit and some piece of furniture (or possibly a piano?) only barely visible in the dim light that filters through the drawn curtain. Photo is in color, not that you'd notice unless you looked very closely. This is one of those pictures that the photo lab gives you a refund on. -- Seth Tisue

The color cousin of the photo on The Rocks Crumble. Same gauzy curtains. The "grandma's kitchen" drum throne from Interstellar Discussion reappears.

[edit] External links