Jandek - Ready For The House

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4...according to our Ant on Wed 20 Aug, 2008.

Reclusive artist Jandek's 1978 'Ready For The House' LP gets a reissue and it's a captivating listen from the beginning. At it's core this is essentially singer songwriter stuff but it's incrediblly personal and mournfull sounding. I'm just discussing with Phil that he sounds lonely and Brian reckons that his detuned guitar sound has probably driven every woman with ears away so he only has himself to blame. That detuned guitar sound is what I like about this as it gives it a wobbly spacey blues feel. To think that this is 30 years old is quite remarkable. There's also a naive, innocent crapness to it all that would probably be bundled into the "outsider" artist tag with the likes of Daniel Johnson had the record been made now. There are parts that remind us of some of the MV+EE stuff too. The pic on the sleeve is great with its naff, proper 70's colours . Both Phil and I are feeling this one. That's cos were miserble... Oh the pain.

The 1978 release of Corwood Industries #0739, "Ready For the House", began one of the most compelling, disturbed, and singular legacies in musical history. In the 30 years since this unique debut, Jandek has released 53 albums of mournful, atonal music that continues to defy classification and accessibility. And while the past three decades of intense productivity have yielded a depth of discussion, a handful of legendary live performances and even a documentary film, no amount of time or experience can prepare a listener for the experience of "Ready For the House." Beyond stark, beyond oblique, beyond outsider even, the first Jandek LP (originally credited to The Units) explores musical territories no one even knew existed, with just a hollowed-out voice and a lonely, detuned guitar. This exact repress, heavyweight-vinyl edition is the first time "Ready For the House" has been unavailable on vinyl for nearly 20 years, finally giving collectors and fans the opportunity to own one of the most peculiar, solitary, and strangely magnetic records of all time. 60s/70sPSYCH/PROG/FOLK

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