Jeremy Morris - 2021 - My Shining Star

(71:00; Jam Records)

I did a little bit of a double take when I started playing this album, as while “You’re Amazing” ended the previous album, here it starts this one but performed in a very different manner indeed. This album finds Jeremy (vocals, guitars, bass, drums, piano, mellotron, synths, mandolin, dulcimer, e-bow) being joined by Dave Dietrich (drums), Peter Morris (bass), Matt Willsea (guitar) and Stefan Johansson (guitar) as we find ourselves again in power pop territory but this time with a full band and much more of a rock edge. 13 songs this time, and a much longer running time with 71 minutes, so in many ways this is quite different to the last release with the opener being given a new life altogether. This all comes to a head with the closing track, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

What makes Jeremy such an intriguing and interesting artist is his ability to record albums in different genres, with different line-ups, yet somehow make each and every one sound as if it is the place where he is most at home. I received a lot of his albums at one time and made the decision to spread them through my review list and I am so glad I did as if I was to listen to all of them straight after each other I would have real issues deciding what was the best. As it is, I prefer this one to ‘Distant Dream’ just because there is more life and rock bounce to it as the guys groove through their Sixties influences. We get a more modern cover on this one, from Australian outfit Little Murders and their 2014 number “Waiting For The Sun”. It was only thanks to Jeremy’s notes in the booklet that I realised it was not one of his.

The album feels in some ways as if it is building to a climax, and when the riff starts to “Spirit In The Sky” I realised I was smiling as I knew what I was going to hear and was really looking forward to it. Indeed, this is perfect for Mr. Morris with some nice funky guitar and a melody which suits his vocals well. What I didn’t realise at that moment was that Jeremy was using this as a basis for moving in some very strange directions indeed, bringing in progressive and space rock, plus some jams, to turn this into something which was more than 24 minutes in length! I am not saying it is the longest ever cover of this song, but it must be up there. In many ways this is a great way to finish as it shows a totally different side of Jeremy to what had gone previously, as for one of the few times on his albums he allows himself to move away from the genre he set himself for that release. I am not sure where would be the best place to start investigating Jeremy’s work, but this may be the one.

Kev Rowland, April 2024

Links:
https://www.jamrecordings.com/