There's a fantastic podcast out there where a couple fine fellows well-educated in punk rock and music in general are taking a pretty objective, un-snarky yet anything-but-boring trip through the SST catalogue, one release at a time. Punningly named You Don't Know Mojack, listeners learn pretty early on that these guys actually do not know Mojack and are more or less discovering the SST roster with whom they're not already acquainted as they come to them. As of this writing they're at SST092 and, at a rate of about a release a week, they won't know Mojack until sometime around 2024. As at least one of them is a Coltrane fan, that is kind of a damn shame. I would cheat and listen ahead.
That said, I thought I would start with something I like. Something I really like. The easily ignored by many "another late period Greg Ginn instrumental band?" Mojack. Under the Willow Tree is a mid-catalogue record from the band, currently active between 1995 and 2013, with a ten year gap between this record and its predecessor, Homebrew (the never-released Rub A Dub slated for 2003 disappearing along with four other Ginn albums). Unlike many of Ginn's other projects, Mojack has one consistent collaborator in Tony Atherton on Saxophone. Other personnel vary from album to album but Ginn is often credited with both guitar and bass as he is on ...Willow Tree with Mike Lopez on drums.
I don't know jazz. I like jazz but, like wine - or punk rock, for that matter, I certainly cannot claim to be an expert and am often intimidated in any discussion of the subject. I own records many may consider entry-level and very little of what I own is "free" or improvisational (the complete works of Bill Evans on Riverside dominate my small jazz library, for example). Still, I like when jazz finds its way into rock and Under the Willow Tree immediately reminds me of another fusion favorite, Frank Zappa's Waka/Jawaka.
What works for me with Mojack, and ...Willow Tree in particular, is the brevity of the numbers. Song lengths number in the single digits, minute-wise, and while many can come across as fragments of grooves in process as opposed to structured songs, there's no tendency to drone here or get lost in a mess. This record swings and the serrated edge of Atherton's sax seems to fit the obtuse angles of Ginn's guitar like cogs in a wheel. Lopez rarely comes to the fore (in fact, I seem to only ever notice cymbals) but, rhythmically, who really shines here is Ginn the bassist. The sometimes tepid, robotic tone of Dale Nixon is a memory with Mojack and big, fat basslines swagger in and out of many of the numbers here. And Ginn is generous with space for Atherton, dropping in to accentuate but never dominate with signature Ginn sounds throughout.
Highlights for me include early tracks "Another Wise Guy" and "The Caves." Both demonstrate Ginn's bass dominance and the latter is also a great guitar number, my favorite element of which is the use of fret-hand muting to great effect. Simple but incredibly effective. "Advertising Services" recalls the first Atherton work I ever heard, Mike Watt's '95 solo single, "E-Ticket Ride." "Blackberry Pick" is a showcase of great Ginn tone and technique. "Wild Card Race," frenzied in the best way, recalls "Peter Gunn" as filtered through the Spy Hunter arcade game.
I do admit a sense of sameness creeps in over the album's runtime and I sometimes find myself wondering if it has gone on repeat (and I will set it on repeat). Too much of a good thing is fine but if this had been put out as a 10" EP with a half-dozen of the best tracks it could be a minor masterpiece to bookend The Process of Weeding Out. I'm not kidding. Under the Willow Tree is an easy recommend for anyone looking to dip a toe in Greg Ginn's later work. It's accessible but in no way compromised. Flag fans who dug the jazz evolution and exploration may find lots to love in Mojack.
As for the artwork, well, let me introduce what I think are the four categories of Greg Ginn album artwork and will refer to these from here on out:
Under the Willow Tree, then, is a solid 3 on the Ginn Album Art spectrum. We get a picture of a willow tree and the title, in what appears to be a great Courier font straight out of MS-Paint, is under it. Like nearly all of Ginn's later releases, additional art and inserts are nil. This album was released on compact disc only and the front insert is single-sided with song info and basic credits on the rear inlay card. The disc itself does specify "All Songs by Greg Ginn" and I do wonder if that implies composition of Atherton's work.I don't know jazz. I like jazz but, like wine - or punk rock, for that matter, I certainly cannot claim to be an expert and am often intimidated in any discussion of the subject. I own records many may consider entry-level and very little of what I own is "free" or improvisational (the complete works of Bill Evans on Riverside dominate my small jazz library, for example). Still, I like when jazz finds its way into rock and Under the Willow Tree immediately reminds me of another fusion favorite, Frank Zappa's Waka/Jawaka.
What works for me with Mojack, and ...Willow Tree in particular, is the brevity of the numbers. Song lengths number in the single digits, minute-wise, and while many can come across as fragments of grooves in process as opposed to structured songs, there's no tendency to drone here or get lost in a mess. This record swings and the serrated edge of Atherton's sax seems to fit the obtuse angles of Ginn's guitar like cogs in a wheel. Lopez rarely comes to the fore (in fact, I seem to only ever notice cymbals) but, rhythmically, who really shines here is Ginn the bassist. The sometimes tepid, robotic tone of Dale Nixon is a memory with Mojack and big, fat basslines swagger in and out of many of the numbers here. And Ginn is generous with space for Atherton, dropping in to accentuate but never dominate with signature Ginn sounds throughout.
Highlights for me include early tracks "Another Wise Guy" and "The Caves." Both demonstrate Ginn's bass dominance and the latter is also a great guitar number, my favorite element of which is the use of fret-hand muting to great effect. Simple but incredibly effective. "Advertising Services" recalls the first Atherton work I ever heard, Mike Watt's '95 solo single, "E-Ticket Ride." "Blackberry Pick" is a showcase of great Ginn tone and technique. "Wild Card Race," frenzied in the best way, recalls "Peter Gunn" as filtered through the Spy Hunter arcade game.
I do admit a sense of sameness creeps in over the album's runtime and I sometimes find myself wondering if it has gone on repeat (and I will set it on repeat). Too much of a good thing is fine but if this had been put out as a 10" EP with a half-dozen of the best tracks it could be a minor masterpiece to bookend The Process of Weeding Out. I'm not kidding. Under the Willow Tree is an easy recommend for anyone looking to dip a toe in Greg Ginn's later work. It's accessible but in no way compromised. Flag fans who dug the jazz evolution and exploration may find lots to love in Mojack.
- I'm actually trying here. I may not have succeeded but I'm trying.
- This is ironic clever. I named the album "this" and the artwork is some version of "this."
- This is literal. I named the album "this" and the artwork is exactly "this."
- I am not even trying. In fact, I am intentionally trying to offend your eyes.
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