Jam Jam

The members of GospelbeacH have resumés as long as Wilt Chamberlain's wingspan, but none of them have been in a project quite like this. Brent Rademaker's partner in Curation Records is the proud owner of a huge stash of bubblegum and glitter pop singles, and after digging into some of them, Rademaker was inspired to give a handful of the songs the GospelbeacH treatment. On the Jam Jam EP, the band and the songs meet halfway in a glorious collision of sugary melodies and goofy hooks, drawling vocals and warm country-rock. The band extract some real goodies and give them a rollicking update. The American Jam Band's glittering obscurity "Jam Jam" is given some punchy swagger, the very Badfinger-eque "Lovin' You Ain't Easy" by Michel Pagliaro takes a mellow step in the direction of soft rock heaven, and the bubblegum classic "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin" isn't much of a song, but the group plow through it with just the right amount of energy and giddiness. The high points of the too-short EP are GospelbeacH's take on Chunky's "Albatross," which comes complete with a merrily stomping glam beat and some seriously cheesy synths, and a lovely version of Sandy Salisbury's sunshine pop gem "Do Unto Others." The band make it sound like a lost Tom Petty song from early in his career, while adding vocal harmonies pretty enough for a Beach Boys album. Not a surprise since they are provided by Nelson Bragg, a longtime member of Brian Wilson's band. Jam Jam is a fun little diversion for GospelbeacH, showing they can do light and breezy like it's second nature. It's also a nice jumping-off point for anyone interested in discovering bubblegum and glitter by tracing the band's excellent choices back to the source. ~ Tim Sendra