Glad to Get Away

AMG Review of Glad to Get Away

Skip Jansen
All Music Guide

The 23rd Jandek and second CD release after the obscure Texan released a stream of LP-only documents of his cracked genius. The said genius has been interpreted in the realms of folk, lues, and avant-garde genres, yet no category has rightly housed his wayward and challenging music. Returning to the all-acoustic guitar and vocal formula that gave signature to many of his LPs, his forays into electric guitar and percussion were curious diversions, yet the real quality of his work is in this Syd Barrett-like stream of consciousness, displayed in a simply beautifully way here. While Jandek LPs may be hard to find (though some have been reissued on CD), this could be a good introduction to his vast repertoire for the uninitiated -- as his later albums took on a form of a capella abstraction that is nothing short of difficult listening. There is enough vague adherence to form on Glad to Get Away to render it musical, his willful tunelessness and distortion is the very charm of these bizarre recordings. A veritable masterpiece of the underground, no less.