Fan Club

AMG Review of Fan Club

Stephen Thomas Erlewinewww.notlame.com. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The title of Fan Club is entirely accurate -- this, more than most box sets -- is one for the fans. And Jellyfish does have fans: for a band that didn't sell many records, they sure gained a lot of fans, many of them starting their own post-power pop group after hearing 1990's Bellybutton and 1993's Spilt Milk. Those fans spread the gospel and followed solo careers -- Jason Falkner became a cult favorite in his own right -- but they still hungered for more Jellyfish, which they finally received in the summer of 2002 thanks to the power pop specialists at Not Lame, who assembled Fan Club with the assistance of all of the band and their soundman, Shalom Aberle. This is a release that was deliberately targeted at a fan base -- it contains nothing but unreleased material over its four discs, filled with memorabilia and memories from the band, and pressed in a limited number. That may mean that it will hardly play outside the hardcore fans but, then again, it's not intended to, either. And those hardcore fans will delight with this set, as it's filled with demos for songs for both albums (plus unreleased songs), live songs (taken from concerts and television broadcasts), rehearsals, compilation track appearances, and interview snippets tying it all together. It's an archival piece done right -- it is an exhaustive journey through the vaults, lovingly prepared. If you're a serious fan, you need this, especially before it sells out. It's available at www.notlame.com.