Artist Lounge: Jules Shear
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It's Friday - time to stop posting about new MOGs and dead dogs - things I cannot change. Instead, here's a little gem to prove deadmandeadman's contention that Jules Shear is a musical chameleon. From a tribute album with one of the UGLIEST covers known to man, I give you Jules covering "Ain't That A Groove".
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(Thirteenth in a series) Having covered his 30+ year career, I now just want to share with you some wonderful songs, written or co-written by Jules but recorded by others. Let's start with Lowen and Navarro, a duo who wrote Pat Benetar's top 5 smash "We Belong" and have issued 9 albums of their own. In 1995, they released the CD "Pendulum" with the gorgeous "Spring Is Late This Year", co-written by Jules and easily the best song on the CD. Next, set the way... MORE
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(Twelfth in a series) Since 2001, Jules Shears' career seems to be in a low gear. When each of the last 4 solo CDs were issued, Jules made perhaps a half-dozen appearances in small venues (luckily enough, usually including Philly), most of them close to his home in Woodstock. He once made the comment that he would like to have a record deal that would enable him to release a new CD once a year, as that would keep up with his songwriting output. Contradicting this state... MORE
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(Eleventh in a series) In a way, you could say that Jules Shear's relationship with Rounder Records lasted for two CDs - if you include the 2001 release of "Raisins In The Sun". Yes, that is the name of the group and the name of the album as well. The big question is WHY? "A Raisin In The Sun" was a play produced on Broadway in 1959, the first production with a female African-American author (Lorraine Hansbury)and an African-American director as well. It concerned... MORE
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(Tenth in a series) After "Healing Bones" was released in '94, it was a long four-year wait until Jules' next solo CD came out. Particularly for me, since I became aware and obsessed with his music around '92, collected everything I could from his past, and then waited..and waited for something new to come out. Finally, in 1998, "Between Us" was released (original title "Entre Nous" was scotched but remains as a song title). Jules always likes to mix things up to k... MORE
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(Ninth in a series) In the early to mid-1990s. there were a number of collaborations between Jules Shear and the then-current members of The Band (sorry, this is an old picture) Robbie Robertson was long gone, and the rest of the living members had reunited and soldiered on. These collaborations resulted in three songs which appeared on CDs issued by both Jules and/or The Band, as well as an apparently unreleased 1990 album done for CBS with Jules performing wi... MORE
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(Eighth in a series) After the spartan sound of "The Third Party", Jules Shear returned to recording his songs with full instrumentation in the masterwork "The Great Puzzle" Apparently the promotional disc "Unplug This" (see the last post) was included as a bonus CD in early packages of this CD. It wasn't until the release of this CD that I became aware of who Jules was, hearing him interviewed on WXPN's radio show The World Cafe. I was immediately entranced by t... MORE
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(Seventh in a series) After the breakup of Reckless Sleepers, Jules Shear charted a solo course for the next 10 years. To start things off, he headed down the back roads, far off the commercial highway, by releasing "The Third Party". The CD is all-acoustic, featuring nothing more than Jules' voice (and songs) and the acoustic guitar of Marty Willson-Piper (of the Church). No harmonies, no overdubs, little variation in sound for the entire CD. Stripped down to this l... MORE
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(Sixth in a series) In 1988, the group Reckless Sleepers came together. Jules Shear was the lead vocalist in the group. Initially Elliot Easton (lead guitarist for The Cars) was to be a member as well, but that didn't work out, and Elliot instead ended up recording a solo record (Change No Change) with Jules doing all of the co-writing. Guitarist Jimmy Vivino should be familiar to anyone who watches Conan O'Brien, as he is in the house band the Max Weinberg Seven, ... MORE
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(Fifth in a series) After Jules and the Polar Bears were dropped by Columbia, Jules began his solo career. Capitol Records signed him and somehow the decision was made to have Todd Rundgren be his producer on the first album "Watch Dog". Here's my favorite cut from that LP, "Never Fall": They could've released this as a single, But NOOOOO! Though I am a big Rundgren fan, I don't think he had a clue as to what to do with Jules. Evidence of that is the leadoff track ... MORE
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(Fourth in a series) After the breakup of Funky Kings, Jules Shear formed a band to showcase his compositions, Jules and the Polar Bears. They were signed to Columbia based on the strength of their demos, having never played together live. Their first album, "Got Not Breeding" was released in 1978. I remember hearing the leadoff cut "You Just Don't Wanna Know" on AOR radio at the time. But that's it. Critically lauded but commercially ignored, they still proved to ... MORE
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(Third in a series) The first recorded work written by Jules Shear was a song called "Romance". It was not an illustrious beginning. Why, in a song about romance, soliciting a young woman, would you include the line "kick the shit out of the night"? Despite this, the song was covered on the debut LP by Severin Browne (Jackson's brother, signed to MoTown, believe it or not). Not only that, it was a single released by a 1970s group called The Cats. Side A is complete, side... MORE
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Second in a series. The second biggest hit written by Jules Shear was recorded by Cyndi Lauper on her smash debut album "She's So Unusual". "All Through The Night" also featured Jules on background vocals. The song originally appeared on Jules' first solo LP "Watch Dog", produced by Todd Rundgren And here Cyndi is performing the song live on Solid Gold: About this time, Jules was as close to a commercial peak as he was destined to get. Two hit songs on the cha... MORE
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First in a series: OK, I've been on MOG more than a year and managed to keep quiet about Jules Shear. No longer. He is one of my favorite songwriters and performers of all time, solo artist, been in four different bands, started and hosted MTV's Unplugged program, former paramour of Aimee Mann, who wrote "J is For Jules" about him. To give a frame of reference to the uninitiated, Jules wrote two giant hits in the sixties which I suspect are still putting food on the ta... MORE
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Seems to me that, after seeing an artist in concert, "been there, done that" sinks in. Even artists that I really love, like McCartney and the Zombies (Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent) got old the second time around. There are only two artists I've seen repeatedly (as in, 4 times and counting..) : Jules Shear and Marshall Crenshaw. But the fact that neither is particularly popular and go out these days without a band does limit their musical palette. Are there artists you... MORE
