Jive Jones

Me, Myself & I appeared in 2001 through the Zomba recording catalogue. The title track supplied the main public introduction, while songs such as “I Belong”, “Superteen” and “Best Friend’s Girl” gave the album a wider frame. The record moves through a pop vocabulary in which rhythmic speech, sung melody and guitar colour can share a short space.

“I Belong” is a useful companion to the title song because it lets the melodic side come closer. The album’s personality becomes easier to hear when the different performances are kept together, rather than allowing the most immediately comic or extroverted moment to stand for everything.

These recordings belong to the dense, highly produced pop world of the early 2000s, where a small vocal effect or a sharp instrumental accent could become part of a song’s recognition. Jive Jones’ material uses that surface actively, letting the arrangement answer the singer rather than simply sit behind him.

The compact catalogue is best approached through the complete album. Its different moods reveal how the same performer can place a more exposed melodic line next to a deliberately exaggerated gesture. The title track gives the clearest first impression, but the surrounding songs supply the changes in tone that make the record feel like somebody’s particular musical world.