Jimmy Gnecco "The Heart"

 

As a major fan of the band Ours, I was all sorts of excited to see a new record from Jimmy Gnecco, who is essentially the creative mastermind of that group, much like Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails.  Pick any of the three albums by Ours and be amazed by the power and depth of the music.  For example, I've converted many a U2 fan into an Ours follower.  The 2008 album, "Mercy", was one of the best of the year.  I paid to see them live in 2006 when they featured new music from that record, and then waited an excruciating eighteen months for the album to drop, but was rewarded with a release that made the Ol' Mad Rocker ecstatic.  That album did not leave the changer for months!  Even paid to see them live again (you can't beat The Social and their approx. 300 capacity for a show like this).  So with great anticipation, and preconceived expectations, I popped "The Heart" into the player.  I had always scoffed at the comparison to Jeff Buckley that many critics have mentioned, but by golly there it was, all over the first three tracks/13 minutes.  Have I mentioned that I don't like Jeff Buckley?  My God, I'd rather listen to Thom Yorke on quaaludes (you young bucks will have to look it up).  Anyway, the title track at #4 offered quite a bit of hope, the highest of highlights, as it turned out.  But I soldiered through spin one and two, and almost dreaded the required third spin, envisioning a Frisbee toss out the window afterwards.  But guess what?  I caught myself humming and singing along to the same tracks I had discounted on earlier listens.  It's Ours Unplugged.  That's why I always take my time when digesting these records.  I don't play 'em back to back.  I shuffle through five or six CD's at a time, always offering a new perspective to the listening experience, and it truly makes a difference.  So, ultimately, I will add "The Heart" in its entirety to the collection based on Gnecco's history.  Does it make me want to go see him as a solo this weekend?  I'll wait for the band...