Albums by this artist

Collector Of Cactus Echo Bags (1997)

The Lonesome Organist

Collector Of Cactus Echo Bags

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» JONATHAN COHEN | SENIOR EDITOR

The Lonesome Organist Collector Of Cactus Echo Bags Thrill Jockey, 1997 RiYL: Trans Am

The one-man band often seen at carnivals, playing umpteen instruments at once, ain't exactly a modern concept. Such is the beauty of Collector Of Cactus Echo Bags, the first album from virtuoso Jeremy Jacobsen, also known as the Lonesome Organist.

Anyone who has seen Jacobsen live can attest to awe derived from watching him strum a guitar on his lap, smash a cymbal with one hand and noodle a keyboard melody with the other, all the while keeping beat with a kick drum and singing or humming through a harmonica.

Here, we get 20 short snippets (songs that average less than two minutes in length) of Jacobsen's nutty take on everything from surfy instrumentals ("Ratt Advance On The Windsor Deluxe") to cock-rock satire ("End Of The Road") to a rockabilly ode to himself ("The Lonesome Organist Theme"). More traditional organ fun can be found on "The Wind Up Bird" and opening cut "The Lost Oar," both of which could soundtrack a spin on the local merry-go-round. "6 Volt," with its zooming bass and loony keyboards, bears the influence of Thrill Jockey labelmates Trans Am.

Clattering piano licks, shimmery vibes and snappy drumming spark "Chasing The Wheelbarrel," creating a miasma of sound that updates improvisatory style with hi-tech equipment not available to one-man artists of days gone by.

Elsewhere, our organist takes us to a dingy saloon ("You Be Blake"), a warm campfire (the 47-second, acoustic guitar ditty "Miel Silvestri") and (on closer "Departing The Sturdy Ship,") to an island marketplace where steel drums resonate all around.

OK, timeless music this isn't, but Jacobsen's whimsical forays into all things solo is a welcome effort in a musical era weighed down by overproduction and unoriginality.

JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"