Instrumentals

[Glenn Saunders <mos6507@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jimmy is better at instrumentals than JPJ because most of JPJ's stuff has no 
lead work on it (except for slide guitar, atonal stick or kyma stuff).  The two 
combined could make great instrumentals.  Look at something like Dazed and 
Confused.  It was, by 1975, almost progressive rock with its various movements 
and Robert's contribution was minimal.  That's what I'd like to see them do 
more than the typical 3 minute rock song with the typical 
hook/verse/chorus/solo.

But left to his own devices I think Jimmy still wants to write no-nonsense 
hooky radio-friendly AOR rock with vocals.  There is a consistent songwriting 
approach in something like Communication Breakdown, Who's to Blame, Wasting My 
Time, Shake My Tree, and Shining in the Light.  You know, those rhythmic power 
chording in sync with the drums.  That's his trademark.  I think that's what he 
sees as the bread and butter of a heavy band, the hard rock single.

JPJ goes out there and appeals to kind of more of a musically literate audience 
(like the Sonic Youth thing coming up).  Jimmy, on the other hand, has no 
problem going out there and playing hair-band crowd pleasers like Still of the 
Night in Japan with David Coverdale with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

So I think maybe Jimmy has more of a 'sprit of rock and roll' approach to music 
and he's kind of underappreciated his skills as a composer of serious music 
that could stand on its own without a singer to complete the cock-rock formula.

I've always wished he'd get back into soundtracks because he'd be really good 
at it.