Album History (from wikipedia):
Spilt Milk was an album released on February 9th 1993 by Jellyfish, a band that combined Queen-like glam rock with Beach Boys-like vocal harmonies. Although, some influences are more obscure; the song "Russian Hill," for instance, is more than a little reminiscent of late folksinger Nick Drake's "River Man."
The album was recorded after frustrated guitarist Jason Falkner and bassist Chris Manning had left the band. The subject matter on this disc is very diverse: from unhealthy relationships ("All is Forgiven" and "New Mistake") to joining the circus ("Brighter Day") to masturbation ("He's My Best Friend.") It has been noted that the album seems to be a rock opera, following the fall of a rock star. Also, a Christian theme can be found in the lyrics, most notably in the songs "Joining a Fan Club" and "New Mistake."
The album contained the singles "The Ghost at Number One" (reached No. 9 on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart), "New Mistake" (which yielded a Japanese-only ten-song E.P.), "Joining a Fanclub" (covered ten years later by Puffy AmiYumi) and "Bye, Bye, Bye" (which almost appeared on Bellybutton). "He's My Best Friend" later appeared in the 1994 comedy Threesome and on its soundtrack. There were promotional videos for "The Ghost at Number One" and "New Mistake."
Outtakes and B-Sides included "Family Tree", "Worthless Heart", "Watchin' The Rain" (a Beatnik Beatch song) and "Ignorance Is Bliss" (which appeared on Nintendo's White Knuckle Scorin' CD).
The Band:
Andy Sturmer: Vocals, Drums, Some Guitar, Keyboards & Producer.
Roger Joseph Manning Jr.: Keyboards, Piano, Vocals & Producer.
Tim Smith: Bass, Vocals & Additional Bass.
Album Review:
1. Hush
This is a short 2 minute intro to the album. It showcases Jellyfish's harmony capabilities and sounds almost like a lullabye. In all, it's a very peaceful song and has soothing melodies that can lull you into a deep sleep. I think it's a great opener. 5/5
2. Joining a fan club
One of the band's most famous songs. Very rock influenced and bouncy. The verse just has Andy singing and a comical piano tapping in the background. The chorus, however, is far more catchy and uses a modal key which grabs your attention. The bridge in the song is great because it uses a funky guitar riff and some haunting keyboard effect. This song is a big change from Hush. 4.5/5
3. Sebrina, paste and plato
This song is a lot different to the other songs on the album for two main reasons; It's very short (2.23) and it features Roger on main vocals instead of Andy. It starts off with Roger singing in a geeky sort of voice with keyboard and then gets VERY strange towards the chorus. In the chorus Andy emerges and delivers a catchy vocal line. After the chorus the band start rocking for a few seconds which i think should last longer. At about 1.46, the song takes a very different sound which sounds a bit circus-like. I like this song because it showcases many talents of the band. 4/5
4. New mistake
One of the albums many highlights. The verse has a nice relaxing guitar playing two chords. There is very creative bass playing throughout this song which is a definate plus point. The chorus is quite sad but there is hope towards the end of it. The song has a nice guitar solo which is soothing. In the chorus, there is a keyboard effect that reminds me of the group Supertramp (Which i really like.) The end of the song has just a keyboard line with Andy singing. A really nice song. 5/5
5. Glutton of Sympathy
This song has a relaxing start to it. It also showcases some more harmony from the band. I really like the chorus from this song because it is quite pop inspired but has the Jellyfish twist to it. The song is quite happy throughout apart from the bridge which I don't think sounds that good. Nice guitar solo though. Looses marks because of bridge. 4/5
6. The Ghost at number one
Ah, the bands second single from the album. Apon first listen, I thought it would be a heavy track because of the distroted guitar at the start. The song, however is very bouncy and catchy like most of the bands singles. The chorus has Andy singing and Tim singing a a call-back sort of line. (Basically call and answer.) The song has a bit of honky-tonk in it as well. Ver good. 4.5/5
7. Bye bye bye
This song made me laugh apon first listen. It starts off with some nice harmony from the band but then breaks into this polka music with accordian and snare drum which reminds you of France and Italy. Andy sings over the top while a harpischord plays in background. Andy really does some great singing in this song. After a while, the song goes back into the harmony section. A really fun song. 3.5/5
8. All is forgiven
Another song that sounds heavy at the start. Andy's vocals sound very emotional in this song. The verse has some heavy drum playing (well, the heaviest on the album) The chorus has lots of backing in it. In the second chorus, the most unusual thing happens. The music stops dead. You have to hear it. Then a really distorded guitar solo comes in. After, Andy shows what his voice can do and a nice instrumental chord progression comes in. The song then fades out with a lot of feedback and goes straight into Russian Hill. This song sounds like a bit of a filler to me so it looses marks. 3/5
9. Russian hill
Apart from Hush, this is probably the most peaceful song on the album. The song was written by Andy on his own (every other song was written by Andy and Roger) and showcases his vocal range. The verses just have Andy singing over 3 guitar chords with a slight note change between each chord. The chorus has minor chords and Tim singing nice backing vocals. After the second chorus a bridge comes in with some funky flute that reminds me of a disney film. The song ends with an extended chorus which adds a slight progressive feeling to the song. Excellent. 5/5
10. He's my best friend
When i read the lyrics to this song I realise that this is no ordinary band. Unlike your average drugged up long haired rock band, this band have brains. It's called He's my best friend, It's about wanking, and it's great. It starts off with a really funny piano effect and the band harmonising over the top. A drum fill kicks off the main riff which reminds me of crowded house's It's only natural, but with strange keyboard. The chorus is not as funny as the verse but has an unbilievably catchy keyboard riff. Good song. 4.5/5
11. Too much, too little, too late
If there was a filler on this album, i'd choose this. It's a nice song, but i feel it's not up to Jellyfish standards. I really have nothing worth mentioning on this song. 3/5
12. Brighter day
And now, we come to the close. Brighter day is a song about joining the circus, and if you couldn't tell by the lyrics, you can tell from the music. The song kicks off with a faded riff played by a banjo which sounds a little depressing but hey. Then out of nowhere, the best drum beat ever emerges accompanied by trumbone delivering an extemely cool circus type melody. Andy sings on about how the circus should change your life, and sings "It's gonna be a brighter day" in a really girly voice which i think sounds great. The song lasts about 5 mins but then has a minute extra of keyboard fiddling. The song then ends on the note that Hush strated with, so you can keep the album on repeat and have it blend in to itself. Awesome song. 5/5
Overall, i was very lucky to find a copy of this album since I live in Wales (That's in the U.K for you really smart people out there.) and the band wern't that big outside America. But this album doesn't just get high marks for the songs. It also gains marks for the order the songs are placed in and how well each song builds up to the next. The effort put into recording this album is outstanding, if you do buy a copy of this, look at the album sleeve, it has the most impressive recording studio i've ever seen. I Recommend you go onto ebay and fish out $5 on this wonderdisc. Whatever music you are into, you'll not regret it.
Album rating: 5/5
