Review Summary: Jobriath: Great Artist, but extremely overhyped.
Jobriath can be very misunderstood. He is often mistaken as being a David Bowie glam look-a-like. He is also seen as a copycat, a has-been, and an idiot who was overhyped and tried to cash in on the already fading Glam Rock phase. But there were other problems: He was from the states, where glam wasn't very popular. The only exception was David Bowie. Another one was, that Jobriath decided to come out and keep repeating it, saying he was "rock's truest fairy", and his manager, Jerry Brandt who caused the overhype and all this uneeded exposure, said "Elvis, The Beatles, Jobriath", as to say, "Oh yeah, if i say this, my new artist will become as famous. That will DEFINITELY work!".... well it didn't. All the hype turned mostly everyone else off, leaving Jobriath nearly ignored. Heck, he had a 41' by 43' billboard in Times Square to promote the album, and STILL nobody paid attention. The only ones who acknowledged the album was the critics, Rolling Stone saying it "had talent to burn". Things could start looking up. But they didn't. The hype was furthered by Jobriath getting a spot on the Midnight Special. Nothing changed. His next album flopped, had somewhat of a power struggle with Jerry Brandt and when people were finally paying attention, Jobriath retired from music.
Now onto the review....
Take me I'm Yours: A pretty great intro to a great album, Jobriath hits some very high notes and has somewhat of a funk melody. Rating: 4/5
Be Still: A love song of some sorts, but I can't make out what it is about... It's best for me not to know. But, the song is at most good. Some nice piano and Jobriath has some great vocals. Rating: 3.5/5
World Without End: Sounds very funky, a great precursor of what Jobriath would do on Creatures of the Street. Some great guitar, bongos (?), and vocals. Another great song! Rating: 4.5/5
Space Clown: A song for his manager, Jerry Brandt (as said by keyboardist Hayden Wayne.), as a tribute. Not too long or short, the middle section of the song makes me feel like I'm in a psychotic circus. Good song. Rating: 3/5
Earthling: It's at most good, not the best, some pretty good vocals, nothing much after that. Rating: 3/5
Movie Queen: somewhat of a tribute to movie stars, a predecessor to Dietrich/Fondyke on Creatures of the Street. Some crooning vocals by Jobriath and a piano. Nothing else, and it proves to be pretty good, but it's length makes it feel like filler. Rating: 2/5
I'm A Man: When I saw the Midnight Special performance of this song, I was amazed, it just seemed to be like something so personal was put into a three minute song, and so much effort was put into it. Sort of autobiographic, it tells of a man telling people who he is, and how they should accept him like that. Maybe an early gay pride song? That's for you to decide, because it seems to be like that and something else I can't make out. But besides that, Jobriath does some good singing, the vocals and keyboard is great, what can you say? I could be the best song on the album... Nope. Rating: 4/5
Inside: Some good piano, and excellent vocals by Jobriath. Seems to be melancholy... A good song. Rating: 3.5/5
Morning Star Ship: Okay-ish... maybe a song of an alien coming from space? I can't make it out. But some average vocals, could have been more effort put in this song. Rating: 3/5
Rock of Ages: A very short song, but a rocker that makes every time listening to it worth the time. Some great vocals, the guitar sound great, and the rhythm section is pretty good. My favorite to be exact. And if you want a great performance of this, look at the Midnight Special performance, you'll be blown away. Rating: 5/5
Blow Away: A very (if you can say it that way) sexual song. It (also) can be autobiographic like I'm a Man. Maybe it tells of the sexual experiences of Jobriath or of his homosexuality? Besides that, it has some good backing vocals and some great vocals by Jobriath. Seems to be theatrical, another foreshadowing to Creatures of the Street? It could be. Great ending. Rating: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Some great music, with some filler. I suggest you listen to it, but it takes a bit of time to get accustomed to. The next album would Creatures of the Street, and THAT was disastrous. So prepare yourselves...
