1. Wayne Healy: Vocals & Guitar
2. Marty Lloyd: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar
3. Rob Bonaccorsi: Vocals & Guitar
4. Jim Bonaccorsi: Bass
5. Simon Horrocks: Drums & Percussion

The Freddy Jones Band
© 1992, Capricorn Records

This was the band's independent debut release, which was released a few years later on CD by Capricorn, with two versions of their signature tune, "In A Daydream", one live and one a studio acoustic version (the latter of which is excellent). The album as a whole is a little nondescript, which is not uncommon among early indy releases by bands (witness Strange Fire by the Indigo Girls, for instance). There are a few notable songs, such as "Texas Skies" and "Into the Wind", but the premier material by the band was yet to come.

"In A Daydream" showcases Wayne Healy's guitar work better than any other piece the band has recorded, as it is a vaguely psychedelic piece that still rocks, and is perfectly described by its title. On the other hand, "Take The Time" (by Healy and drummer Horrocks), which opens the album, better showcases the interplay among the band's three guitarists and their vocal harmonies. Although the song's structure is perhaps a bit pedestrian, it's still a fun, inspiring piece of work.

"One World", the other track which gets some radio play, is Marty Lloyd's main contribution to the album; his songs tend to have a somewhat heavier hand than Healy's sometimes over-smooth songs. As a whole, the album has a fairly light touch, sometimes becoming a bit silly ("Dixie Dynamite", one of those songs that just makes me think, "Who would want to record something like this?). But it's enjoyable to listen to the ebb-and-flow of the very competent guitar work.

This album rocks much harder than Waiting For The Night, and in fact the leadoff "Waitress" is one of the hardest-rocking songs in rock music, driven by Healy's frantic guitar work and Horrocks' outstanding drumming. I always appreciate a band which has a competent, busy drummer, rather than the seemingly-endless array of bands with some guy who simply carries a 4/4 beat and doesn't play around much. "Deep In The Flow" and "Under The Tree" aren't as electric as "Waitress", but they're also worthy rocking tunes.

"Hold On To Midnight" was the first single from the album, and it's a straightforward, but catchy, piece by Lloyd; it's the song that first attracted my attention to the group. On the other hand, Healy's mostly-acoustic "Ferris Wheel", with Rob Bonaccorsi on mandolin, is the piece which has attracted the most attention, as it is a delicate, very beautiful homage to the fading summer and fall.

I felt this album was a disappointment, and I wonder if the band might have exhausted their immediate style. The single, "Wonder", is a redux of their earlier work, with Healy's chord progressions in the background, weak vocal harmonies, and a melody lacking hooks. "Waiting On The Stone" is a better piece, with better hooks, but it doesn't really sound as fresh. It's not clear there's anything in this track that wasn't delivered on Waiting For The Night. "Mystic Buzz" is in a similar vein, despite the electronic modulation of the vocals. Again, not a bad song, but nothing especially new. Much of the rest of the album is short on hooks, and The Freddy Jones Band really needs good hooks to keep you engaged. It's what makes "Waitress" worth listening to ten times in a row, after all.

I saw the band in concert shortly after the release of this album.