Jack Pack - debut album review

Buy Jack Pack's debut album here (Amazon UK)

There's something quite intoxicating about the best new swing-pop group you'll find all the live long year, Jack Pack. I think it's a combination of four devilishly good looking fellas who bring an old school satorial elegance with their vintage/timeless suited booted look; giving their own brilliant take on a well known genre to make it feel all exciting and new again; and that they seem genuinely humbled and grateful for the success that Britain's Got Talent has deservedly bought them. There's also this je ne sais quoi quality to them - a frisson of excitement about them that lends well to their dramatic, opulent self titled debut album. More on that in a moment - first can we all just celebrate the renaissance of the genre-band. I can't help but feel that the always excellent The Overtones have paved the way for acts like Collabro and Jack Pack, each doing rather marvelously with their own specific style of music that they infuse with original compositions. I think they'll always be a place for guys like these groups in the music world but it's a real treat to see that they are becoming so beloved by a more mainstream audience. The new music from Jack Pack is only going to fuel that passion. The ten tracks showcase our four fellas in a diverse range of musical genres that are all threaded together with that grandiose big band style that bought them to fame in the first place. So throw on a tux, grab a stiff scotch and settle down to the most elegant, timeless soundtrack there is right now...

• Light My Fire - an excellent choice to open the album with. The Doors/Will Young classic (depending on your age) lends itself perfectly to a more jazz-infused swing setting - and as someone who loves and appreciates the layers and textures in instrumental arrangements I was thrilled at how complex and exquisite the music is here. It starts off with this dramatic, sensuous horn section that feels like the best Bond intro never written. It's interspersed with this deep and dirty bass and it all feels so dangerous yet the type of danger you run to instead from. And this is all before the lads have sung a note - of course it's heaven as soon as they open their mouths but I do appreciate the extended intro that really becomes part of the narrative they sing. Individually the boys all bring sterling vocals that easily guide the melody to float above the score, whilst still embracing the music that swirls and crashes around them. They are of the performance rather than getting lost in it - and this is mainly thanks to their nuanced singing that brings out the pulse racing intensity of the words. The "light my fire" refrain becomes a teasing dare, a titillating proposition that gets the heart thumping as only these chaps could. When their voices all meld together during that climatic finale to the tune it's a breathtaking moment that feels like the arrival of a new musical force to be reckoned with.
• Forever - A lot has been of the fact that exquisite composer Randy Newman has gifted the lads this unreleased song. The chaps certainly make the most of the opportunity they've been given. It feels like the lost soundtrack to the most romantic movie yet to be made (or - even better - the soundtrack to your most dreamy memories and heartfelt dreams of that ideal love we all search for). Rather cleverly, it's a far more restrained instrumental than the opening track so it gives you a sense of the range and talents of the guys; their ability to adapt the performance to the nuanced needs of the song. Their sweet crooning vocals against the gently sweeping soundscape creates a mesmerising effect that feels like a contemporary Moon River. The piano is particularly blissful, the intricate dance of the keys being the perfect duet partner for the vocals. It effortlessly carries the listener away on a floating cloud of blissful wonder - the middle 8 giving us the most regal formal dance moment you could hope for in such a wonderful song. Absolutely breathtaking.
• I Put A Spell On You - grab your jack (pack) o' lanterns because just in time for All Hallows Eve Jack Pack have turned the indelible classic into a beguiling and bewitching treat for the ears. It begins with an almost gentle seduction, luring you into the song with a hushed instrumental and alluring vocals all designed to lull you into a false sense of security. As you guard drops and you let the evocative music wash over you, the song begins an all-conquering crescendo and this dazzling performance becomes the most delicious trick. Crashing percussion and compelling horns combine with a truly impassioned vocal that is more magical than anything conjured up at Hogwarts. The final moments with those long held notes are spine-tingling, sensational majesty that will surely crumble any last ounce of tentative resistance you felt ;) Jack Pack are here, they've made their mark and they are not messing around.
• Stay With Me Baby - A gentle, finger clicking mid-tempo groove brings this song into life as we find Jack Pack loosening the bow ties and reminiscing about what went wrong with a relationship. The melancholy tonal cadence of the opening verse is an ideal way to demonstrate those quiet, late night moments of introspection and pondering that we all have when our minds refuse to switch off. Then, it's as if the passion and intensity of these thoughts swell and urge both the music and the power of the vocals forward as they take on a life of their own and defy gravity with the solemnity of their plaintive yearning. It's incredible difficult not to be moved by the emotions conveyed here as every fibre of their being is poured into ensuring this track is drenched in the longing and craving that the narrative of the lyrics demand. Simon Cowell comments on world class performances - he certainly found it here.
• Story Of My Life - Take one of my favourite One Direction songs, strip it back to it's organic roots and rebuilt it Jack Pack style and you have a remarkable (and playful) new creation that teases out new meaning from the well known anecdote. I like that the Jack Pack have positioned themselves as resigned to their fate with an amused charm - losers in love but never letting it get them down. It's yet another example of their adaptability and chameleon-esque nature where they really do evidence a thorough understanding of the music in front of them and work incredibly hard to make it all sound so effortless and inveigling. Martin, Alfie, Andrew and Sean really do make sure they TELL you their version of the story in the most honest way that they know how. It works every time and whether sad song or happy, they leave you with a sense of satisfaction in their delivery of the tale.
• Mack The Knife - after this song you may well be wondering why Jack Pack haven't put more Rat Pack standards on the album. Mack The Knife shows that they are definitely up to the task of holding their own alongside the greats (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davies Jr, Robbie Williams, etc) with a vibrant and addictive fulfillment of the needs of the song. I think they've chosen to tease you with a few of the classics so that they can firmly establish themselves as a contemporary British version of the aforementioned Rat Pack, stamping their own inimitable style on songs new, old and current. Here is as good a place as any to point out that Mack The Knife sounds as joyfully exhilarating as Story Of My Life does, leaving you with an endorphin rush of epic proportions - making you as giddy as gazing at the fellas themselves would. If this was a traditional vinyl album, this would have been a genius way to open side two - and you kind of get the impression it was meant to be that way. EPIC.
• Stay For A Minute - by now it's emphatically clear that the guys do heartbreak oh so well. Stay For A Minute is a song about not wanting to lose the love of your life and the thoughts that swirl through your head when this dread becomes an actual possibility. Sometimes even when things are going well you need to remind your loved ones that they are important to you and you need them. The lads provide the musical equivalent of a heartfelt I LOVE YOU with a touching tenderness that makes the feelings almost tangible with each aching note sung. Their willingness to work as a team and not only let each other shine but allow the music to be an equal partner has not gone unnoticed and the album is so much better off because of this. Stay For A Minute is a beautiful example of this symbiosis and it accentuates every single word in graceful ways that would be lost in the hands of less considered singers. It truly is enchanting to listen to and has you reaching for repeat as soon as the song is over.
• Lazy River - "Get Outta My Way"! No, (sadly) it's not a Kylie cover (IMAGINE - they would actually do a internet-breaking Better The Devil You Know. Just a tip lads) but an impish romp that will leave you smiling from ear to ear. The song is nearly ninety years old but good music never dies and I'm just grateful that Jack Pack has revived one of my dad's favourite songs for a new generation. If you are new to the song think a more grown up version of I Wanna Be Like You (from The Jungle Book) and you won't go far wrong. It's all sung with a dynamic panache that is very in keeping with these new millenial playboys (with a heart). Those spoken ad-libs at the end make you feel like the whole song was sung by the lads over drinks at the bar and you were just lucky enough to be eavesdropping at the next table ;)
• Say You Love Me - Say You Love Me is co-written with my OTHER favourite BGT-2014 contestant and all round talented dude Ed Drewett. It's quite the song too - the story of a relationship that has been fueled by passion and excitement, by that frisson of electricity yet now sits stagnant and falling apart. The Jack Pack guys are surrounded by imposing strings, delicate chimes, a riveting percussion and gorgeous horns, all serving to underscore the battle that is going on in the narrative. It's a collection of heartbreaking vocal performances that seek out every nuance within the song as recpature the heat of the moment yet realising that the intense emotion is gone. "I'm just a man who is watching the sand as it falls to the floor with her dress" may be the most devastatingly performed lyric of the year. The boys singularly and together imbue each word with a melancholy and pathos that conjures up an entire movie of visuals in your head - this is the power that their voices have. There's an organic honesty within the lyrics that they bring out with their singing - making this a tale free from expectations for the central characters but surpassing them in every aspect for the listener, thanks to the tender writing, spot on production and that heavenly singing. It leaves you wanting to give them a hug and to let them know things will work out for the best ;)
• My Way - in hindsight it really was the only way that they could finish off this incomparable collection of songs. Both lyrically and musically it is the culmination of everything that has come before and almost impossibly teases out one of the most electrifying vocals from the guys thus far. There's little more to be said at this stage other than to say this surely is one of the most consistently entertaining albums of 2015 that will hopefully become a modern day classic, played again and again at the times when you need Jack Pack to brighten up your day.