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The Green Pajamas Ten White Stones
Hidden Agenda/Parasol
Recorded live in a Seattle studio over two nights last April, Ten White Stones is a celebration of twenty years of music from Jeff Kelly’s The Green Pajamas. This isn’t some nostalgic walk down memory lane however, as Ten White Stones has much more to offer than just live renditions of Green PJ’s classics. The album has an off-the-cuff feel to it, and Kelly and his band are clearly enjoying themselves, which in turn makes it fun for anyone who’s listening.
Track listing:
01 Cruel Night
02 Gazelle
03 Blue Eyes to Haunt Me
04 Mrs. Cafferty
05 If You Love Me (You'll Do It)
06 Holden Caulfield
07 For S
08 She's Still Bewitching Me
09 Lost Girls Song
10. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)
Ten White Stones (a title taken from writer Lewis Carroll’s habit of marking his diary with a white stone after a particularly good day) has the relaxed feel of a basement tape; the kind bands make when they’re trying out new ideas or just fiddling around with an older song. Anyone who’s ever been in a band can tell you that many times these recordings can’t ever be topped. The musicians are calm, not feeling any pressure, possibly even unsure of the next chord change. So when the bass player hits a note that he normally wouldn’t dream of using at the exact moment the guitarist decides to hit “the” chord and the drummer throws in a strange fill he came up with that morning, it all comes splashing together in a cosmic, orgasmic release that puts you on another plane of existence.
Perhaps I’m getting a bit flowery here, but I’ve had the good fortune of being in that situation and that sensation you feel throughout your body is the closest thing to the best sex you’ve ever had, and you don’t ever want it to go away. Thus we have a song like “For S,” which stretches out to eleven and-a-half minutes, and when it’s over, you feel like it was way too short. Jeff Kelly is a master at orchestrating these kinds of moments, and it’s quite amazing to realize that he’s been consistently doing it for two decades.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without such a fine band behind him. While much of Kelly’s recorded output over the last eight years has largely been of a solo nature, the current touring line-up of Green Pajamas (Joe Ross – bass, Eric Lichter – keys, Laura Weller – guitar, backing vocals, Scott Vanderpool – drums) suits him perfectly, executing fine re-workings of his tunes and leaving enough room for Kelly to loosen up and enjoy the racket they make together.
I would recommend this album to fans and novices alike, as it offers something for both. It’s a chance to hear Kelly live for starters, which is something that doesn’t happen too often, and it’s packed with so many great songs I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Add to that the naturally wonderful sound of the recordings by Lari Petersen and Erik 4A at Studio V in Seattle, and you have a truly memorable recording that adds something fresh to the tired live album format that I haven’t heard in ages: spontaneity. Imagine that!
