Stargazer

(instrumental)

The other JDB song from Patty Jones’ play soundtrack and thanks to its instrumental nature it’s far more soundtrack-like than Shut the Door. It’s easy to imagine what sort of scene this would soundtrack: after a tense, dramatic moment the lights dimmen out and we see one of the main characters do something that will forever change the course of his life. The dramatic climax. Of course, I’ve never seen the play so I can’t know for sure but I’ve heard so many songs like these used in scenes like those that I’d say it’s fairly likely.

Structurally, Stargazer is a short two-minute buildup. Starts with quick acoustic picking, an atmospheric electric guitar soon steps up to accompany it with a very JDB-like guitar riff, before the bass and finally the drums kick for a steady rhythm line that is essentially a buildup that keeps on intensifying before it quietly fizzles out with no climax.

Can’t blame it for not being pleasant enough but Stargazer probably is the most throwaway track of James’ solo catalogue. But to its defense, it never was meant to really stand alone anyway.

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Shut the Door

Keep everything out of sight

In 2008 Patrick Jones, ie Nicky Wire’s poet/playwright brother, released the play Revelation which is about domestic abuse from a male victim’s point of view. He had also chosen (at least) three songs to soundtrack the play, two of which came from his handy musician connection James.

Shut the Door is a sub-standard James solo acoustic moment and from its understated and rather monotonous nature it’s pretty clear to hear it’s meant to soundtrack something. It also suffers from that same thing as it’s never really particularly interesting musically; goes into the head from one ear and out of the other in an instant. What raises it a bit higher in intrigue scales is the emotionless yet highly rhythmic vocal melody that bobs along with the guitar picking in an almost metronomic way, giving the song a very distinguishably tense, edged-out mood. Which unfortunately isn’t enough to save it from being fairly forgettable.

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