TOBY AND THE WHOLE TRUTH
‘IGNORANCE IS BLISS’
(Jepsongs Recordings)
7.5/10
If there were Rock awards for effort, endeavour and perseverance (stop singing “whales and dolphins”) then Toby Jepson would undoubtedly be standing front and centre clutching a gleaming trophy while giving his long-overdue acceptance speech. Bands such as The Little Angels, Fastway, Gun and now Wayward Sons have all benefited from Toby’s songwriting expertise and both his note and crowd holding abilities. At last year’s Stonedeaf (now Stonedead) Festival Wayward Sons were one of the many live highlights while they also gave the mighty Steel Panther a run for their money when they supported L.A’s time-warped Rockers on their UK tour earlier in the year.
The ’Ignorance Is Bliss’ album was recorded some twenty-five years ago in the aftermath of British Rock favourites The Little Angels calling it a day and the deep burning frustrations with that split are tangible throughout this heartfelt release. The band’s final studio album ‘Jam’ had topped the UK charts back in 1993 and it also spawned four top forty singles. When the Little Angels broke up they broke up at the height of their popularity and it seems it left their charismatic frontman somewhat bemused, angry and hurt. A mere year after The Little Angels had headlined and sold out the Royal Albert Hall Toby Jepson recorded ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’ in a converted Oast house near his home in Surrey before heading over to Vancouver to mix the album courtesy of some Bryan Adams studio generosity.
Album opener ‘Some People Are More Equal Than Others’ bubbles with internal annoyance and fresh frustration and the song has a distinctly dark ‘n’ heavy, almost adult, Angels-Esque sound. Toby’s distinct vocal style fits the blacker feel perfectly and this curtains closed pattern is evident on most of the album’s cuts. Next up is the Seattle-light and cathartic ‘Better Off Without Me’ which bobs ‘n’ weaves between the plethora of nineties Rock genres, Angel In Chains anyone? ‘Slipping Through Your Fingers’ brushes the musical bases of both the RHCP and the ‘Keep The Faith’ era of Bon Jovi before ‘Haven’t Got Your Strength’ could be Toby’s own ‘Young Guns-Esque’ film soundtrack as the track resonates with urban outlaw sensibilities. On first hearing the acoustic intro to ‘The Wind Blows Hard’ I braced myself for the inevitable mid-album cliched rock ballad but thankfully it swerves at the last minute and flips across the Grunge & Main intersection. ‘All Heal In Time’ kicks like a stripped back ‘Jam’ demo while ‘I Won’t Be With You’ reads like a “f**k this I’m off”, Dear John letter to his former band. It’s a rocking black armband of a track. The album’s deeply personal and spleen-venting spine can be a tad aurally repetitive as both ‘Save Me From Myself’ and ‘Out Of Sight Out Of Mind’ drift harmlessly past. A rumbling ‘Get the Funk Out’ bass intro ushers in a bruising ‘Harder All The Time’ and the funk punch continues on a hazy ‘Open Your Mind’. A space hopping Living Colour meets Primal Scream ‘Get Your Feet On’ is followed by the album closer ‘Spiritually Bankrupt’ which acoustically completes this superlative spreading of wings record.
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