Even
though the group lasted for only two albums and four years, their
influence on power-pop bands since has been as profound as the bands
that Jellyfish were influenced by: Cheap Trick, Big Star, Badfinger,
Raspberries, Brian Wilson, and more.
At the end of 1989, a television program called MTV Unplugged
premiered. The premise was quite simple — artists performing their hits
in minimal arrangements with acoustic instruments. It became a musical
and cultural juggernaut. That leads us back to Radio Jellyfish —
ten tracks culled from two international radio stops, one in Holland,
the other in Australia, in 1993, that showcase Jellyfish unplugged.
The
foursome — at this time Andy Sturmer, Roger Manning, Tim Smith and Eric
Dover — played tracks from both LPs, and some covers. Even taken out of
the studio, and away from the concert stage, the sound is unmistakably
Jellyfish. It’s been well documented that the band could replicate the
enormous sound of their albums through releases like Live at Bogart’s and a bevy of B-sides. But, apart from one track first released on the out-of-print Fan Club
box set (and included here), acoustic Jellyfish — without a net — has
not been explored. That’s nine previously unissued performances, tracks
unheard since their international broadcast two decades ago.
While the instrumental Stack-a-Tracks showcased the band’s studio prowess, and Live at Bogart’s put listeners in the club, Radio Jellyfish
offers the bare essence of why Jellyfish is beloved: the voices, the
songs. They’re there in the same way they have been in every other
release, and in a way fans never heard them.
1. New Mistake
2. She Still Loves Him
3. I Can Hear the Grass Grow*
4. Baby’s Coming Back
5. The Man I Used To Be
6. Joining a Fan Club
7. The King Is Half Undressed
8. The Ghost at Number One
9. That Is Why
10. No Matter What
All tracks previously unissued except *
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