Attention Dimension
Jack Irons
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| Name | Artist | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 |
Jackie Groove | Jack Irons | 2:29 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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2 |
Suluhiana | Jack Irons | 7:33 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Ocean's Light | Jack Irons | 4:46 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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4 |
Hearing It Doubled | Jack Irons | 3:46 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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5 |
Shine On You Crazy Diamond | Jack Irons | 5:12 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
Underwater Circus Music | Jack Irons | 14:09 | Album Only | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
Dunes | Jack Irons | 3:31 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
Come Running | Jack Irons | 4:55 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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9 |
Watersong | Jack Irons | 12:12 | Album Only | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
Breaking Sea | Jack Irons | 5:30 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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11 |
Aquaman's Electric Band | Jack Irons | 4:48 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
| Total: 11 Songs |
Album Review
Jack Irons' status as an alternative rock prime mover can't be argued. With onetime roles in both Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, he watched the music develop, expand, and change from the perch of a drum stool. That said, Attention Dimension has little to do with his past. Dabbled in, worked on, and conceived of over a period of years — while Irons was still ironing out the insecurities and static in his soul — Dimension is an extended mood piece of soft gestures and pattering percussion. The drummer details his array in the liners; it includes "assorted bells, bell tree, big bass drum," "marimba, shakers, slap pipes," "and the whole kit and kaboodle." And this is true. From the gentle keen of opener "Jackie Groove" through "Hearing It Doubled"'s acoustic guitar/smattering snare hippie funk, nothing on Attention Dimension sounds like a traditional rock album, but it nevertheless is. Old pal Eddie Vedder contributes vocals to a crazy, underwater version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"; it sounds like Pink Floyd performed by precogs. Other highlights of the album include "Dunes," which seems to have a gamelan quality about it, and "Water Song," an epic 12-plus minutes of consistently developing sound. Flea contributes a slippery, elastic bassline, Stone Gossard's guitar is a hand-holding friend, and Irons' consistent drum stutter is right out of mood-elevation hour. Let's emphasize again this album's utter lack of funky monk posturing or Ten-era sleeveless flannel wearing. For sure, Attention Dimension is closer at times to Keith Jarrett or Mickey Hart. But it's that rare thing in rock and, it proves, something that should probably be heard more often. There's no frontman hooting here, no lead guitar prima donna drama. Instead, Attention Dimension is the drummer's chance to be in the bright white klieg light. Give him a chance, will ya?
Customer Reviews
After music hiatus, Jack Irons breaches the scene
Upon first putting Jack Irons' Attention Dimension into a computer drive to copy it into iTunes, the album's genre designation shows up not as "Rock" or "Jazz," but as "Unclassifiable." This is to be expected from Irons, the eccentric and brilliant drummer who is also an important man in music history. Shortly after co-founding the Red Hot Chili Peppers with guitarist Hillel Slovak, a few buddies gave Irons their demo tape and asked if he knew any singers. After passing the tape off to a struggling musician named Eddie Vedder, Irons could also claim responsibility for the formation of Pearl Jam. But after Slovak died of a drug overdose in 1988, Irons suffered what he thought was a nervous breakdown and checked himself into a mental institution, never to return to the Peppers. Later, after being invited by Vedder to be Pearl Jam's new drummer, Irons played on two of their more highly regarded albums before leaving the band due to insomnia-related health problems. After lying low for over six years, Irons returns with his first full-length recording effort since Pearl Jam's Yield. The first thing to notice about the album is its cover - a psychedelic collage of Irons' face mixed with digitally altered paintings of whales. Then, after reading song titles like "Underwater Circus Music" and "Aquaman's Electric Band" the listener might start to think that Irons' has some sort of strange fixation on the ocean, and specifically, whales. The record is on a label called Breaching Whale Records. Irons wrote a bizarre Pearl Jam B-side called "Whale Song," in which he sang, A whale's heart is as big as a car / A whaler's thoughts must be smudged by the dark, over a background of whale calls. Before even listening to the album, it's difficult not to wonder about his current mental state. But, after the music starts playing, the whale theme starts to makes sense. The unorthodox instrumentation (props go to the electric mridangam player) and mix create a wet sound that really does give off a "whale vibe." If ever there was an album meant to play in the background of a Discovery Channel whale documentary, this is it. Irons plays many instruments on Dimension, but his drumming is the primary focus of this first-ever whale concept album. Arguably the best modern heir to John Bonham's swagger and feel, Irons creates amazing polyrhythmic drum parts that sound effortlessly in the pocket. But rather than fit into one particular style, his parts are at the same time jazz, African, rock and experimental. While the album is a great piece of guidance for aspiring drummers, it is primarily a collection of unstructured ideas and patterns. The best cohesive songs are unfortunately the ones that don't fit into Irons' greater concept. "Hearing it Doubled" could easily be a Soundgarden song (a group that Irons is also connected to - his other band, Eleven, was their one-time opening act and, later, singer Chris Cornell's backing band), and the likely focal point of the album is a brief but energetic version of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" with Vedder on vocals and Primus' Les Claypool on bass. Besides Vedder and Claypool, also featured are Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, the Chili Peppers' Flea and Eleven's Alain Johannes. These guest appearances offer a trip through Irons' convoluted and accomplished resume in the music industry. Part ambient, part experimental and part aquatic, the best way to describe the sound of this unclassifiable piece of music is that one's mother could like it. It's a soothing piece of mood music, and a first-time listener would likely never guess that Irons was, briefly, in two of the world's biggest rock and roll bands.
Brilliant
I love this album. It is an amazing achievement and I am happy that Jack put it out.
We need more music like this
every song tells a story in a conceptual way differently every time. It is great for creative stimulation or to chill to. I'm glad I have this album and I wish more great drummers would put their ideas to tape like this. Looking forward to another surprise like this just as soon as I get some more gig money!
Biography
Born: July 18, 1962 in Los Angeles, CA
Genre: Rock
Years Active: '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s
Top Albums and Songs By Jack Irons
- $9.99
- Genres: Rock, Music, Alternative, Adult Alternative, Prog-Rock/Art Rock
- Released: Oct 12, 2004
- ℗ 2004 Breaching Whale Records
