Jet
Rare Tracks

THE REVIEW

Garage rock band from Australia, Jet is composed of:

Nic Cester - vocals, guitar

Chris Cester - drums, vocals

Cam Muncey - guitar, vocals

Mark Wilson - bass, piano, harmonica

A revival group, Jet have their musical roots at the end of the '60s. Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Who are their eternal loves. They debuted in 2003 with the rapid 'Get Born'. In the same year, 'Rare Tracks' was released, containing demos, live tracks, and some unreleased material.

It starts with two live versions (not even the slightest rustle from the audience). The first offers a very dull "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" which inexplicably lacks its catchy guitar in the final solo, and this is quite upsetting. The second is a more fluid "Cold Hard Bitch", with its wonderful instrumental intro that does not exist in the studio version. "Sgt. Major" can be defined as a non-unreleased track, being the bonus track of the debut album. The song starts with an acoustic guitar shamelessly stolen (maybe as a tribute?) from Oasis' "Go Let It Out" and transforms into a wonderful piece, worthy of the best British pop. The parade of demos begins. "You Don't Look The Same", "Bruises" (written and sung by Chris), and "You Were Right" have truly touching melodies. So beautiful that I thought they would be included in their next album, but in Shine On there's just a solo guitar piece from "You Were Right" reprised in "All You Have To Do", that's all.

The album closes with two rockabilly covers. In "Back Door Santa" there's all the essence of Jet: scratching guitars, Nic Cester, and excitement at the highest levels. "That's All Right (Mama)", performed live, revisits the Elvis Presley classic bringing it into the new millennium, with an added adrenaline-fueled finale.

Simply Rock'n'Roll.