Split Milk: Deluxe Edition

JELLYFISHのオリジナル・アルバムが初の豪華盤で再発!

■オリジナル・アルバムは1993年発表の、セカンドにしてラスト・アルバム。
■オリジナル・アルバムに、多数のデモ音源やライヴ音源を収録。

Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Jellyfish have disappeared so far into '70s pop culture that they've come out the other side...an unholy blend of strings, harmonies and sudden musical flourishes frighteningly reminiscent of Queen, ELO and even XTC...Jellyfish may be funny but they're well beyond a joke..." Entertainment Weekly - "...like an air guitarist's dream come true...[a] fine new Jellyfish album..." - Rating: A Fair - "...aural cotton candy, sugar-coated pop..." Melody Maker - "...Andy Sturmer's voice is just so damned good..." NME - (8) "...[SPILT MILK] is a record of intricate surrealism that transcends its ephemera to thrill on its own..."

For their second album, Jellyfish replaced the departed Jason Falkner with Tim Smith on bass. Jon Brion also came aboard with Lyle Workman to add to lead singer Andy Sturmer's guitar work. With Sturmer and keyboard player Roger Manning in place, however, Jellyfish managed to outdo their impressive debut with 1993's Spilt Milk. Spilt Milk expands on the sound of Bellybutton and is much more a studio creation than its predecessor. Dreamy vocal harmonies, circus-like swirling organ passages, and crunchy guitars are layered in a manner that evokes the best of the Beatles and the Beach Boys. "Hush," the lead track, particularly recalls the Beach Boys with its luscious vocal harmonies, as does the pure pop of "The Ghost at Number One." And, as expected from this cast, the infectious, melt-in-your-ear melodies are accompanied with clever lyrics like those on the raucous "Joining a Fan Club " and the masturbation ode "He's My Best Friend." Spilt Milk is a flawless pop gem from start right through the unbridled optimism of the closing "Brighter Day."~ Tom Demalon|

Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning created a striking prototype of their musical world-view on Jellyfish's debut album, 1990's Bellybutton, but while that disc's cross-pollination of power pop touchstones and big rock attack sounded truly ambitious, the band upped the ante considerably on 1993's Spilt Milk, which could be roughly described as Jellyfish's SMiLE (or perhaps their Heaven Tonight). After the departure of Jason Falkner and Chris Manning following the long tour in support of Bellybutton, Sturmer and Manning were essentially left alone in the studio to conjure the sounds in their heads, with the generous help of producers Albhy Galuten and Jack Joseph Puig and a few studio musicians (including Jon Brion on guitar). From the striking Beach Boys-influenced vocal arrangements on the opener "Hush" and the pastoral tone poem "Russian Hill" to the fuzz-powered chaos of "All Is Forgiven" and the Queen-meets-Pixies guitar theatrics of "Fan Club," everything on Spilt Milk is conceived and executed on a grand scale, and there's no question that Sturmer and Manning sound like joyous kids left in a toy shop and making splendid use of every plaything at their disposal. If Spilt Milk has a flaw (beyond its drab afterthought of a cover), it's that the album sometimes seems too big for its own good, with every nook and cranny filled with some overdubbed bit of business, occasionally making it hard to hear the songs for the baroque layers of production. But Spilt Milk is a massive balancing act that Jellyfish miraculously pull off; it might seem like a power pop Spruce Goose, but in this case it not only takes off, it flies high as a remarkable experiment in pop-minded rock on the grandest scale. ~ Mark Deming