...AND ALL THE KINGS MEN

No particular changes for Jump,who immediately entered the Mars Studios in Buckinghamshire at the fall of 1993 to record their third full-length album ''...and All the King's Men''.Female singer Chrisie Hammond helped the band on additional vocals in a few tracks and the album, again on Salad Records, was released in 1994.

That was eventually a good offering by the band after the previous rather weak works.With ''...and All the King's Men'' Jump deliver a familiar Neo Prog attitude, somewhat like a cross between MARILLION from ''Clutching at straws'' period, the intense atmosphere of TWELFTH NIGHT and the melodic, rhythmic style of JADIS.The 14 tracks are split between melodic compositions with great guitar work and some nice breaks and up-tempo cheerful numbers with some decent grooves, finally supporting sufficiently John Dexter Jones' brilliant voice, which was always the band's strong point.But now the arrangements are more polished and well-crafted, also less straightforward, with an impressive lyricism and a number of inspired tunes, which you can't get easily out of your head.The unmemorable bluesy sound of the previous album is gone for good.The addition of Chrisie Hammond and her lovely voice gives the band some extra point on the vocal section as well.Of course a few inclusions will remind you of Jump's earlier period, being quite weak overall, while the keyboars remain still on the background.But the final taste is positive to say the least.

Seems like Jump kept all of their interesting ideas in one album.''...and All the King's Men'' has all these good ingredients to be classified as nice Neo Prog: excellent vocals, catchy tunes and a bit of compositional adventure.A little diversity and a richer sound wouldn't hurt, but this album still is good.Recommended to all fans of qualitive Neo Prog and Melodic Rock.

"Political disgrace is a ticket to an all-day, all-night party. Political intrigue is the substance abuse of the wealthy. Political power is the big stake of the business classes. Political deceit is adultery against the people."

With ...And All The King's Men, Jump's third studio album, the band "jumped" to a whole new level of quality. Their first two albums are not bad and show some promise, but the present album is something else altogether. Sadly, Jump would remain in relative obscurity. To say that ...And All The King's Men is unjustly overlooked would be an understatement. This is a sadly forgotten classic of the Neo-Prog genre.

The sound of this album can perhaps be described as a more eclectic and more rocking version of Fish-era Marillion. But such a simple description scarcely does justice to Jump who adds their own twists to the model Neo-Prog sound and make the style their own. Distinguishing features of Jump include the outstanding lead vocals of John Dexter Jones and the dazzling dual guitars of Steve Hayes and Pete Davies. This together with the ever-present keyboards of Mo and the bass and drums of Hugh Gascoyne and Andy Barker creates a powerful and appealing sound.

Jones' very articulate vocals really shine and he sounds as if he really means every word, nay every syllable! His voice is not used as just another musical instrument; indeed, as much care and attention have been given to the lyrics as has been to the music. I think it is fair to describe this album as weakly conceptual as most of the songs pertain in one way or another to political power and its abuses from time immemorial. The messages of the lyrics are reflective and they don't come across as "preachy". The perspective is that of a thoughtful observer who sees problems in the world but has not given up on humanity. It is not hard to identify with this general attitude regardless of where you stand on political policy.

The album opens with a "bang" with the excellent All The King's Horses. The half-sung, half-spoken vocals here are very effective. The guitar sound is clean and razor sharp, sometimes reminding of the twin guitar attack of Thin Lizzy. Seize the Day follows in similar high fashion. George's Revolution, on the other hand, is not much more than a decent rocker. It is not weak, but clearly one of the lesser tracks of the album. Camera City picks things up again describing a 1984-like dystopia of a city where the inhabitants are being watched (which has now become a reality in some cities of the world!). Here I detect a Rush influence in the music. Shed No Tears is another excellent track with a nice Genesis feel. The opening line "where then is my country?" evoking Peter Gabriel's immortal "can you tell me where my country lies?" Share The Shame has yet another strong vocal from Jones here backed up by Chrissie Hammond who adds some soulful backing vocals to a number of tracks.

Two Up, Two Down reminds me of Barclay James Harvest in style. This one also includes a "Rap" section! (Don't worry, it sounds much worse than it is). C. Hammond appears again in Judgement Day, a rather heavy rocker. Dangerous Devotions is the weakest track of the album, a bit of a boogie. But things quickly get back on track again with Another False Dawn and then the lovely closing two-part suite Someone Else's Prayer. Clocking in at close to an hour, this album could have been even better than it in fact is had it been shortened somewhat. But it is an excellent album as it stands. The two bonus tracks are good as well, but not up to par with the album tracks.

An overlooked gem, highly recommended to all fans of Neo-Prog.

This is a reissue of Jump's 1994 album, with a couple of extra tracks. Jump have always been a hard band to categorise, as they play very much a form of English Rock that often finds them appealing to progressive rock fans but in reality they have little in common with other bands of the genre.

In the strength of the lyrics, they probably have much in common with The Levellers, and it is the passion of John Dexter Jones that gives the songs their honesty. With the battling guitars of Pete Davies and Steve Hayes, drummer Andy Barker, bassist Hugh Gascoyne and keyboard player Mo, this is a band that has played/play all over the country and the songs are honed from stagecraft. By the time they hit the studio the chaff has been removed and each of the albums is a joy.

This contains the powerful "Judgement Day" when Chrissie Hammond (Rick Wakeman) adds her to John's to provide a classic. Along with "Shed No Tears", "Share The Shame" and "All The King's Horses" this was their strongest album to date and it was due to this that Mark Kelly of Marillion got involved and produced the next album. Now again freely available, and with come bonus songs to boot, it is well worth getting.

Originally appeared in Feedback #62, May 01

My only prior exposure to JUMP as via a chance encounter with "The Myth of Independence". I enjoyed their brand of neo meets crossover meets olde English folk. This album was its immediate antecedent and proposes more of a hard rock mix at the expense of the neo prog and folk. Its dependence on unimaginative riffs makes it less casually listenable, and while the group has a lot to say, particularly about the monarchy and the government, and perhaps how the emperor has simply changed outfits, I'm less interested in the message than its oppressive medium.

Beginning with the quasi title cut, the album introduces clever well thought out concepts and executes them poorly around a hurried chorus devoid of melodic sensibility. This is seen again in "Seize the Day", "Judgement Day" and "Dangerous Devotions", while "George's Revolution" doesn't even provide that hook, which wouldn't be so bad if the track was more musically coherent, which it isn't.

So when this is bad, altogether too often, it's almost beyond redemption, and they could have employed any vocalist from JADIS or whomever, so why waste JOHN DEXTER JONES' glorious pipes? Luckily "Camera City", after starting like all the rest, morphs into a clever and catchy rocker, while "Share the Shame" and "Someone Else's Prayer Part 1" both showcase Jones and company in a better light. Even though "Two up Two Down" is somewhat cliche wit its a cappella start and riff ready figures, it does conjure a dreamy atmosphere that offsets the clunkier aspects agreeably.

I admit to being perhaps mired in unrealistic and unfair expectations re JUMP, but even as a compact song oriented take on neo prog it lacks dynamism at the expense of muscularity. If this had been playing while Humpty Dumpty sat on the proverbial wall, I think our egg friend would have enthusiastically jumped to his untimely demise.