Jake Holmes
One of many journeymen New York folk-rock singer/songwriters of the late '60s, Jake Holmes, if he's remembered at all, is known as the author and original performer of "Dazed and Confused."
It is still not widely recognized that he wrote and recorded the first version of this song on his 1967 solo debut album, prior to it being covered (in concert) by the Yardbirds, and then becoming one of the most famous numbers in Led Zeppelin's repertoire. A big part of why that's not widely recognized is that Holmes, for murky reasons, was not credited as a writer on Led Zeppelin's recording, which gave sole author credits to Jimmy Page. For that accomplishment alone, Holmes is worthy of a footnote, even if nothing else he wrote or released was up to the level of that song. Holmes had worked in a group with fellow folk-rock singer/songwriter Tim Rose before going solo.
It is still not widely recognized that he wrote and recorded the first version of this song on his 1967 solo debut album, prior to it being covered (in concert) by the Yardbirds, and then becoming one of the most famous numbers in Led Zeppelin's repertoire. A big part of why that's not widely recognized is that Holmes, for murky reasons, was not credited as a writer on Led Zeppelin's recording, which gave sole author credits to Jimmy Page. For that accomplishment alone, Holmes is worthy of a footnote, even if nothing else he wrote or released was up to the level of that song. Holmes had worked in a group with fellow folk-rock singer/songwriter Tim Rose before going solo.
"Dazed and Confused" was on Holmes' 1967 debut LP The Above Ground Sound of Jake Holmes, which had an odd, edgy folk-rock sound built around a drumless trio, featuring Holmes' rapid rhythm guitar strums and Ted Irwin's spidery acid folk-jazz-lead guitar lines. "Dazed and Confused," heard in this folk-rock context, was given a much sparer arrangement than it would be gifted by Led Zeppelin. The rest of the album was an erratic cluster of songs that explored similar anxious moods with less power, sometimes changing gears into light comedy or melodramatic sentiment.
The Yardbirds, with Jimmy Page on lead guitar, heard "Dazed and Confused" in August 1967 when Holmes opened for the band in New York. The group took a pretty radical rearrangement of it into their live set. Although they didn't release a studio version of it before their breakup in 1968, their live rearrangement can be heard on the Epic LP Live Yardbirds Featuring Jimmy Page, a 1968 recording that was briefly available in 1971 before being withdrawn (a superior live version from a March 1968 French TV broadcast subsequently circulated on the Cumular Limit compilation).
When Led Zeppelin did it on their first album, with different lyrics but similar melodic and rhythmic ideas as the Holmes prototype, the songwriting credit was given to Jimmy Page. Holmes's second LP, 1968's Letter to Catherine December, expanded into orchestral backgrounds, though he and Irwin still supplied their distinctive guitar work.
An even more erratic work than its predecessor, it still at times supplied some interesting acid folk-pop, particularly on "Leaves That Break," with its ferocious fuzz guitar. His subsequent albums for Polydor, however, were far more ordinary, even sub-ordinary, singer/songwriter music with country influences, sometimes painfully exposing the limits of his vocal range and timbre. Holmes never profited from the worldwide success of Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused," but he did strike gold as a writer of commercials with one of his jingles, the famous U.S. Army ad with the "be all that you can be" refrain. Holmes' LPs (especially the first two, on Tower) are now hard to find, though the track "Dazed and Confused" was reissued legitimately at least once, on Rhino's Nuggets, Vol. 10: Folk Rock LP
Unfortunately, after the sepia-toned psychedelics of A Letter To Katherine December, Jake Holmes seemed unsure and unaware of where his true abilities lay. Holmes' eclecticism worked brilliantly on his first two albums. However, that strength now turned into his Achilles heel. His next albums were in keeping with the '70's, singer-songwriter influences merging with country-rock sensibilities and not to this reviewer's taste. Commercially, these albums met with no more success than his earlier hallucinatory efforts. Label changes ensued. Soon, no company would pick him up. With no record contract, Holmes plunged into the world of commercials. Strangely, this is where he finally found success.
Here are these two Tower LP’s
Unfortunately, after the sepia-toned psychedelics of A Letter To Katherine December, Jake Holmes seemed unsure and unaware of where his true abilities lay. Holmes' eclecticism worked brilliantly on his first two albums. However, that strength now turned into his Achilles heel. His next albums were in keeping with the '70's, singer-songwriter influences merging with country-rock sensibilities and not to this reviewer's taste. Commercially, these albums met with no more success than his earlier hallucinatory efforts. Label changes ensued. Soon, no company would pick him up. With no record contract, Holmes plunged into the world of commercials. Strangely, this is where he finally found success.
Here are these two Tower LP’s
Listen and Learn
Excellent Albums.Many Thanks y Merry Christmas.
germt said...
December 24, 2008 9:51 PM
I met Jake just before he signed to Clumbia for his last LP in the 1970s. He came to Rochester, NY andplayed on a bill with The New York Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble AND the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Jake still had some cache at the time due to his most well known tune ON HIS OWN, "SO Close" which had provided him with moderate mid-chart sucess and enough recognition to be featured as an opening act for the NYRRE, who were debuting a lengthier in concert piece written by member Michael Kamen who was to acheive worldwide sucess as the orchestrator of Pink Floyd's The Wall, Metallica's "Classical" LP, ALl of the Lethal Weapon movies and the worldwide smash sung by Bryan Adams, "Everything I Do (I DO For You"). I had met the NYRRE several times before and had become 'friends' enough to gather them, Jake Holmes and the conductor in my car and take them to my favorite local club to see the first tour show of John Prine. Jake got up and played a few songs. I found hikm to be quite likable. he said at the time that he had one more record comingout and if it didn't make it, he was goinjg to commercials because there was more money in it. True to his word, that is what happened...I recognized his voice for years afterwards singing the praises of Thomas'English Muffins, Purolater Air Filters and the original "Be All That You CAn Be" Army commercial. I think he has finally returned to recording songs again as I remember asking that somewhere else last year and finding out he was actively writing songs again.
Duncanmusic said...
January 29, 2009 4:58 PM
I met Jake just before he signed to Clumbia for his last LP in the 1970s. He came to Rochester, NY andplayed on a bill with The New York Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble AND the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Jake still had some cache at the time due to his most well known tune ON HIS OWN, "SO Close" which had provided him with moderate mid-chart sucess and enough recognition to be featured as an opening act for the NYRRE, who were debuting a lengthier in concert piece written by member Michael Kamen who was to acheive worldwide sucess as the orchestrator of Pink Floyd's The Wall, Metallica's "Classical" LP, ALl of the Lethal Weapon movies and the worldwide smash sung by Bryan Adams, "Everything I Do (I DO For You"). I had met the NYRRE several times before and had become 'friends' enough to gather them, Jake Holmes and the conductor in my car and take them to my favorite local club to see the first tour show of John Prine. Jake got up and played a few songs. I found hikm to be quite likable. he said at the time that he had one more record comingout and if it didn't make it, he was goinjg to commercials because there was more money in it. True to his word, that is what happened...I recognized his voice for years afterwards singing the praises of Thomas'English Muffins, Purolater Air Filters and the original "Be All That You CAn Be" Army commercial. I think he has finally returned to recording songs again as I remember asking that somewhere else last year and finding out he was actively writing songs again.
Duncanmusic said...
January 29, 2009 4:58 PM
I met Jake just before he signed to Clumbia for his last LP in the 1970s. He came to Rochester, NY andplayed on a bill with The New York Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble AND the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Jake still had some cache at the time due to his most well known tune ON HIS OWN, "SO Close" which had provided him with moderate mid-chart sucess and enough recognition to be featured as an opening act for the NYRRE, who were debuting a lengthier in concert piece written by member Michael Kamen who was to acheive worldwide sucess as the orchestrator of Pink Floyd's The Wall, Metallica's "Classical" LP, ALl of the Lethal Weapon movies and the worldwide smash sung by Bryan Adams, "Everything I Do (I DO For You"). I had met the NYRRE several times before and had become 'friends' enough to gather them, Jake Holmes and the conductor in my car and take them to my favorite local club to see the first tour show of John Prine. Jake got up and played a few songs. I found hikm to be quite likable. he said at the time that he had one more record comingout and if it didn't make it, he was goinjg to commercials because there was more money in it. True to his word, that is what happened...I recognized his voice for years afterwards singing the praises of Thomas'English Muffins, Purolater Air Filters and the original "Be All That You CAn Be" Army commercial. I think he has finally returned to recording songs again as I remember asking that somewhere else last year and finding out he was actively writing songs again.
Duncanmusic said...
January 29, 2009 4:58 PM
I met Jake just before he signed to Clumbia for his last LP in the 1970s. He came to Rochester, NY andplayed on a bill with The New York Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble AND the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Jake still had some cache at the time due to his most well known tune ON HIS OWN, "SO Close" which had provided him with moderate mid-chart sucess and enough recognition to be featured as an opening act for the NYRRE, who were debuting a lengthier in concert piece written by member Michael Kamen who was to acheive worldwide sucess as the orchestrator of Pink Floyd's The Wall, Metallica's "Classical" LP, ALl of the Lethal Weapon movies and the worldwide smash sung by Bryan Adams, "Everything I Do (I DO For You"). I had met the NYRRE several times before and had become 'friends' enough to gather them, Jake Holmes and the conductor in my car and take them to my favorite local club to see the first tour show of John Prine. Jake got up and played a few songs. I found hikm to be quite likable. he said at the time that he had one more record comingout and if it didn't make it, he was goinjg to commercials because there was more money in it. True to his word, that is what happened...I recognized his voice for years afterwards singing the praises of Thomas'English Muffins, Purolater Air Filters and the original "Be All That You CAn Be" Army commercial. I think he has finally returned to recording songs again as I remember asking that somewhere else last year and finding out he was actively writing songs again.
Duncanmusic said...
January 29, 2009 4:59 PM