Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons - Mouthful of Copper (2024 Deluxe Edition) (2024)

NOTE! Tracks 21, 22, 23, 24 & 25 24 are 24bit-44.1kHz

Out now for the first time on vinyl in a 5 LP set, Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons’ 2003 album Mouthful of Copper is newly remastered with a bonus album of previously unreleased material from the same tour. For those who aren’t already in the know, this is a concert recorded live over three nights at the Badlands in Montana in 2002. Jerry and the Jackmormons deliver vicissitudes of music and emotion, emulating conviction and a commitment to brutal introspective honesty, grappling with hard truths about love and humanity, and do it all with an unrelenting musical groove.

“Brother Michael” starts off the set, as it teases the rock ‘n roll for a good long time and you can picture the crowd making their way toward the stage area, and then the ecstatic jams start and it sounds like they are echoing out across the entire Badlands.

“I Know There’s A Darkness” keeps a quick tempo while turning a spotlight on the murkiness of political differences and the darkness lurking within losing our way and wondering what we stand for. And, “if I only had a target I could f*ck stuff up.” “Tanker” sets up almost like some Pearl Jam grunge rock before stretching out into some sustained psychedelic jams, “wait a minute baby, stay on the line, give me a moment to breathe.” And you have to remind yourself there’s only one guitar player in this gigantic sounding band.

“Climb to Safety” is Jerry at his authentic raw peak, resonating with the fundamental struggle to survive within us all. “Pearl of Great Price” is a song of a king circling the wagons, where “there ain’t no sleeping without sacrifice” and you’re in some dark shadowy Hamlet-esque desert and the vocals effects when he says “pearl – l – l” are signature Jerry. And this all takes place amidst a bit of a blues rock vibe and unabated electric guitar work, holding the groove up, down, over, across and back again. Go Jerry!

Among the previously unreleased material is “Frost Heaves,” with grungy wah-wah and Jerry’s partially dreamlike vocals “here come the frost heaves…. it’s just like water through a sieve, justifying things you don’t believe.”

Blistering and powerful with Jerry’s always emotive vocal performances, this sounds huge, clear and bright, and hypnotic and is a requisite addition to any self-respecting record collection. It really needs to be turned up in the biggest outdoor party – out under the big Montana sky.