Jim Keller - Vinylly! (2026) [Vinyl]

Jim Keller is back in town! I had the pleasure of reviewing his previous album, ' End Of The World ', and I already mentioned Jim Keller's impressive track record then. So I won't repeat that, especially since, despite the album's title, Vinylly, this is “simply” a Best Of album featuring 14 tracks from his long career, specifically from the following albums:

– Sunshine In My Pocket (2010), tracks 9, 10 and 11
– Soul Candy (2011), tracks 7, 8, 12 and 13
– Heaven Can Wait (2014), track 14
– By No Means (2021), tracks 4, 5 and 6 and
– Spark & ??Flame (2022), tracks 1, 2 and 3
So no songs from his previous album 'End Of The World'…

This time it's easy for me too, because I don't have to provide a lineup of everyone participating since all the songs are from previous albums.
And therefore:
Tower Of Love , in which Jim works on the relationship with his beloved “brick by brick,” building an increasingly solid structure brick by brick. Pounding melody, beautiful keys that sound like backing vocals. Lots of distinctive sounds and noises, including brass instruments and especially a baritone sax.

Life itself is one big school, and you can interpret Learning To Crawl in different ways: sometimes you have to learn to crawl, then it’s a tickle, only to really have to tiger crawl a little later. A lovely melody with an upbeat tone!

Normally, the saying goes: What goes up, must come down, but since the story goes that angels are not subject to the laws of gravity, it seems strange that Jim states that Even Angels Have To Fall . More spoken storytelling than singing, with a very serious story about how difficult, how heavy life can be experienced, and that young people in particular are exposed to so much pressure that they sometimes succumb to it…! Hauntingly beautiful!

A self-portrait in Easy Rider . No need to make things difficult, easy does it. “Don't matter where I'm going, I'm going by the way I go.” A beautiful line, of course. A delightful melody that perfectly conveys the free spirit of the Easy Rider.

A JJ Cale-esque intro, though the comparison ends immediately when Jim Keller starts singing about all the mistakes he has made in his life. Take comfort, Jim, there is no life without mistakes, because they are there to learn from, even if not everyone does… The guitar interlude, however, does have a lot of JJ Cale about it, in combination with the pounding drums and percussion. Beautiful!

Find My Shadow is along the same lines , more bluesy but just as good. Sensitive backing vocals in a search for oneself, “I wanna Find My Shadow.” Again, very beautiful with strong lyrics. Just about the greatest quest in a human life: discovering who you really are and realizing that that is more important than what you are!

A considerably “busier” track, Giving It Up To Love, with pounding drums and lots of percussion, in which, with plenty of backing vocals, life is left to the “fate” of love… A huge transition from the previous song to this track from another album.

And that while the next track actually comes from the same album as the previous “busy” song… Very sensitive again, evoking cherished memories in Sweet Memories , with a beautiful echoing organ and slide guitar, followed by angelic harmony vocals, almost a genuine tearjerker…

I Will is delightfully keys-driven, with a beautiful questioning of who remains when the “party is over,” the dark days arrive, and other such down-to-earth disillusionments. Well, Jim's answer is 100% clear: I Will. Beautiful. Emotionally, a superb fusion of Randy Newman and Van Morrison. Top-notch!

The title track of the album Sunshine In My Pocket , and it sounds like it right away: that indestructible optimism, as if you really do have the Sunshine In My Pocket. Pleasant backing vocals that enhance that feeling even further !

From the same album comes the lifelong wait for A Girl Like You . “I would give anything for A Girl Like You.” As a joke, I could say that this is a variation on Peter Maffay with Du, but then it would be nothing more than a joke. What I want to say is that no matter what language you say it in, it is always about A Girl Like You! Very, very beautiful! Du bist das Mädchen…

Another title track from an album, Soul Candy . A “candy of the week” to ????? soften the less-than-ideal family circumstances in which Jim had to grow up, Soul Candy! Solid rock work, tight drums, fat horns, and pumping keys into a driving melody!

A bit of a Springsteen-alike, Modern Girl , whom Jim is in love with. She is self-aware, explores new things, and so on, so definitely a Modern Girl.
A great flowing song, a nice bridge, and then continuing with undiminished enthusiasm! Nice sharp guitar riffs here and there.

The last track, the only one from the 'Heaven Can Wait' album, *Loving Her Again *, in which Jim is upset because “she” has left . He missed too many signals, made too many mistakes. And the very fact that she is no longer there leads Jim to become *Loving Her Again*. Very, very beautiful with modest keys. Excellent!

Greatest hits? Best of? 'Vinylly' is a collection, put together just the way Jim thought it should be. His choice. That is pretty much the same as *my* choice for the favorites I list at the end of the review. That is *my* choice too. A matter of taste. For many, that choice will be different. That is perfectly fine!

This album has three absolute standouts for me: Even Angels Have To Fall, A Girl Like You , and Loving Her Again . Regular standouts/favorites are Learning To Crawl , Easy Rider , Mista Kees, Find My Shadow, I Will, Sunshine In My Pocket, and Modern Girl .

Especially after this anthology of his entire work, there can only be one conclusion: Jim Keller makes nothing but the very best songs. Time to listen to an older album again!
But… first, this 'Vinylly!' ~Gerard Haarhuis