Bigger Than Life

by Jack Lee

Overview

Jack Lee is one of the great mystery men of the power pop boom of the '70s. Lee was one-third of the Nerves, the wildly influential California pop trio that also included Peter Case and Paul Collins and helped set the stage for the L.A. punk rock scene. Lee wrote the Nerves' best-known song, "Hanging on the Telephone," which would later become a big hit for Blondie, and he also penned a major international success for Paul Young, "Come Back and Stay." But after releasing two small-label albums in the '80s, Lee dropped out of recording and performing, and his public invisibility has turned him into something of a cult figure. Bigger Than Life is a collection that reissues Lee's two albums in full -- 1981's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 and 1985's Jack Lee -- with the non-LP B-side "Small World" closing out the set as a bonus. The 11 songs from Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (which, in the grand tradition of Phil Ochs' Greatest Hits, was actually a collection of new material, though "Hanging by the Telephone" was already familiar to listeners) fare best here. The melodies and production hit a middle ground between poppy, new wave-influenced energy, and a hard rock attack, and Lee and his accompanists deliver solid work. The material from Jack Lee has a different sound and feel, ranging from mainstream pop to hard rock with '80s metal influences. There are a number of fine songs on Bigger Than Life, fans will enjoy hearing Lee's versions of the tunes he wrote for others, and this collection makes two rare albums readily available (and affordable) again. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2016
Label:	Alive Records
UPC:	0095081018617
Rank:	155956

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jack Lee   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Jack Lee   Producer,Composer
Catherine Sebastian   Photography
Geoff Crowe   Design