What came first, the chicken or the egg. Did Mike Jacoby write songs honoring The Clash and Elvis before he knew about the album artwork connection? Or, did he pen one of the songs after discovering the London Calling and Elvis Presley sleeves? Either way, his latest collection of originals, Long Beach Calling, puts an countrified spin on some of the classic rock sounds that everyone knows.
The title track really is an Americana homage to London Calling, but referencing the LBC, from the container ships in the bay to sitting on Signal Hill. Long Live The King switches between early acoustic to electric roots rock and back again in its tale of Elvis impersonators. Play Like Richards is an unabashed rip-off of the classic Stones sound, with the rhetorical question, would you rather “move like Jagger, or play like Richards?” From the song title, you can guess Jacoby’s answer.
On the twangier side of things, Pine Box is an old-timey banjo and fiddle piece about one of life’s certainties. Your Love Song is a country rock social commentary on divorce. The record actually finishes with a hidden track, Yes But, an alt-country, new wave punk gem of a number. It starts 14 seconds after Long Live The King. Why 14 seconds? That’s the gap between The End and Her Majesty, the famous Beatles hidden track on Abbey Road.
Long Beach Calling cuts a broad swath across much of America’s roots music. The songs are catchy and just about everybody is bound to find a couple of them they like. But if you’re a recorded music geek, you must pick up the CD. Or maybe even better, vinyl, if Jacoby decides to press a few of those.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.