Get Born [HyperCD] - Jet (Rock) (CD 2003)

It's not that Jet is a bad band or even that they aren't fun. As a band, they seem to be some kind of hippy/rock hybrid. The licks and cords, while simple and paint-by-numbers, are at least catchy. Lead singer Nic Cester has been compared to a young Mick Jagger, but I find that to be extremely unfair to Jagger. But it's not a hard voice to listen to, once you get past the screaming.

No, the real problem with Jet is that every song sounds about the same. While I think it's refreshing to hear a band that isn't so overproduced that they sound fresh off a computer somewhere - Jet doesn't exactly conjure up images of the great rock days gone by.

Sure, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" has been played so much almost everyone knows the song, but once you get past that - what else is there? A basic, unoriginal rock band. Yes, there is a retro rock feel to them, but in every style they copy from - you can't help but want to listen to the bands they copy from. It's been done before and it's been done better.

What this band sorely lacks is lyrics. For example, "Last Chance," the first song on the album has a chorus that consists of: "This is the last chance comin'" repeated until you want to blow your brains out. Same is true with "Get What You Need." It's just the same words over and over and over again. I've been forced to look at my CD player and scream, "I GET IT!!!"

Of course, then they bust out some ballads that are actually worse than the up tempo, stomping songs. Sometimes they copy Oasis badly - other times they copy Pink Floyd badly.

The truth is, there is just nothing original about this band at all. That's not to say that they are terrible or worthless. At their best they are a fun party band that would be a blast to see at some rock bar. If they want to get over that hump on the next album, they need to write some better lyrics and find themselves. Until then its...

4-5-6...let's see what else is on.

I'd wanted this CD for quite a while before I finally got around to buying it. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long. Remember that CD you bought that had one or two tracks you like, and the rest were making you ask yourself "What IS this crap?!" or the one that you played twice and were so bored with it that it got shelved and never played again? This is NOT that CD! This is one of those rare CDs that I enjoy every track and can listen to it over and over again. It stayed in my car CD player for over a week after I got it, playing every time I got in, and was loving it every time. Jet is pure Rock N' Roll, and this CD has an edge to it. You say rock is dead? I Say Jet is giving it mouth-to-mouth.