Just Jay (& his Sonic Sphere of Acquaintance)
Steps (1971-2019)
Track Listing:
1. Bleeding the 5th (3:57) (OHO) (2018) (OHO & Barry Lee Reichart)
2. Porcupine Time (3:32) (Grok) (2014) (J.P. Graboski & Delilah Graboski)
3. Primal Scream (6:18) (El Sledge+) (2012) (Matt Graboski)
4. Penultimatum (4:02) (OHO) (2008) (Graboski & Reeve)
5. The Song (2:08) (St. Joseph’s Ass) (1995) (Barker, Graboski & Reeve)
6. Slag (6:08) (Lunar Merchant) (1994) (Barker, Drummond, Graboski)
7. As Good As It Gets (3:47) (The Weaszels) (1991) (Graboski & Birnie)
8. Long To Be Latin (5:05) (OHO) (1988) (Barker, Graboski, Heck & O’Connor)
9. Scared Money (Don’t Win) (2:41) (OHO) (1986) (J.P. Graboski)
10. Diane (3:57) (OHO) (1984) (Graboski & Heyrman)
11. Is That What You Said? (4:12) (OHO) (1984) (Barker, Graboski & Reeve)
12. Masculine Intuition (1:59) (Food For Worms) (1981) (Sean Bonniwell)
13. Another Crack In the Jaw (2:43) (Food For Worms) (1981) (Graboski, O’Connor & Reeve)
14. I Won’t Run Away (3:35) (Unyflow) (1979) (Graboski & Reeve)
15. Palisades Park (1:52) (Trixy & The Testones) (1978) (Charles H. Barris)
16. You Should Envy Me (2:41) (Dark Side) (1978/1996) (J.P. Graboski)
17. Maiden Voyage (4:13) (OHO) (1975/2019) (J.P. Graboski)
18. Per Ipsum (2:19) (OHO) (1975/2019) (Graboski & Heck)
19. The Plague (3:59) (OHO) (1974/2011) (O’Connor & Graboski)
20. We Never Wanted This (2:53) (Grok) (1973/2003) (J.P. Graboski)
21. Laotian Craters (4:07) (Little Hans) (1971) (J.P. Graboski)
22. Quae Cum Ita Sint (2:34) (Little Hans) (1972) (J.P. Graboski)
All songs ©2019 OHO Music except track 12, “Masculine Intuition” (Lovolar Music)
& track 15, “Palisades Park” (Claridge Music Co.) used with permission
Produced and compiled by Just Jay and Bill Pratt at The Bratt Studio, Woodlawn, MD.
Back panel photo and OHO logo by Jon Considine, inside (right) panel photo by Cameron Reeve
Cover and on-CD illustrations by Connell P. Byrne
While in Seminary School (1964-69) the good fathers used to say, "One can only see ahead as far as one can see behind" ("& have you travelled very far? As far as the eye can see." Lennon/McCartney), Now in my 70th year, it's time for a reckoning with that (musical) past. I figure if Johnny Ramone can commission a graveyard statue as a memorial to his life, then the standard has been set. I mean, I can't think of anyone more appropriate for a self-assessment than, well...myself (and really and as usual, if I don't do it, it won't get done--& after all, someone always has to go feed/walk their dog). Anyway for what it's worth (& I can testify that for me, it has ALL been worthwhile--even with its concomitant expense, stupidity and unnecessary suffering), I've been planning this for some years now, digging up and polishing the musical artifacts that have documented this soundtrack of our lives. It's a sure way to pique one's memory & certainly stretches out a timeline that in retrospect, seemed so compressed. So, here we have a 48 year, 79+ minute encapsulation intending to touch as many of the bases as possible. These are the proverbial carrots tied to the end of the stick that not only kept us going but also kept/KEEP us sane (although there are those who would argue the opposite). With over 50 contributors the intention was to provide a perspective including some surprises that reveal the organic nature of this material: from (Weaszel frontperson) Birnie's "Let's design that song that you want to hear constantly," to the insertion of a Spanish language verse/chorus lifted from Dave Kelly's recording of "Live & Long To Be Latin," & our son, Matt's re-singing of OHO's "The Plague," there are a bunch of small (& never-before-released) surprises that testify to a fairly rich musical life, notwithstanding its "close, but no cigar" nature. -Just Jay
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A fine overview
From Jon Neudorf of Newburgh, New York on .
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"Jay Graboski has been a mover and shaker in the Baltimore area music scene since the very early 1970s, playing in numerous different bands over the years, and what Steps attempts to do is catalog his involvement in all these different bands and projects in reverse chronological order, from 2019 all the way back to 1971. Most readers will know him from his main gig as a member of OHO, an on again off again band that has, over the years gone through a lot of different phases, beginning as a trio (before Graboski’s involvement) then as a five-piece in 1974, morphing from psychedelic rock to progressive to an 80s sounding new wavish outfit to a female fronted folk-rock entity and much more, across ten full-length albums and an EP plus a couple singles, and samples of nearly all those releases are included here (eight OHO tracks including a couple from the impossible-to-find Rocktronics EP from 1984). But this should not be considered a “best of OHO” album, as there are 22 tracks total across this 79+ minute disc, and the larger portion of the cuts involve other groupings and projects in which Graboski has been involved: Grok (1973 and 2014), Little Hans (1971-72), El Sledge(+) (2012), The Weaszels (1991), Unyflow (1979), Dark Side (1978), Saint Joseph’s Ass (1995), Lunar Merchant (1994), Food For Worms (early 198-s), and Trixy & The Testones (1978). Did I miss any? Almost everything here has been previously released at some point, but many are on vinyl artifacts (singles, EPs, albums) that one might spend a lifetime trying to track down, and some of these tracks like Lunar Merchant’s “Slag” don’t appear to have ever been released in any form. Overall, this is a pretty exciting ride back through the wayback machine, every track was hand picked from what Graboski feels are the high points of his long and storied career. I can’t disagree, in fact every cut on this disc is a winner, and even though I was familiar with a few of those other non-OHO bands, most I had never heard before. There are so many highlights but I have to single out a few: The Little Hans track “Laotian Craters” (1971) from their album Wunderkind stands out as a real gem of Graboski’s pre-OHO work. The Weaszels track “As Good As It Gets” has a bit of that early Tom Petty style jangle with great harmony vocals, and of course there’s Trixy & The Testones cover of the Freddy Cannon hit “Palisades Park,” released only as a single, injecting a solid measure of punk energy into the original. Also have to mention the rare photos of all these bands (including all the different iterations of OHO) and an exhaustive listing of all 44 musicians that contributed to these cuts." --Peter Thelen (Expose.org)
Jay Graboski is likely known to most music fans as a member of the Baltimore eclectic progressive rock band OHO which formed all the way back in 1970. On this latest compilation titled STEPS (1971-2019) Graboski has handpicked his work from a number of bands including OHO, Lunar Merchant, El Sledge+, Food For Worms, Dark Side and many others.
With over twenty tracks and forty-four musicians, spanning forty-eight years you get a lot of variety here including eight OHO tracks beginning with “Bleeding the 5th”, a more recent effort from the band. It’s an interesting track showing the band’s heavier rock side with metallic riffs, solid lead vocals (with hints of Blue Oyster Cult) and mellower guitar breaks, ala Spanish acoustic guitar. Even after all these years OHO still proves to be a creative force. Next is the Grok track “Porcupine Time” complete with quirky musical changes and fine guitar work. On the El Sledge+ offering “Primal Scream” the music ventures from light to heavy shades, quite dramatic with an almost demonic vocal delivery. There are lots of twists and turns here, a truly progressive and adventurous track. “Penultimatum” is another OHO track featuring excellent female lead vocals and a general psychedelic feel. More excellent guitar work and the added horns is a nice bonus. “The Song” has a punk rock/new wave attitude that gets pretty intense while “Slag” is a more traditional ‘70s influenced hard rock tune with soulful lead vocals and a great groove.
That’s just a small sampling of what’s in store when you dive into this album, a fine overview of Graboski’s considerable talent and diverse influences. After all, there are over forty musicians credited, a network of talent spread across many genres. It’s well worth a listen for any music fan who wants something a little outside the box. Recommended.
