With sizable nods to Simple Minds, as well as lesser concessions to the likes of Duran Duran and U2 (the more preferable eras of all three I might emphasize), The Mark Shaw-fronted Then Jerico usually functioned as a five-piece and wielded a 50/50 sonic wallop of keys and guitars to match their manpower. No, this wasn't quite new wave, rather an advanced outgrowth thereof, buttressed with a manicured fury of dense, robust arrangements, a flair for the dramatic and colored with somewhat opaque socio-political themes. Heck, even the album title alone, First (The Sound of Music), reeked of ambition and sophistication. A volley of singles from the effervescent album in question commenced with 1986's "Muscle Deep" (reissued as a single for a second go-around in '87) , "Let Her Fall," "The Motive," "Prairie Rose," and finally "Blessed Days," the latter for TJ's Japanese market exclusively it appears. Sweeping, anthemic, yet wholly benevolent and above all else, melodically captivating, First... is practically a salvo of greatest hits unto itself. Not quite on the level of say, the Joshua Tree or Songs From the Big Chair, First.. but merely a rung or two down on the same ladder, deftly avoiding any ostentatious or preachy pitfalls. It's an unheralded classic with even it's deepest cuts, specifically "The Laughter Party" and "A Quiet Place (Apathy and Sympathy)" landing as effectively as it's more renown singles.
The version of First... presented on Before the Future, is sensibly enough the original British iteration of the album. When First... saw the light of day in America in 1988 several tracks were remixed, the U.S. variants thereof are included as bonuses here - and there's gobs more on top of that, with all the contemporary extras from the album occupying not one or two CDs, but would you believe three all told? We're treated to TJ's excellent premiere independent 12" "The Big Sweep," circa 1985 and it's follow-up, "Fault." From there on ...Future leaves virtually no stone-unturned, catching every solitary non-LP b-side (including gems like "Searching" and "Electric"), remixes of the more danceable cuts, and a plethora of single edits. It's a bit overkill, and the sequencing/intermingling a bit dodgy (occasionally separating A-sides and B-sides on different disks), but nothing egregious mind you, and this collection is very much assembled with the completist in mind. The fourth CD here, dubbed From the Vaults, houses something I've been craving for an eternity- demos for roughly half of First... Early takes of "Let Her Fall," "The Hitcher," and "The Motive" aren't necessarily raw or rough-hewn, per se, but certainly presented in an interesting embryonic context, and worth my decades-long wait.
Overall, Before the Future... makes an exhaustive case for rediscovering Then Jerico's often neglected catalog, and its attendant bells and whistles (not to mention ace remastering) ushers all of the band's missing pieces into the digital era in one succinct space. It's available direct from Cherry Red, Amazon. and hopefully a brick and mortar retailer near you.
