Search - Jane Child :: Here Not There

"Here Not There" :Then and Now

Eso | Oakdale | 02/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Child's follow up to her eponomously titled 1990 U.S release is definitely a testament to Child's breadth as an artist. The album was all over the map musically whereas the debut, which featured the mammoth "Don't Wanna Fall In Love", mainly featured keyboards and synthesizers which many feel was what made that set seem less substantial and a more dated offering in contrast to "Here Not There". Her sophomore effort had a decidely more organic and live feel. Though "Entertainment Weekly" assigned "Here Not There" a "B" in its issue dated August 27th 1993, it said that given the great range and depth of styles explored, the album was a case study in commerical suicide since there was not a unifying musical thread to the set thus rendering the project difficult to promote and market. The reviewer also was astute to point out how intriguing "Here Not There" was in that the rock material on the set suggested the imminent direction of trends in Post Grunge and Dance. He hit the nail right on the head. "I Do Not Feel As You Do" which musically may have owed a bit to the male power pop of the hair bands that preceded it was still a study in how visionary Child was in that is proved she was a fantastic songwriter of epic proportions outshining many of her male contemporaries laying the groundwork for the likes of an Alanis Morrisette 3 years later to come on full-force. Prior to Child who experimented on her "Here Not There" set there were few females doing this brand of power rock/pop and writing their own songs. "I Do Not Feel As You Do" was blissfully beautiful with its jangly ringing and its haunting melody. It was a ballad in the style we now consider the Goo-Goo Dolls '98 hit "Iris" a contemporary Pop/Rock ballad. "Monument" to this day evokes Post-Grunge Matchbox 20 although "Monument" remains a far more arresting and intriguing piece than say "Bent". "SSHHH" was the obvious precursor to '97's No Doubt's "Don't Speak" and "Sarasvati" which featured Jane singing a chorus in Sanskrit happened five years before Madonna was able to "push the envelope" doing the same thing on "Ray of Light". By the same token the dance block including the Stevie Wonder inspired "Perfect Love", and the infectious thick funk of "Calling" were all expertly written and ornate and far better as antecedents of the milque-toast cookie-cutter pop the likes of which is manufactured by Britney Spear's swedish producers. It was utopian pop in the hands of Child; in the hands of Spears it was unadulterated fluff. "Calling" should have been the first single for Pop radio as its hook has that R & B feel that may have stood a chance of winning over radio programmers at the time. Instead, "Here Not There" was the first radio cut, then came "Do What'cha Do" and then "All I Do" - the latter made in-roads on the Billboard Hot 50 Club Play reaching the Top 30 with various remixes. Warner Brothers dropped the ball on the project too early in the game to know what would have happened had they chosen a sensible first single - even for that time the title-cut "Here Not There" seemed an odd choice as the first emphasis cut in the fall of '93. As was not the case when Child burst onto the scene with the rhythmic "Don't Wanna Fall In Love", the face of radio was changing so much at that point in '93/'94 as format fragmentation made trying to pick and market one cut to the masses increasingly difficult as radio was looking for songs from commercial acts that exhibited current trends - which was not the case with much of the material on "Here Not There"not to mention the task of trying to reintroduce Child who had been off the radar for 3 years to the public at large. Perhaps had they chosen something more mainstream a la "Calling" or remixed "All I Do" as the first single the course of history would have been different and the goal of an across the board smash a la "Don't Wanna Fall In Love" would have been reached. Warner Brothers made the wrong decisions where the album was concerned.Back to "Here and Now": Child's latest effort "Surge" released last year is available from her website in partnership with Sugarwave Records of L.A and to paraphrase the artist's own words is "an analog experience told through a digital means". This statement about her latest set entitled "Surge" reflects where she has gone musically on her former two albums culminating in the latest phase of her musical evolution. To her fans, she was and always has been a visionary genius. For her, it must be effortless and natural."