Joe Algeri and crew clock in with another winning collection of tunes. This EP is divided into 5 fleshed out rock tunes and four acoustic numbers. The early part of the disc concentrates on feel good jangle that is set midway between The Byrds and Teenage Fanclub. My favorite is She Does the Handclaps an ingratiatingly clever tune, meaning it's clever without making a big deal about it, that is just plain fun. Algeri's vocals sound great throughout and on a couple numbers take on a slight tint of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. The mid-tempo run through of These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is quite nice -- a relaxed ramble with Algeri singing with a genial sneer. The revenge here is best served simmering. The acoustic numbers are equally good, performed with a tenderness and commitment that allows the melodies and sentiments to wrap around the listener like a warm blanket. The demo 10,000 Sunny Days is particularly affecting and a compelling example of the joys of compositional economy to express feelings in a direct manner. Certainly one of the better ‘between albums' EPs that I've heard in the past five years or so.

Mike Bennett

Fufkin webzine (USA)
http://www.fufkin.com/bennett_capsule_10_02.htm

This limited edition E.P. contains nine songs, from this Australian powerpop band. It's actually a compliment for Finland, the first song, Vodka Line, tells about voyage between Stockholm and Turku. This E.P. is little bit like a small collection CD, 'cause there's hard-to-find material from god knows where, but there's also some new songs. So what about the music, well I gotta say it could be better. After two first songs (Vodka Line, She Does The Handclaps) there's no really any good songs, exept the Hazlewood cover, These Boots Are Made For Walkin'. Especially those acoustic soft pop songs are so boring that I just can't listen to them after the first time. If you are looking for your first JATB record, you should try some other album, but if you are a big fan and you are looking for some rare material, this is the CD for you!

**1/2

La Bruta webzine (Finland)
http://www.labruta.com/jatb.html

BoB favourites Jack & the Beanstalk have the nine song Vodka Line CD out on Parasol. It's an interesting package with some finished studio recordings, including Mr. Cynic (as featured on the last BoB comp) and the fun-filled take on These Boots Are Made For Walkin', some live in the studio tracks and a couple of demos.

Terry Hermon

Bucketful of Brains #62 (UK)

Australia's Jack and the Beanstalk has been consistently producing some of the best power pop in the world for nearly a decade, but apparently only Sweden and Finland know it. The quartet's latest release Vodka Line EP may not change that sad fact, but it at least provides a handful of new beans for its dedicated fans. The EP contains a few new songs, plus stripped-down versions of older tunes. Of the latter, the unaccompanied 12-string take on 10,000 Sunny Days is the best, though acoustic runs through Amnesia and Windmill certainly ain't chopped liver. But the most exciting tracks here are the fresh tunes, including the vibrant rockers Vodka Line and Mr. Cynic, the cheeky bum romance of She Does The Handclaps (in which the girl of the singer's dreams runs off with the drummer, but not before being talked into adding handclaps to the band's latest track) and the aching ballad Bleed (which also appears in a demo version). Leader Joe Algeri reiterates his standing as one of power pop's best songwriters with these tunes, and his winsome, heart-on-sleeve vocals make them that much more potent. The inclusion of a testicular cover of These Boots Are Made For Walkin' is a bit puzzling, as it frankly stands out like a sore thumb, perhaps it should have been saved for a B-side somewhere. But it's more of an oddity than a misstep, and does nothing to diminish the glories on the rest of Vodka Line EP.

Michael Toland

High Bias webzine (USA)
http://www.highbias.com/

These nine songs were recorded in various places (Australia and Sweden, to be exact) and at various times over the past few years. Essentially, it's a three-song single (well, three new songs), with a bunch of bonus tracks, including Mr. Cynic taken from a recent issue of BoB, an unreleased studio outtake of the Nancy Sinatra classic, These Boots Are Made For Walkin', and four acoustic versions and demos of past songs: 10,000 Sunny Days (which humorously segues into "Girlfriend In A Coma" just before it fades out) and Amnesia from the first album, Bleed, from this very EP, and Windmill. All of the songs are great, fun power pop...

Indie Pages webzine (USA)
http://www.indiepages.com/

A stopgap release comprised of new recordings, outtakes, rarities, and a few live tunes, Vodka Line isn't quite a true Jack and the Beanstalk album. Yet Joe Algeri's knack for rootsy power pop tunefulness is so strong that even minor releases like this are enjoyable. Of the new tracks, the highlights are the ultra-catchy title track, an evocation of Algeri's newfound home in Sweden (the rest of the group still live in Australia, making recording sessions and tours a bit problematical), and the giddy ode to groupie life, She Does the Handclaps. The older material is actually a bit stronger, particularly the rocking Mr. Cynic from a flexidisc in the magazine Bucketful of Brains and a goofy cover of Lee Hazlewood's These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. The last half of the disc is all acoustic, including home demos of 10,000 Sunny Days and Bleed that prove that the strength of Jack and the Beanstalk resides primarily in Algeri's lyrics and melodies, not their surroundings. Vodka Line is strictly for fans, but it's by no means negligible.

***

Stewart Mason

All Music Guide (USA)
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aif6uak4k0m3z

Vodka Line, the latest EP from Jack & The Beanstalk, was recorded on the fly while Joe Algeri was briefly back in Perth last summer. Inspired by a ferry trip to Finland, the title track is one of Joe’s better efforts but the production lets the band down. Of the other new songs, She Does The Handclaps is a fun but ultimately throw-away track while Bleed sounds like something of Joe’s solo album with some great slide guitar. Also included are several home demos, a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made Walkin’ and a cool acoustic version of guitarist Kevin Borruso’s Windmill. All in all, this makes for a nice little EP for fans.

3/5

Neal McCabe

Pop On Top webzine (Australia)
http://members.tripod.com/~pop_on_top/vodka.html

France's legendary Gerard Girard reviewed the EP in issue No. 3 of "It's only rock magazine" in his chronicle "pop around the corner".

Amplifier Magazine (US) will be publishing a review of Vodka Line in Issue No. 32 (street date September 13, 2002).

When Joe Algeri returned to Perth last year, he quickly got his band together, played a storming gig at the Amplifier Bar and stopped at Witzend Studios to record the latest Jack and the Beanstalk material before returning to Sweden for the birth of his first child. The title track is a traditional sounding power pop song - indicative of the simply crafted pop that Jack and the Beanstalk do so well. She Does The Handclaps is a tongue in cheek dig at groupies and the bands that exist for them and, like all good stories, it has a fine ending with the lady in question ignoring the attentions of the lead singer and running off with the drummer. Bleed is the tune Jack & the Beanstalk have been threatening to write for years, with a subtle tip of the hat to Gram Parsons - the most introspective, melancholy tune Algeri has penned to date. Let's hope this is a direction they explore in the future. This fine group, featuring the versatile Stuart Loasby and the underratted Kevin Burruso, round out the EP's nine tracks with a rowdy cover of These Boots Are Made For Walkin' and four acoustic home recordings. It's Jack time.

Chris Havercroft

Zebra Hype Magazine (Australia)

Torniamo volentieri a parlare di una nostra piccola scoperta, ovvero Joe Algeri e i suoi Jack & The Beanstalk, piccolo combo power-pop australiano senza meta, che registra i suoi dischi tra la terra natale e la Svezia, li pubblica sull'indipendente Parasol records negli States e su svariate etichette (l'ultima è finlandese) in Europa. L'intraprendenza non manca di certo a questi ragazzi e nemmeno l'ispirazione nel confezionare deliziose raccolte di rock'n'roll songs svelte e melodiche. Vodka Line è l'ultimo arrivato, un piccolo diversivo, EP sotanzioso di nove canzoni, più per affezzionati fans che nuovi adepti. Se non avete dimestichezza con il loro ruvido impasto di melodia e punk-rock, il consiglio è di rivolgersi al passato, con And Other Stories del '96 o il recente Cowboys in Sweden, più orientato al country-rock di byrdsiana memoria. Detto questo, il materiale qui raccolto non è affatto di scarto, con tre inediti di studio, tra cui una vibrante title-track che riporta al più classico rock di Minneapolis, Replacements e via discorrendo; il power-pop d'assalto di She Does The Handclaps; una Bleed in odore di Rem prima era. Il resto non è indispensabile, ma si difende con onore: ancora frizzante rock'n'roll in Mr. Cynic, una notevole cover tutta elettricità dell'ultra classico These Boots Are Made For Walkin' e qualche chicca tra outtakes di studio (bella l'acustica Windmill) e registrazioni casalinghe. Possiedono un talento genuino e meriterebbero qualche chances in più.

***1/2

Fabio Cerbone

Outsiders website (Italy)
http://www.rootshighway.it/outsiders/outsiders.htm

Okay, you know the deal with Joe Algeri and his merry band - a healthy (over) dose of Scottish pop crunch (highlighted on the lively Mr Cynic) and West Coast melodic sensibilities (check out the Byrdsy treasure that is She Does The Handclaps) that belie a deep affection for Gram Parson's cosmic American music (just listen to the heartrending vibes on Bleed). The rest of this EP showcases a couple of acoustic tracks which provide an excellent counterpoint to the full-bodied material. Lovely.

(B) Recommended

Kevin Mathews

The Power of Pop website (Singapore)
http://powerofpop.tripod.com/reviewed_may_02.htm#jack

Vodka Line includes four super-traditional power pop tracks. While listening to them one can't but admire how things so simple can be so uncomprehensibly grand and beautiful. Included are also four acoustic songs, out of which two are studio live and two Algeri's own home recordings. These tracks and especially Windmill bring in mind The Posies' Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer's duo productions. As an entertaining bonus we hear a leftover from the sessions for the band's recent Cowboys In Sweden album: a version of a Lee Hazelwood-Nancy Sinatra classic These Boots...

For a power pop fanatic Vodka Line is a must-buy. And if The Posies or, say, Lemonator's debut album tickle your fancy, here's a good place to continue.

(This review is a translation)

5 out of 6

J.S. Raittinen

Aktivist Magazine (Finland)

In order to cross the time gap between two longplaying releases, the Australian cowboys, led by the now-Swedish sheriff Joe Algeri, return with another excellent item, gathering every audio aspect from their past, present and future. The “chiltones” of the power-pop essence are represented by the title track and Mr Cynic, the future genre-classic and formerly available on one of the Bucketful of Brains comps, now getting the deserved official release. My personal fave, She Does The Handclaps, starts with a McGuinnious jangle intro, leading into the lyrical punk-concept delivered with a hi-class pop/vocal sophistication, and to justify the previous album title, we get the post-Byrd Gene-tics called Bleed and the extra-guitaruled step into Hazelwood’s Boots. As a bonus, we also get a set of acoustic Jack-lassics, just to remind us how great they were before this release too.

Goran Obradovic

POPISM playlist #126 (Yugoslavia)

More of a mini-album than an EP, this nine-track set follows last year's catchy Cowboys In Sweden album from the Perth-based quartet. It's mostly power-pop in a Hi Fi Way-era You Am I kind of way (especially the title track, She Does The Handclaps and Mr Cynic), but there's a bit of a Tom Petty feel to countryesque ballad Bleed and the jangly 10,000 Sunny Days. Amnesia sounds a little too close to "Sweet Jane" for comfort, and their version of These Boots Are Made For Walkin is just so-so.

Still, this is an accurate snapshot of Jack & The Beanstalk's take on 70s power-pop ­ and given that half of the tracks are either live in the studio or home recordings, the sound quality is remarkably good too.

***1/2

Sonic Sally

Time Off Magazine (Australia)
http://www.timeoff.com.au/album_reviews.htm

Riecco Joe Algeri che dopo il suo disco solista Everything under the sun torna con il suo gruppo Jack and the Beanstalk con questo E.P. (atipico perché contiene 9 brani) rutilante di suoni inneggianti il rock e ai '60. Il suono che ci presenta è fresco e pulito e porterà nelle vostre case una bella brezza primaverile tonificante. Nella prima parte la band esegue 4 brani più una out-take, le canzoni rievocano un suono unitario, ispirato dalle chitarre che giocano a rincorrersi, su una educata base ritmica e la voce di Joe a giocare sopra le parti. Trattandosi di un E.P. le altre 4 canzoni sono sotto la voce bonus track e vi ritroviamo i suoni acustici dell'album solo di Joe. Molti anni '60 nei primi 5 brani, si incomincia subito bene con Vodka Line costruita su basi di sano rock che Joe ha assimilato con gli anni ed ha in circolo nel suo sangue, un grande assolo come pochi si sentono in giro. She Does The Handclaps sapora tanto di Byrds con la chitarra di Kevin Borruso a segnarne l'incedere mentre si rallenta con una gran bella ballata intitolata Bleed. Tanto rock e tanta chitarra ancora in Mr Cynic dove ancora una volta trovano spazio gli ottimi cori che Joe riesce ad incastonare nelle sue canzoni. Conclude la prima parte la sapida These boots are made for walkin' che apre la strada alla seconda parte, come già detto totalmente acustica. Come sempre Joe gioca sulle armonie vocali e sonore lasciandomi come sempre stupito per la semplicità compositiva di cui è dotato, basta una chitarra, tre voci un ritornello accattivante ed il gioco è fatto! Dopo l'esordio solista, un'altra bella conferma per Joe Algeri in cerca solo di una possibilità per far conoscere il suo talento. Grazie Joe per la tua voglia di far musica, grande musica!

Gabriele Guerra

Backstreets - Le strade secondarie della musica (Italy)
http://digilander.iol.it/lelebear/recensionicd/vodka_line.htm

 

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