Well, that Australian band that made such a huge splash in the early ’00s has been born again. Yes, I’m speaking of JET. Their debut album, Get Born, has been reissued in a super deluxe set that gives you about as many versions of “Cold Hard Bitch” and “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” as you could possibly want. Cherry Red’s new 2CD/ 1DVD edition is packed with 35 audio tracks (and nine videos on the DVD) and a fairly informative booklet that make it, at this point, the definitive birth certificate of an album that was so good that there was just no way the young band could follow it up and better it.
Without regurgitating Jet’s pre-birth story, these Melbourne guys adopted their name in 2001 – after their favorite McCartney & Wings song (I like that!) – but sounded more like a Stones/ Who hybrid than a ’70s pop band. They took off with two guitars, bass and drums for an attack that was a definite throwback yet contained something that must have been lacking in popular music in the first decade of the 21st century. I can’t help but think that they were more appealing to dudes my age (I was in my late 30s then) than most people in their own age bracket, but it doesn’t matter much because their hard rockin’ sound grabbed you by the throat with its instant familiarity and freshness, regardless of yer age. Informed in equal amounts by both the classic rock of the late ’60s and the punk rock of the late ’70s, Get Born was a debut album as amazing as Nirvana’s Nevermind from a decade earlier (though that was, indeed, that band’s second record). A few of the songs appeared on Jet’s first release, a 4-song EP called Dirty Sweet, which, if I remember right, includes recordings that are downright soundalikes to the versions here. But since that record was never available here in the States, what we got on Get Born was thirteen dirty, sweet tracks that just burned with excitement. Not just the aforementioned “…Bitch” and “…Girl,” but also opener “Last Chance,” “Rollover DJ” and “Take It Or Leave It,”; slow burner ballads like “Look What You’ve Done” and closer “Timothy,” and all the rest. I really don’t think there’s a bad one in the bunch.
On these two CDs you get the album plus a handful of B-sides on disc one – of which, “Sgt. Major” is killer and the acoustic version of “…Girl” is awesome – and all kinds of different versions, B-sides and demos on disc two. That second CD contains just about every outtake, edit or live recording from the era that exists (though I know of a few things that aren’t here), and here’s where this collection is a bit much. I can’t imagine there are many who need to hear “…Bitch” in an album version, an edit, a second edit and a one-off live version, all in one go. Likewise, “…Girl” appears in album, acoustic, edit and live versions. That’s a whole lotta love for just two songs! YET… you DO get some real scorchin’ tracks like “Sweet Young Thing,” a totally different demo version of “Lazy Gun,” another great in “You Don’t Look the Same,” and a cover of “That’s Alright, Mama” that really buries Elvis’s version. Why the obscure tracks that have appeared on earlier reissues that aren’t here, aren’t here, is a mystery we may never know the answer to, though it’s probably due to some rights issues that are likely to be as boring as watching paint dry. And why do that when you can listen to Get Born? I mean, if you’re gonna do that, at least put on some Jet and watch that paint set!
Ranting and rhyming aside, the two CDs here – plus the region-free, NTSC DVD containing eight videos* – make this the essential edition of this Down Under band’s first and greatest triumph. – Marsh Gooch
3.75/5 (Cherry Red QCDTRED826, UK) (*The video of “Look What You’ve Done” below is an alternate version to the one on the DVD)
NuDisc 