Tender Fury – If Anger Were Soul I'd Be James Brown

This reissue of Tender Fury's 1991 final full-length If Anger Were Soul I'd Be James Brown comes courtesy of Blackhouse Records who excitingly have Whipping Boy's sophomore release Maru Maru and Kurt Brecht's (D.R.I) written works on their release schedule.

After quitting TSOL in 1983, frontman Jack Grisham went onto short-lived New-Wave/Darkwave orientated Cathedral of Tears before forming Tender Fury in 1987, whose prior records include 1988's S/T debut and 1989's Garden of Evil. Joining Grisham – Vocals/Piano for this release are future Pennywise Bassist Randy Bradbury, Frank Agnew (45 Grave/The Adolescents/Legal Weapon) – Guitar and session Drummer extraordinaire Josh Freese (too many to list). I know from interviews that this is one of the albums Jack is most proud of and as a fan of the man's work I'm excited to be writing about it.

'Don't Send Me Down' is Punky Hard Rock with snappy Drums, catchy melodies and Grisham's rich distinctive Vocals all dominating. Despite hardly being of 'World War III' and 'Code Blue' speeds the music still moves along at a fair lick, a solid opener. 'What Do You Live For?' use of Funk, especially in the Bass department, recalls Jane's Addiction's classic Ritual de lo Habitual and punchier tracks such as 'Stop!'. Additionally the use of harmonic backing Vocals serve as a precursor to the aforementioned Pennywise, who Bradbury would of course go onto join a few short years later. A fantastically constructed piece. 'Senseless' opens with the creepy sound of knives being sharpened(?) and has a superbly Gothic/Post-Punk vibe ala Beneath the Shadows, and wouldn't have sounded out of place on there. 'Once So Terrible' is a mid-paced Cult like Rocker though thankfully sans much of the swagger that dominated that band's overblown Sonic Temple album, leave that to the two terrible (pun intended) T.S.O.L. Hair Metal albums Hit and Run and Strange Love.

'Rage I Sell' is more raucous with the angry Discharge chugging riffing contrasting brilliantly with the melodic choruses, one of the albums more aggressive sounding numbers. 'I'm Not Right' is the album's longest track at nearly six minutes and starts with a spoken word intro as well as featuring exquisite piano playing giving the track a Jazzy feel. I'm not sure if Faith No More were familiar with this album but the vocal cadences are not overly dissimilar to those Mike Patton would later employ on tracks such as 'Evidence'. Proof that Jack Grisham is an underrated artist who's been consistently ahead of the curve. 'Can't Believe I'm Still Here' recalls The Damned and the Psychedelic flourishes that were being introduced around the time of Strawberries and Mr Soul is absolutely amazing with its 60's influence and accompanying Hammond Organ type sound. Think Naz Nomad & The Nightmares but far less on the nose. 'Tell Me Now' once more features piano and is irresistibly soulful with very subtle nods to Gospel, a personal favourite. 'I Beat Up Myself' is illustrative of what makes this album so special, confessional lyrics with an impassioned delivery and a tightly constructed musical attack thanks to the scene's best players. 'This Time/You Want More', is a slice of lush Beatlesy Pop performed with the type of gumption that would make the late Freddy Mercury proud. A resultantly epic conclusion to the album.

Although I appreciate the band's two preceding albums, If Anger Were Soul really marked a turning point in Jack Grisham's career whereby he sounded rejuvenated and focused, sobriety undoubtedly playing a heavy part. So, support artist and label and buy the damn thing!

https://blackhouseinc.storenvy.com/collections/1245546-vinyl/products/36522055-tender-fury-if-anger-were-soul-i-d-be-james-brown-lp