Review: Jakko M Jakszyk – Secrets & Lies (2020)

Secrets & Lies is King Crimson guitarist/vocalist Jakko M Jakszyk’s first solo album in 14 years.

Jakszyk (who, despite his exotic name, is British) has only become more widely known in recent years after joining King Crimson in 2014. However, Jakszyk has had a long and varied career in progressive music. Born in 1958, Jakszyk was a little too young to be a musician in the original golden age of progressive rock in the 1970s. As a teenager, he was an avid prog fan, following in particular Henry Cow, Peter Hammill, King Crimson and various bands in the Canterbury scene. Since then, Jakszyk has had the opportunity to collaborate with many of his teenage favourites.

In the 80s Jakszyk was part of Canterbury legend Dave Stewart’s short-lived band Rapid Eye Movement and the slightly longer-lived band The Lodge with John Greaves (Henry Cow) and Peter Blegvad (Slapp Happy). In addition to his session work, Jakszyk also formed several bands of his own, the best known of which is probably Dizrhythmia, formed with double bassist Danny Thompson. He also briefly joined The Kinks and Level 42.

In 2002 Jakszyk, together with King Crimson original members drummer Michael Giles and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, formed the 21st Century Schizoid Band which toured performing material from King Crimson’s first four albums. The 21st Century Schizoid Band brought Jakszyk to the attention of Robert Fripp. Fripp was impressed by Jakszyk’s ability to play not only his own awkward original guitar parts but also by the fact that Jakszyk could effortlessly handle the vocal parts at the same time.

When Fripp decided to re-form King Crimson in 2014 without guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew, Jakszyk was a natural choice, especially since one of the main tasks of the new Crimson was to renew the repertoire of the band’s first albums in a concert setting. Jakszyk has done a great job with the new King Crimson and the current line-up has become the most popular in the band’s history in terms of gig success.

Before joining King Crimson, Jakszyk had also released an excellent solo album The Bruised Romantic Glee Club in 2006. Five years later he was the prime mover on the album A Scarcity of Miracles, released under the Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins name. Secrets & Lies is largely a stylistic continuation of those two albums.

This time too, Jakszyk’s songs veer stylistically somewhere between David Sylvian’s spiritual, beautiful and often melancholic art-rock and more electrifyingly jagged progressive rock. The King Crimson experience has seen a slightly more angular guitar texture infused into the album, but on the other hand, the carefully produced music also has a hint of AOR tones.

Jakszyk has assembled an impressive band for this album. All drum parts are handled by virtuoso Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree and King Crimson fame, with whom Jakszyk has played since the 80s. The bassist position is shared between three talented musicians. Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, among others) will play on three tracks, while Mark King (Level 42) and John Giblin (Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, among others) will play on one track each. In fact, there will be a fourth bassist as Jakko’s teenage son Django Jakszyk also gets the honour of playing on two songs. Not a bad feeling to be a young bassist and to play on the same album with the above mentioned masters! Albeit thanks to nepotism. Well, Django copes with the task with all due respect, even if the songs he is given are not the most challenging ones on the album.

Alongside Harrison and Levin, the Crimson outfit also feature Mel Collins’ saxophones on one song and Robert Fripp on guitar on two. Fripp also shares composition credits on two tracks with Jakszyk.

Jakszyk’s old idol and current friend Peter Hammill makes an important cameo appearance on the album. In fact, one song was co-written with Hammill. The Middle East-tinged ”Fools Mandate” is one of the highlights of the album, and Hammill’s charismatic vocals juxtaposed with Jakszyk’s own softer voice make for a great combination. Only four minutes long, the song feels much more epic with its many different sections.

In fact, Hammill played a major role in the making of the album in the sense that whenever they met with Jaszyk, Hammill would teasingly ask ”Have you started working on a solo album yet…?”. Jaszyk agreed to get to work on the condition that Hammill would attend the sessions.

Despite the previously mentioned stellar line-up of players, Secrets & Lies is not really an album of constant instrumental fireworks, but each of the masters plays tightly and elegantly on the songs’ terms.

As the main character of the album, Jaszyk himself naturally gets the most solo space. Jaszyk is a skilled guitarist and his tasty guitar solos are sprinkled throughout the album. Stylistically, Jaszyk is somewhere between the simple melodicism of David Gilmour and the mercurial, supple virtuosity of Allan Holdsworth. Indeed, Jaszyk often favours a similar legato style to Holdsworth. in between. On the other hand, Jaszyk’s playing also often has a distinctly Robert Frippian edge and rhythmic touch. Their guitar sound often has a similarly subtle ’processed’ sound. Of course, Jaszyk doesn’t beat any of the above on his home turf, but the combination of these influences still makes for a very respectable guitarist.

As a singer, Jakszyk is also a competent singer and is in the league of British baritones like Greg Lake and John Wetton. Jakszyk’s voice is a little brighter and unfortunately also more toneless than those of the above gentlemen. His voice also lacks a certain charisma.

Secrets & Lies’ most proggy tracks are ”Uncertain Times” and ”Separation”. Both are very King Crimson-esque songs. Co-written with Harrison, ”Uncertain Times” features punchy drumming from Harrison in irregular time signatures, while Jakszyk’s guitar playing is at times Crimson angular and at times Holdworth-like smooth. ’Separation’, composed with Fripp, seems to bow more to the ancient history of King Crimson. Mel Collins’ sharp baritone saxophones and the strongly evocative riffs of ’Ladies Of The Road’ take the listener back to the early 70s. Jakszyk and Fripp alternate powerfully on guitar solos, but something is missing.

Some have suggested that the above two songs would be a direct fit for King Crimson. I slightly disagree. They do contain definite Crimson genes, but on the other hand they also lack the intensity and violence typical of King Crimson. A sense of danger that is hard to put into words. Perhaps ”Uncertain Times” and ”Separation” could have made it into the Crimson repertoire, but they could have been given a few more twists and turns.

The most touching part of the album is the beautiful ”The Rotter’s Club Is Closing Down”. The undercurrent of the song is an elegy to the fading Canterbury scene and in particular to the bad boy of that sympathetic sub-genre of progressive rock, drummer Pip Pyle (e.g. Gong, Hatfield And The North), who died in 2006. Jakszyk and Pyle were friends and played on a few projects together.

The atmosphere of the fairly coherent album is slightly broken by two short instrumental tracks ”Secrets, Lies And Stolen Memories” and the Celtic-inspired ”Trading Borders”.

In ”Secrets, Lies And Stolen Memories” Jakszyk plays a powerful solo over a rather elegantly executed fake orchestration. Not a bad song per se, but it feels a bit disconnected from the album as a whole. And perhaps also a bit unfinished. The same applies to the cute little Irish instrumental based on a melody improvised by Jakszyk’s daughter on the piano at the airport.

One downright bad song has also been included. Jakszyk’s ”The Borders We Traded”, built on numerous overdubbed vocals, doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

Secrets & Lies is well played and well produced music, but also a bit too cautious and without edges. Another problem is that for a pop album Secrets & Lies doesn’t have quite enough catchy and brilliant hooks and on the other hand to be a really strong prog album it would have required a lot more surprise and intricacy. The album remains a bit of a tweener, floundering between different genres, but when you dare to let go of certain expectations, it is quite enjoyable and above all smooth listening.

Best tracks: ”Before I Met You”, ”Fools Mandate”, ”Separation”, ”Uncertain Times”, ”It Would All Make Sense”

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI

Tracks

  1. Before I Met You (5:41)
  2. The Trouble with Angels (5:30)
  3. Fools Mandate (4:13)
  4. The Rotters Club Is Closing Down (4:06)
  5. Uncertain Times (5:00)
  6. It Would All Make Sense (5:25)
  7. Secrets, Lies & Stolen Memories (2:45)
  8. Under Lock & Key (4:06)
  9. The Borders We Traded (3:05)
  10. Trading Borders (2:32)
  11. Separation (6:43)

Musicians:

Jakko M Jakszyk: guitars (1-8, 10-11), keyboards (1-6, 8, 10-11), vocals (1-6, 8-9, 11), programming (3), tin whistles (10) John Thirkell: trumpet (1, 5) Mark King: bass (1); Gavin Harrison: drums (1-2, 5-6, 8, 11), percussion (9) Tony Levin: bass (2, 8, 11); Amber Jakszyk: backing vocals (2), piano (10) Peter Hammill: vocals (3), guitar (3), backing vocals (11) Django Jakszyk: bass (4-5) Al Murray: drums (4) John Giblin: bass (6) Nigel Hopkins: orchestral arrangements and synthesizer orchestra (7) Robert Fripp: guitar (8, 11), Frippertronics (8) Mel Collins: saxophones (11).

Producer: Jakko M Jakszyk
Label: Inside Out

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