Jad Fair-Monarchs (1984)

 


Artist: Jad Fair

Title:  Monarchs

Label: Iridescence Records

Format: LP

Catalog Number: G-2

Year of Release: 1984

Country and Year of Edition: US 1984 (light blue & dark blue, one of nine color pairs on cover)

Sell Price: $11.35

Sell Date: 5/27/26

Condition: VG+/VG

Discogs Last Sold: 2/10/26 NM/NM $12.00

Low: $11.35

Median: $12.00

Average: $12.35.

High: $14.00

Current low price: $29.07 (Netherlands), $29.99 VG+/VG+ (US)

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 2 

Have/Want: 22/52

Where Sold: Marlborough, MA

Time It Took To Sell:  11 years

Where and When Bought: WCUW record fair new circa 1985 for $1 brand new (a 40 records for $40 day!)

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B

Sad To See It Go: No

One of the pentultimate figures in "outsider" music, I discovered Jad Fair on the life altering Let Them Eat Jellybeans compilation's "weirdness" side with the quirky side opener "Isotope Soap."  Less "punk" than the natural evolution of Dr. Demento Americana, with Monarchs.  

After spending most of the 70's releasing cassettes with his brother David as Half Japanese, there was a flurry of vinyl releases as the 80's progressed both under that moniker and solo.  This was the second solo Jad Fair album.  We find him doing his thing doing a ton of weird covers and originals.  

The cover list is a whose who to be Jadified kicking off with Roky Erickson's "Starry Eyes."  We also get Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison Blues," Little Richard's "Lucille," Billie Holiday's "Guess Who," Cream's "Toad" and Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up."  A deconstruction tour of musical icons of the 50's & 60's to be sure.

Probably the precursor to all of this is the Residents who started just a tad earlier.  That means beyond guitar bass drums we get organ and synthesizer throughout as well as Jad's insistent, braying vocal that sounds like a precursor to Daniel Johnston, who he did an album with.  Never fully unlistenable nor something that holds to repeated listenings, Monarchs, until now, was a play once and file away sort of thing.

So brilliant you don't want to overexpose yourself.


s 


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