Tom Grose is an individual to be sure - just check out his myspace page and you'll confirm that he has a rather warped sense of humor. God knows we need more of this in the world. His music too can venture outside the lines at times - being eclectic, melodic and zappa-ish (if that's any kind of useful description).
Jetsam reveals Grose as a genius in my opinion. The structure of the songs here are layered, yet not overdone. They have a 'hook' without being too pretentious and have just the right amount of everything. Since Tom plays most instruments himself there is no competition for the leads. In it's totaltality, Jetsam reminds me of fusion from the 70's era when the players brought character and adventure to their music.
Today's fusion is a tough game. There are plenty of pyro techs out there but much of the contemporary fusion releases sound very similar to the next one. They may be impressive - but remains so only for a short while - not filling and not appetite quenching.
This CD, however, stands out on it's own and is, frankly, on the top of the heap for me. I expect that I will be listening to this for years to come. There are many albums released every year which are very good. But few avoid the fate of collecting dust in a pile somewhere. Those whose ability to please transcend time are the great ones. Tom Grose's Jetsam is, to be true, a new album and also to be honest, my first impression is not always the lasting one. Still, I know my own tendancies and, having had Jetsam in the player for a couple of weeks now, I simply do not tire of it. Almost every tune has it's own identity, yet with a similar groove flowing from the beginning of the CD to the end.
