Jellyfish - Spilt Milk
On this weeks episode, we discuss one of the most underrated albums by one of the most underrated bands of the 1990s: Spilt Milk by Jellyfish. Only the band's second outing, Spilt Milk is a fully realized collection of of meticulously crafted pop songs, with orchestration and lyrics that elevate those songs way above your normal pop fare.
After a critically acclaimed, but commercial disappointing debut, the creative core of the Jellyfish- Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning Jr - set out to create their masterpiece. Supported by a veteran produce and engineer, and backed by a number of top notch studio musicians, many believe the band succeeded in that goal. Released at a time when record buying public was more interested in the distorted guitar and vocals of grunge than a band drawing critical comparisons to Queen and the Beach Boys, the the album fared worse the charts than its predecessor. This, combined with the toil of making the "perfect" album took its toll on the band. Spilt Milk was not only their crowning achievement, it was to be their last album.
No recommendation on this episode.
THINGS WE DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE
Before we started the discussion of Spilt Milk, our Host Doug Cooper had everyone write down the various bands that we thought influenced Jellyfish.
Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning, Jr were members of the band Beatnick Beatch. Here is the video of the title track off of their eponymous debut album. It was the band’s only major label release.
Albhy Galuten, who produce both Jellyfish albums, also produced the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.
Pictured (L to R): Karl Richardson , Albhy Galuten, and Barry Gibb.
“The King is Half Undressed” was first single off of the band’s debut LP Bellybutton, which received heavy rotation on MTV.
Here is an MTV piece on Jellyfish where the band doubles down on their retro image, lollipops included.
With only one album under their belt, the band felt that they needed additional songs to perform. Rather that go the cover version route, they penned new songs to perform live. One of those songs “Hello” was how the band open their live sets on the Bellybutton tour.
Jellyfish’s performance of “All I want is Everything” is the last time Jason Falkner played with the band.
To complete the Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic that the band pushed on Bellybutton, the video for “Baby’s Coming Back” was actually animated by the Hanna Barbara company.
At the request of Ring Starr, Sturmer and Manning wrote several songs for Ringo’s 1992’s Time Takes Time. They also sang back up on the track “Weight of the World” and stared in the video for the same song.
When the band went into the studio to start working on Spilt Milk, the producer Albhy Galuten and the engineer Jack Joseph Puig began to assemble every instrument known to man (just in case).
In a clever bit of marketing, the label sent out a promotional cassette of Spilt Milt in an actual milk carton.
Jellyfish performed several acoustic sets at Tower Records around the country. Here is their performance at the Tower Records in Austin Texas, which was attended by a young and impressionable Tony Slagle.
In 2017, three-fourths of the last touring incarnation of Jellyfish: Roger Manning, Jr, Tim Smith, and Eric Dover started recording under the name the Licorice Quartet. Here is a fantastic song off of their first EP Threesome Vol. 1 called “Lighthouse Spaceship.”
