Low Fidelity
2 Out Of 5 Stars
Chrissie Hynde is a rock goddess. I think if I saw her in a bar, I'd saunter up to her, too. Which is what happened to JP Jones, a singer of unknown repute until this CD. Seems he and Chrissie had a fling and, once it became apparent that their near 30 year age difference wasn't going to work, they broke it off. But they also decided to make an album about it.
And that album is "Fidelity." It is, believe it or not, the first album Chrissie Hynde has ever released that wasn't under The Pretenders banner. I hate to say this, but it's pretty awful. The soulful, husky voice of Chrissie remains a universal wonder, and when she sings, she still sounds great. JP, on the other hand, has a range of about five notes, and has a problem hitting most of them. When Chrissie opens "Fidelity" with the lament that "I found my perfect lover, but he's only half my age," you can feel that she's still got it as she nears 60. That talent is even more emphasized as soon as JP opens is mouth. He begins interjecting observations into "Perfect Lover" that sound like some joker prank calling the studio and getting caught on-mike.
Which pretty much sums up this album. There are some pretty good songs here just aching to get out ("Your Fairground," "Courage," "Misty Valleys"), but they crash to the dirt every time JP's carny barker donkey-bray hits the speakers. Next to Rufus Wainwright's "All Days are Nights/Songs for Lulu," this album is one of the year's biggest disappointments. Mark JP Jones in your trivia book now.
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