Shane’s Rock Challenge: THE SCREAMING JETS – 1991 – All For One

Shane | 30 April 2014 | Reply

Shane’s Music Challenge: THE SCREAMING JETS – 1991 – All For One
7.5/10

The Screaming Jets burst onto the Oz rock scene with this album in 1991, receiving instant acclaim and touring the country’s bigger beer barns to packed houses – I remember seeing them at The Shenton Park Hotel (as feral a pub as any in the day) with Baby Animals in the support slot. A great gig, that one, though singer Dave Gleeson rubbed many up the wrong way with some bigoted and indulgent ranting – it’s fair to say that political correctness (or sobriety) wasn’t his number 1 concern at the time.

That soured the gig for me, and Baby Animals remained a stronger favourite for years. The Jets are back now, with Gleeson out front of both them & another much-loved Aussie outfit, The Angels – and he’s a far mellower fella now!

Regardless of his prejudices of the time, there was no getting past this album.

It’s not quite pub rock, not exactly 90’s indie, yet has elements of both these things, as well as a larrikin flair and punkish sneer. What it all adds up to is just great rock n’ roll.

Opener C’mon sets the tone: get ready to get on down and stomp, and it doesn’t take long to get to their first classic, Better, an absolute tearaway of a song that
balances a clever and relevant lyric, a to-die-for melody and perfect performances all round. You can still hear Better on any given Aussie FM rock radio show on any given day.

That world be enough for some bands… but then we’ve got Needle, Stop The World and, of course, the infamous F.R.C. (Expanded to Fat Rich C*nts in the live arena) to stick it to the man. This was born to be a live favourite and doesn’t disappoint.

Elsewhere Shine On, Sister Tease, Got It and The Only One all perform as well. All in all, All For One is a minor Oz Rock classic, perhaps underratedly so.

By Shane Pinnegar