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Rover is Jackson Jackson. Sort of. Jackson writes or co-writes the songs, sings lead and plays most of the instruments. He is co-producer. But he is reluctant to call his independent EP  Three, a solo project. In the notes accompanying the review copy of the EP, Jackson mentions Lenny Kravitz and Dave Grohl as two artists who "have been instrumental in showing me that you can have a band mentality and still have a level of control."  But at the same time he insists that the perception that Rover is a solo act isn¹t entirely true, because the music has been strongly influenced by the players who have played live dates with him.

Jonathan Johnson contributes some guitar tracks, plays bass, and provides digital effects. The album was recorded at Johnson¹s recording studio, the Orange Juice Factory. Scott Magill plays all sorts of keyboards and sings backing vocals.

The musical arrangements have a strong retro feel. Jackson grew up on classic 70s rock and roll, and the influences are obvious. The guitar effects and instrumental mixes sound quite a bit like what you hear on "classic hit" radio.  The producers experiment with the vocal mixes as well, sometimes mixing the vocals out front and then back in the mix in the same song, as in the first cut, "Wrecking Ball." And if you didn¹t notice the influences otherwise, the last song on the EP, a bonus cut, is a very straightforward cover of David Bowie¹s "Space Oddity" (the song about the astronaut Major Tom).

The instrumental arrangements include a variety of keyboards with the standard guitar, bass and drums. At times the vocals sound a lot like Justin Stevens¹s work with the Dimestore Prophets and the Justin Dillon Combo. Jackson cites Stevens in the liner notes.

Jackson¹s writing shows an ability to give common ideas a twist and make songs around them. "Suicide King" turns the risks of card-based gambling into an elaborate metaphor for life: a red King, Queen and Jack become living characters for whom the hands of a card game become a matter of life and death:

    He [the king] was beat by an ace with a glove in his hand
    Who was found in the boot of a crooked man.
    The cards were dealt. He didn¹t like what he got
     So he changed the rules and while running for the door in the back was shot.
 
Mixed in with all this in the chorus is the old proverb "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man [meaning a Jack?] becomes king." "Wrecking Ball" mixes allusions to the life of Moses (complete with a sound clip of Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments") with commentaries on the banality of pop culture as represented by cable TV (complete with a sound clip of Heston in "Planet of the Apes").

Overall, this is a very listenable EP. A bit more variety in tempos would be welcome, as all the original songs move along at a brisk (though not breakneck) pace. But fans of the retro sound will find much to enjoy here. 

Chris Parks 6/27/2000

There's much to like about Rover's E.P., entitled Three. The percussion underlying the guitar work conjures up images of the 77s. The numerous effects shown off on the guitar are done the right way, with a matching mood to hold the song together. Fans of the classic guitar work of Jimmi Hendrix would enjoy 'Suicide King' with its funky riff. To summarize what I'm about to say in the rest of this review: Three is a gem.

Melding effect driven guitar lines with the appealing vocals of frontman Jackson Jackson, Rover attest to being quite capable of entertaining an audience with an innovative, yet catchy, sound. Imagine a fusion of emo and rock/pop, plus the added bounciness of retro, and you're somewhere near what Rover create. Partly owning up to the unique sound is the addition of an organ to several tracks. Take for example "Wrecking Ball," which cleverly combines the wah wah guitar with the organ, leaving only one question in the listener's mind: why hasn't that been done before?

Jackson's vocals at times hold a vague similarity to the lead singer from Dumpster, at other times your typical blues rock singer. While he has a fairly ordinary voice, it is made more interesting through a number of "digital mutations," created by Johathan Johnson. This is done best on "A Space Oddity," where the eery, unsettling musical landscape (similar to Annie) is further enhanced by a groggy, dreamy spin to Jackson's vocals. However, the highlight comes when the dreaminess of the music dissolves into a killer guitar riff, and the vocals are brought back to normal, thus allowing for a drastic chorus.

Jackson's capabilities as songwriter are not immediately apparent: no lyrics are included. But upon taking a closer listen to what he's trying to say, the listener will find poetic imagery which avoids many of the usual cliches in Christian music. "Brother" exemplifies the faith based, metaphor painted lyrics which Jackson weaves into the music.

You will wake with the 2 o clock wake up call
From the bed to the floor is a fifty foot fall
Well it's one for the money and five on the road
Safe in your bed with the vampire cold...

...I may not have your blood
But I am your brother
When the father you lost
With a stare makes me shudder
I once said you got some learning to do
But a man you don't know is bleeding for you
Brother

"Short but sweet" is the phrase best used to sum up Three. Every one of the six songs on here are superb works of art, and prove that Rover are a band who deserve some serious attention. It's hard to imagine what kinds of things Rover could do to if they had
the backing of a record company.

Eric Daams 8/11/2000