Everybody Jam! (affiliate link) from 1996 is the follow-up to Scatman John’s highly successful debut album, Scatman’s World, and is a diverse offering compared to its predecessor.
The overall production of this album is superior, with improved sound quality, packaging, and music. Because of the broad musical scope, the album also features a wide-ranging group of musicians, including a gospel choir.
The result is a much fuller sound in contrast with his debut release. Ultimately, the album did not go on to succeed at the level Scatman’s World did, but it did help solidify and strengthen John’s popularity in Japan.
Thematically, the album is a continuation of Scatman’s World. Musically, however, Everybody Jam! is even more experimental. It goes without saying that John’s trademark scat-singing is employed liberally throughout, but there is also a deliberate attempt to branch out into new territory.
“Stop The Rain”, for example, features a retro dance groove with samples of John beat-boxing. “The Invisible Man” is a cover of the techno-flavored Queen song. “Lebanon” is an ambient track with Eastern influences. The aforementioned gospel choir is present on “Message To You” and the infectious “(I Want To) Be Someone”.
While there are many promising tracks on the album, Everybody Jam! still lacks any obvious hits. Some candidates include the pop-infused title track, which is essentially a tribute to jazz legend Louis Armstrong. “People Of The Generation”, and the soul-influenced “U-Turn” are also memorable numbers, and are among my favorite.
Appeal: 6/10
Everybody Jam! was not as commercially successful as Scatman’s World. However, the fedora-wearing man with the battery-powered microphone was a marketable image, and became a big hit in Japan.
Imagination & Creativity: 9/10
At the inception of Scatman John, the proposal was to fuse John’s scat-singing with dance music and hip-hop beats. This idea was carried through into this album, but Everybody Jam! has a broader musical scope as described earlier. Jazz, ambient, and world music can all be found on this compilation, and it all works. This makes for an album that has a lot of replay value, but it may take some time to grow on you.
Relevance: 9/10
Themes of self-examination and the human condition are still present here, but the utopian idealism has been toned down compared to Scatman’s World. While it is less of a concept album, the message is more universal and relevant to listeners. “Watered down”, some might say, but you can’t get too crazy with idealism and still be marketable at a mass scale.
Sound Quality & Music: 8/10
From the frantic jazzy grooves of “Scatmusic” to the contagious “(I Want To Be) Someone” and “People Of The Generation”, the album features a wide variety of tracks with layers of varying instruments. The sound is polished and well-mixed.
Writing & Premise: 8/10
As I already pointed out, Everybody Jam! is not a concept album like John’s previous album. The writing is similar, however, if not more constructive. The ever-changing musical styles are held together by a consistent thematic and lyrical thread.
Overall: 40/50
Everybody Jam! is a very enjoyable, festive and celebratory album. It may be somewhat underrated considering all the improvements that were made over its predecessor. But again, no obvious hit, and that’s its main weakness.
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That’s a fantastic and pretty spot on review. There may not have been many “obvious hits” however I do think that both “Let It Go” and “We Got To Learn To Live Together” made for very strong singles. L.I.G was released as a remix single with no accompanying video. This was a shame as the album version was a stronger track than the remix and deserved a video. To my knowledge the only tracks that got promo clips where “Everybody Jam!” and “Su Su Su Super Kirei” in Japan.
It’s nice to read a review of Scatmans work which doesn’t just dismiss him as a cheesy dance act. I’m a massive fan of him (even now) and i’m pleased that there’s a review of his album that looks closer at the themes and messages. “Everybody Jam!” is certainly a stronger album than the debut, perhaps even his strongest, but it’s not without it’s flaws as you pointed out. Personally I find the track “U Turn” to be a very pale imitation of it’s previous release on the “Song Of Scatland” single where it was called “Hey You”. Here it sounds a bit of a throwaway pop song whereas the original track felt quite intense and emphasized the lyrics detailing Johns alcohol addiction.
I know this was written in 2006 but I’d be very interested in reading your review of Johns final album “Take Your Time” which was released shortly before his death in 1999.
Jonathan, thanks so much for your comment!
Scatman was immensely talented, and an icon of the 90s – even if he is sometimes an overlooked icon.
For some reason, “U Turn” has really stuck with me. But I wasn’t aware of “Hey You!”, which like you say, is essentially the same song. Thanks for introducing me to that!
I’d be happy to put together another review. I guess I’m going to be going down memory lane once more. 🙂
To this day I still stand as a fan of his (I even had the pleasure of talking to him a few months before his death).
I collected, and still have, all of his albums, singles and compilations (from Europe and Japan). I have a cardboard scat hat and mic promo card from the release of Scatman World. Japanese phonecards the Scatman coke can and have collected 4 DVDS worth of music vids, TV appearances, interviews etc.
I’m pleased to have introduced you to something new. For me “Hey You” stands as the definitive version of that song. It’s certainly a track that has impressed a lot of people I’ve played it to who weren’t necessarily Scatman fans.
As I said I’ve really enjoyed your reviews of his first 2 albums. I have my own thoughts on the last but would be fascinated to read your review.
Feel free to beep me on Facebook too if you want to know anything about his single releases etc.
That’s amazing, Jonathan. I actually grew up in Japan, which might be one of the reasons I took a liking to Scatman early on. I have no idea what kind of marketing he received in North America, because I was in Japan for most of his career.
I have my initial impressions about Take Your Time now that I’ve listened to it. I need to give it some more time before I can say for sure. I will say that I wasn’t expecting something that sounds so different from the other two albums.