Aw man, we are getting close to the end! Jolly Joker is number 49 in Friends of Cesar Romero's Doomed Babe Series — making it the penultimate entry in a series that dates back to December of 2011. This is something a little different for FOCR: a "semi-live album." Basically, this is J. Waylon's very own Peel Session, and I dig the vibe. This set was recorded for a radio segment that never aired, and now we get to enjoy some FOCR blasts from the past in all their unpolished glory. If you're a fan, this is a huge treat. These songs from the 2010s date as far back as 2011's "Skull Carpenters" (off of Return to Zero, the first installment in the Doomed Babe Series). A lot of these tracks are up there with the band's best — such as 2012's "Tammys of Tomorrow," 2016's "Grab Your Heathers and Run," and 2018's "Longing Heart Condition." Kicking off with the stomper "Wolf in Houndstooth," this is a really hard-rocking set. For all of us who will never experience FOCR as anything more than a studio project, it's thrilling to hear the group as a proper live rock 'n' roll band that puts the power in power pop and the rock in garage rock. If you, as I, were a late-comer to the Doomed Babe Series, you might find yourself inspired to go back and check out some of the early installments that feature these songs. I'm notoriously "meh" about live albums in general, and I'm not sure what my policy on semi-live albums is. But I'm enjoying Jolly Joker tremendously and am quite thankful it was released. Now we await installment #50!
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