Castle
2005
True Love Stories...Plus
About This Album
If you know anything about Jilted John -- whether you were a British pop kid in the late '70s, or a new wave fetishist -- about all that you know is that he had one of the funniest one-off singles of the era, with the eponymous "Jilted John," the story of a boy who was left by his girlfriend for a guy called Gordon. It was a slice of sneering, self-deprecating genius, something that's shocking upon first listen, and remains funny on the 50th spin. Even those who cherished that single assumed that it was a spontaneous, unexpected burst of brilliance, something that Jilted John -- otherwise known as Graham Fellows -- couldn't have topped, since it was as good as it is. Certainly, the second- and third-generation listeners who became acquainted with the song through its presence on the seminal D.I.Y. series would think that way, since it wasn't even paired with its first-class flip, "Going Steady," which finds Jilted John in love with, and dating, Sharon. Even if they knew that, they couldn't be prepared for True Love Stories, which is one of the great lost albums of new wave. Firmly rooted in Blondie and Elvis Costello, Jilted John's magnum opus is still startlingly original in how it recycles pre-Beatles pop conventions with a punky defiance and a distinctly bent British humor -- and, above it all, it tells a story, following Jilted John through his pubescent romantic trials.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4,9,10,11,13 and 16)

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