Jesus Jones

Jesus Jones' murky mix of samples, pop, dance tracks, and techno resulted in one huge international hit single, "Right Here, Right Now" (taken from their second album, Doubt), that pretty much sums up all of the band's virtues -- a strong melody and hook, with a flair for making the dance club overtones mesh with the rock guitar. To hear Jesus Jones' flaws, turn to their first album, which suffered from muddy beats, shapeless melodies, and intrusive samples, all of which also plagued sections of Doubt. But when Doubt worked, as it did on "Right Here, Right Now," "International Bright Young Thing," and "Real, Real, Real," it showed that sample-driven dance club music could comfortably fit into pop music.

Based on the platinum success of Doubt, Jesus Jones' leader -- guitarist/vocalist Mike Edwards, who had launched the band in 1988 -- decided it was his mission to make techno palatable for the pop masses and recorded their follow-up album, 1993's Perverse, almost entirely on computer. The result was neither good pop music nor good techno, and Jesus Jones' subsequent fall from the top of the U.S. and U.K. charts was as fast as their rise to the top. After a long layoff, they returned in the summer of 1997 with Already. Initially, the album was only released in the U.K.; it was later released in the U.S. during the spring of 1998. Three years passed before the group returned to form. With new members Alan Doughty (bass) and Tony Arthy (drums), Jesus Jones inked a deal with Koch and issued London in fall 2001. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi