James

Combining the first two singles ever released by the band, Village Fire: Five Offerings From James is an unrefined, acoustic-based, dustup of wide-eyed folk-pop, which will surprise fans expecting either the anthemic James of "Sit Down" or even the hushed one of "Five-O." This incarnation of James is raw. Inexperienced. Naïve. Shown off by just a skittish shuffle of songs. At one point, the two-minute debut single "What's the World" twirls like a belligerent, sun-stroked protestor, at another, "If Things Were Perfect" slides into a stuttering crescent of unique, clumsy beauty. The EP is like a prescient note for the invigorating intensity of the band's later offerings. From 1988's "What For" to 1999's "Crash," this early work shows how a folk iconoclasm has stayed inside the bloodstream of the band no matter how many years or lineup changes they've experienced. Plus, packaged with the traipsing "Hymn From a Village" -- one of the band's perennial classics -- this EP becomes a must for any James believer (one, however, who also realizes the band's talents have probably been more influenced by the Sex Pistols than Pete Seeger). So even while this release can often fail in trying to distinguish the difference between saying something and feeling something, it remains a fascinating, demonstrative, opening sentence to the very beginning of a seminal band's career. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide