As one-third of The Nerves alongside Paul Collins and Peter Case, Jack Lee ended up getting the short end of the stick, fame-wise, after the band split: Collins went on to form the Beat, Case founded the Plimsouls (both scored major label deals), and Lee…well, he had a few of his compositions recorded by well-known artists in the ‘70s and ‘80s (Blondie dressed up “Hanging on the Telephone” and Paul Young had a hit with “Come Back and Stay”), but he sadly faded into obscurity after that. There were rumors of all sorts of unsavory stuff, and his former bandmate Peter Case portrayed Lee in a less-than-flattering manner in a 1998 Plimsouls tune called “Playing with Jack.” (“Jack looks slick but he’s come unglued/since the Nerves broke up, all he does is brood.”) Still, despite his rumored shortcomings, Lee wrote some killer tunes back in the day, and Alive Records has collected 23 of ‘em on “Bigger Than Life”. The songs were originally released on two long-deleted LPs and have been unavailable for around 30 years, and even though they were originally conceived as demos, Lee’s winning way with a melody is on display throughout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-3dXTX208
The first 11 numbers are from the Jack Lee’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1 LP (wishful thinking at its finest), and include Lee’s rough and tumble takes of the aforementioned “Come Back and Stay” and “Hanging On the Telephone,” as well as snappy power pop ditties such as “Women,” “Give Me Some Time” and “Good Times,” all sung in Lee’s edgy, soulful rasp. The rest of the tunes (save one b-side) are from Lee’s hyper-rare, self-titled 1985 album, originally released only in France. These range from the raging “Sex” (cut with the semi-legendary Rubber City Rebels) to a whole batch of slightly mellower songs that rely more on synthesizers than guitars. The best of these sound like could-have-been-hits: “Bird in a Cage,” the melancholy “From Time to Time,” “The Girl in the Picture” and “Time Machine,” a sadly sweet tale of longing that’s been begging to be heard by a wider audience for 30-plus years. Cool stuff, but man, some liner notes would have been nice
The Fat Angel Sings 