Slightly Odway
Studio album by
Jebediah
Released8 September 1997 (1997-09-08)
RecordedMarch–May 1997
GenreAlternative rock
Length54:00
LabelMurmur
ProducerNeill King
Jebediah chronology
Twitch
(1997)		 Slightly Odway
(1997)		 Of Someday Shambles
(1999)
Singles from Slightly Odway
  1. "Leaving Home"
    Released: 27 June 1997
  2. "Military Strongmen"
    Released: 11 October 1997
  3. "Teflon"
    Released: 23 March 1998
  4. "Harpoon"
    Released: 22 June 1998

Slightly Odway is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah. It was recorded between March and May 1997 at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne, with Neill King producing. Slightly Odway was released on 8 September 1997 by record label Murmur.

It peaked at number 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and appeared in the top 50 for non-consecutive runs totalling 54 weeks.

Recording

The group's line-up of Chris Daymond on lead guitar, Kevin Mitchell on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Vanessa Thornton on bass guitar and Kevin's older brother, Brett Mitchell, on drums started recording Slightly Odway in March 1997 with United Kingdom's Neill King (The Smiths, Madness, Elvis Costello) producing.[1]

Content

According to Australian music journalist Ed Nimmervoll, the title "is a comment on the slightly odd way they feel they approach life as well as music".[2]

In March 2002 Kevin reflected on his song writing "It didn't bother me that people didn't pick up on the lyrics. I'd made a conscious effort to focus on lyrics, because there were some lyrics on Slightly Odway that I was a little embarrassed about, ones where I hadn't really been trying. But I certainly didn't want vindication or attention for what I'd written."[3]

Album cover

The bowling green on the artwork of the album is the Kardinya Bowling Club, where bass player Vanessa Thornton's grandparents played. The spaceship is in fact a Futuro house that was located on the corner of Leach Highway and Karel Avenue in Willetton, close to where the band members grew up. The structure was used as part of a sales office for a nearby residential subdivision and was removed in 1996, after being donated to the Barking Gecko Theatre Company.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]

In his retrospective review, Jonathan Lewis of AllMusic wrote that Slightly Odway "shows Jebediah as a talented young band, despite the flimsy songwriting and the lack of light and shade on the album. Once Jebediah learn they don't need to bludgeon the audience with their guitar-playing they will be better off for it." Lewis preferred the earlier version of "Jerks of Attention", which is "one of their finest songs", over the album version, which was "a half-paced version of the original single: it certainly doesn't improve it."[5]

In May 2011 Matt Neal of The Warrnambool Standard felt the album was "packed with big power chords, frontman Kevin "Bob Evans" Mitchell's distinctive sing-through-your-nose approach, inspired bursts of guitar noise and a love of crowd-friendly melodies. Some of it hasn't aged well".[6]

Recognition

In 2011, the album placed at number 15 in a list of the greatest 100 Australian albums compiled by Australian youth radio station Triple J.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jebediah (Chris Daymond, Brett Mitchell, Kevin Mitchell and Vanessa Thornton),[8] except as noted

No.TitleLength
1."Leaving Home"3:01
2."Benedict"4:03
3."Harpoon"4:28
4."Jerks of Attention"4:46
5."Invaders" (Daymond, B. Mitchell, K. Mitchell, Reg Presley, Thornton)3:40
6."Spoil the Show"4:03
7."Blame"1:56
8."Puckdefender"4:57
9."Lino"4:06
10."Military Strongmen" (titled "Military Strongman" on CD version)3:27
11."Teflon"3:46
12."Twilight = Dusk"4:45
13."La Di Da Da"7:47

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1997-98) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 7

Year-end charts

(1998) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 54

References

  1. ↑ Holmgren, Magnus. "Jedediah". passage.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Nimmervoll, Ed. "Jebediah". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music. White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd (Ed Nimmervoll). Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Mathieson, Craig (22 March 2002). "Jebediah's journey". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Futuro House". TheFuturoHouse.com. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 Lewis, Jonathan. "Slightly Odway – Jebediah | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 January 2015. Note: User may have to click on a tab, e.g. 'Credits' to access further information.
  6. ↑ Neal, Mat (13 May 2011). "Jebediah". The Warrnambool Standard. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Powderfinger Take Out Triple J Greatest Australian Album Poll on Tone Deaf". Tone Deaf. 11 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "'Leaving Home' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 30 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015. Note: User may have to click 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:' e.g Leaving Home; or at 'Performer:' Jebediah
  9. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Jebediah – Slightly Odway". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  10. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 23 January 2015.
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