Jobie Reviews Music 159: I, Swinger (album) by Combustible Edison. Requested by ActuallyApollo.

I, Swinger is a 1994 lounge album by Combustible Edison. It is 12 tracks long, spanning 39 minutes and 50 seconds of music. The album consists of lounge tracks that could easily fit into a spy movie, with jazz-inspired melodies making up the vast majority of the album’s run time.

Though the album may appear as an instrumental-only album on the first listen, this is not the case. Combustible Edison’s Liz Cox instead brings us well-delivered vocals on about half of the album’s tracks, making these lounge tunes better than they already were. The album even finds time to cover one of the most covered songs in music history: Arthur Hamilton’s “Cry Me a River”, delivering a fresh new take on the decades old tune.

Throughout the album’s over half hour runtime, we’re also treated to some particularly bizarre titles and musical sounds. For example, the track “Carnival of Souls'' is a loungey carnival theme with multiple female voices accompanying the instrumentation, which goes along perfectly with the song’s title. The bizarreness of the album does not end there, however, with “Surabaya Johnny” making itself stand out from the rest of the album with its heavily accented vocals.

The album’s slightly unusual nature adds to its charm, making each track a memorable dive into classic lounge sound which never disappoints in any notable way. Combustible Edison were known for taking the lounge genre very seriously, which makes the instrumentation on the album all the more amazing.

My favorite tracks from this album are “The Millionaire's Holiday”, “Intermission”, “Cry Me A River”, and “The Veldt”.

Overall, I, Swinger is an interesting half hour demonstration of electronic and jazz inspired lounge music, with good instrumentation and vocals making for a particularly good listening experience. There are no real complaints to be had about the album, as each track is well-made and well-produced. Liz Cox’s vocals on some of the album’s tracks enhance the awesome lounge instrumentation that they already had, making a good album a great one.

Overall rating:

8.8/10

LINK TO ALBUM:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3ifTLD0plxfUQbFD0buWkk