With only one album hitting Billboard's album chart, a music fan could be excused for not following the career of Material Issue closely or knowing their significance in the rock and pop scene. But to those people who witnessed Material Issue's Jim Ellison in his natural habitat - performing live in concert - Ellison's taking of his own life was nearly a death knell to the breathtaking pop scene which Material Issue was helping to keep alive.
After three national releases on Mercury (with International Pop Overflow cracking the top 100), the band and the label severed ties with each other. Ellison expressed his displeasure with his then-label's lack of promotion in a 1994 issue with Consumable while on tour for the band's final Mercury album, Freak City Soundtrack. Yet just three years earlier, a huge push had been given to the debut, which turned out to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, rather than dwell on what could have been and why, it's time to focus on Rykodisc saving the remnants of the posthumous (and final) Material Issue album, Telecommando Americano.
The opening "Satellite" recalls all the reasons why Material Issue's fans couldn't seem to get enough - electrifying guitars, simple yet catchy lyrics, and hooks that leave you humming and coming back for more.
Ellison, who usually wrote about cars and girls, continues the tradition on the guitar-exchange filled "What If I Killed Your Boyfriend". This time, however, he doesn't lament of a past love, or how some guys get all the breaks; now Ellison wonders 'What if I killed your boyfriend...What if I shot him down...maybe then you'd want me around.' Just slightly off-kilter for a love song, but then again, Material Issue didn't always produce the expected results.
"2 Steps" is an updated version of their own "Chance Of A Lifetime", while "Young American Freak" contains a guitar riff just slightly higher than the Jam on "Start". And "Carousel" is just pure bliss. Sure, the Ramones meets Cheap Trick sound of the band is still there, but Telecommando ultimately witnesses the Chicago band retaining their pop roots while reverting to more of a garage band sound.
As a final bonus, Material Issue's 1987 six song EP is tacked on to the end of Telecommando Americano. Although "16 Tambourines" was not included on this EP (and still remains a key find in the collection of any M.I. completist), most fans can now have the initial pre-Mercury Ish releases that helped get the band signed in the first place. As if to demonstrate the quality of those songs, three of the six tracks - "She's Going Through My Head", "Chance of a Lifetime" and the E.L.O.ish "Very Good Thing" - eventually wound up on the band's first three albums.
With this release, we close the door on Material Issue, with a look back at what had been, and a glimpse forward to what might have been. Jim Ellison, you're sorely missed.
