Jim Basnight - We Rocked And Rolled (Disclosed) Think of Seattle music and you think of grunge. Sub Pop, its bands, its whole ethos seems to overshadow every other musical endeavour the Northwest city has birthed. Starting in the ‘60s with garage punks The Sonics and The Wailers, through to the late ‘70s rise of Jim Basnight and The Moberlys, international exposure or success never happened. Although for the latter, the lack of a genuine breakthrough didn’t stymie the writing, playing and producing of quality music. This collection, subtitled “The First 25 Years of Jim Basnight: The Moberlys and Beyond” provides an splendid overview of a career that has never acquired mass appreciation, but equally, has never lacked artistic credibility, and has won over plenty of serious critics along the way. For those of us who have been aware of Basnight and his various bands over the years, it’s pleasing to see the man still chasing the dream and still writing great pop songs. The final track here, “We Rocked And Rolled” is from 2008 and although it sounds like a goodbye, it happily stands alongside the best of his material, and there’s plenty of it here; eleven tracks by The Moberlys, four by The Rockinghams and another half a dozen by various other line-ups. Basnight’s ear for a tune rarely lets him down, and although his power pop sound, apart from a six week window in the summer of ‘79, has never been at the forefront of musical fashion, you’re left in no doubt that you’re in the presence of a musical heavyweight. Out of time and under-appreciated perhaps, but never second-rate. www.jimbasnight.com www.myspace.com/jimbasnightthemoberlys Rob F. Next