Jim Robinson – “Construction Man Job #001”

The Sleeve:
JimRobinsonFront JimRobinsonBack

The Liner/Sleeve Notes:
 MEMORANDUM JUNE 20, 1979
 TO: All Our Friends, On Various Jobsites Throughout The World
 FROM: Jim Robinson/Dan Meisner/Bob Johnson
 SUBJECT: We Dedicate Job #001 To You

 Some of the songs you wanted, maybe some you didn’t, but through the combined efforts of Dan Meisner and Bob Johnson, we sure as hell had a lot of fun putting it all together.
 It brings back a lot of good memories, of good parties, good drinks and good friends. Makes us think of Jakarta and Singapore, Medicine Hat and Calgary, Arzew and Skikda, Casablanca and Madrid, plus many, many more. We also remember the bad ice cubes in Jatiluhur and cruising down the Musi in Sumatra.
 We all know the job we just left was the best we’ve ever had, the one we’re one, the worst, and we can’t wait to move on to the next one.
 We sincerely hope you enjoy Job #001 and we’re looking forward to Job #002, but in case you don’t, we refer you back to Cram Records, Division of Itup, Inc.
 Jim Robinson
 Dan Meisner
 Bob Johnson

Personal Review:
 So here we are, with review number 300 – and well this one has been on my wantlist for a very, very long time and I am so happy that one of my friends kindly donated it to me for the website. I present you with now, Jim Robinson, Construction Man!

 The album opens with the track “Imitation Jewelry” and well, Jim is definitely a country singer, with lots of steel guitar and banjos, and it’s not a bad song to open the album, it just kind of passes by really quickly. After that comes the song “Sweet Bonnie June” and it’s a bit more faster paced than the last song, and I’m definitely liking it with the harmonica playing, and Jim’s vocals are pretty great, you definitely wouldn’t think such a voice was coming from a simple looking man like Jim, but they are his indeed! “Wa-Do Girl” comes next, and we slow down some, and he now seems to have someone on backing vocals and they’re not bad either, the way Jim delivers a song is stunning, this man can sing! The songs are also so great. “Lotta Lovin’ Left (In Me)” comes next, and the banjo playing is pretty great, Jim continues to just deliver great tracks, one after another, and this song just kind of makes it seem like Jim loves a whole lot of women, he even calls himself a ‘dirty old man‘ at one point. Then comes the song “Guess I’d Better Drag” and another slower song, and Jim is definitely a sensitive man, he refers to himself as ‘Construction Trash‘ at one point, and just continues to deliver a good song, I think it’s the steel guitar and his vocals that are really making it for me. The A-Side ends with the song “The Legend of Bobbie John” and once more we have another great song, with great musicianship, Jim is just wonderful at singing and this whole A-Side has been absolutely amazing.

 The B-Side opens with the semi-title track, “Construction Man” and let me just note that the B-Side is titled ‘Dirty Side‘ and we already start with some swearing, and it’s a slow song, but still all the more wonderful. I especially love how he pronounces ‘KAHN-Struction Man‘ – this album just pulls all the right chords, and everything is so perfect. “If you can’t come to Texas, I’ll see you in Hell…” that line gets me, it’s just such a fantastic line. After that comes “Palembang” which is a song about a town in Indonesia, where apparently Jim did his ‘thang‘. I wonder what his ‘thang‘ could’ve been. After that comes the song “Houston, Texas U.S. of A” and we now know by this point Jim is a proud Texan, and he should be – Texas is awesome! (or so I’ve heard.) and it’s not a bad track at all, it’s pretty good. The guitar playing is pretty great on this album too! After that comes “South of War-Ez” which opens with a banjo solo, and we go right into Jim, some steel guitar and drums, and it’s fantastic! This album is just one great song after the next, and oh boy, Jim is hitting some high notes on this one, and there is a little guitar solo. Banjo solo too! “Jim you’re looking at a mighty horny man” – this song is about sex, and getting laid, and he either said ‘whore‘ or ‘boar‘ – I’m really hoping he said ‘whore‘. “Lover, Fighter Etc., Etc.” comes next, and it’s great! Fast paced, lots of musicianship and great lyrics, this song is so great. I love it. The album closes with the song “The Wind Blows Cold” and well, it’s a good track, not like the others though, it seems to be one of those ones that has a lot of feeling behind it, which isn’t bad, but it’s also not something expected on this album. Great album. The world requires more Jim.

Interesting Facts:
None.

Track Listing:
A1 – Imitation Jewelry
A2 – Sweet Bonnie June
A3 – Wa-Do Girl
A4 – Lotta Lovin’ Left (In Me)
A5 – Guess I’d Better Drag
A6 – Legend of Bobbie John

B1 – Construction Man
B2 – Palembang
B3 – Houston, Texas U.S. of A
B4 – South of War-Ez
B5 – Lover, Fighter Etc., Etc.
B6 – The Wind Blows Cold

Label:
Cram Records

Catalog Number:
AV-1152

Studio Musicians & Other Album Credits:
Res. Const. Mgr. – Dan Meisner
Office Mgr. – Bob Johnson
Chief Field Eng. – Jim Knight
Const. Supt. – J. Zed Robinson
Mouth Organ – Larry Megill
Bass – Leon McCormick
Guitar – Billy Dozier
Steel – Ira Caple
Banjo – Ronald Farrar
Drums – Dwayne English
Pichurtaker – John Vediz

Other Albums I Own by Jim Robinson:
None.

Released:
1979

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