Buying the LPs sampled on Nice Enough to Eat.
Track 2 on Side 1 is “Dear Jill”. The title, of course, derives from the concept of the “Dear John letter”, by which a girl gives notice to her lover that the relationship is over. Here, the tables are turned.
Mick Abrahams’ notes for this are quite short, and understate the merits of the song:
“”Dear Jill” is a pleasant contrasting blues, played on a 7 string slide guitar and has a warm soprano solo from Jack. (Music for young lovers to argue by).”
This is accurate, but hardly does justice to the song, which is a masterpiece. It is quite long, coming in at 5.15, and every second of it is sheer unaldurated joy and beauty. Essentially, it is a very simple slow blues, but the way it is put together is brilliant; there is no other word for it. One notable feature is the accentuation of the bass; another is the “contrasting” element which the notes mention.
I just love this song, which has been one of my all-time favourites really since about the third time I heard it. It is certainly the best song on the album, indeed the best track the band ever recorded, and well up in the “classic” and “bliss” tables.
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