UK prog rockers Jump have announced they will reissue a remastered version of 1995's The Myth Of Independence album in May.
The album, the band's fourth, was originally released on the celebrated Cyclops label and was produced by Marillion keyboard player Mark Kelly, who'd discovered the band when they played at the launch of Marillion's Brave movie in 1994.
“We spent an enjoyable couple of weeks recording and mixing at the Racket Club," recalls Kelly. "I have to be honest and admit that as a producer I was given a pretty easy task - the band knew what they wanted, so my contribution to the arrangements etc... was pretty minimal, although I did get a chance to play a bit of keyboards on a few tracks... I have to say, it’s aged very well!”
The album marked a shift in the Wycombe band's fortunes and saw them perform at the launch of Marillion's Afraid Of Sunlight album as well as support former Marillion signer Fish on his UK tour for Sunsets On Empire.
“We’d played nearly 300 gigs by the time we met Mark in 1994," recalls Jump singer John Dexter Jones. "On the day of the Brave launch it was our fourth gig of the week - it was in the afternoon, and we had another that evening in a club in Milton Keynes, so that gives an idea of where we were back then. His help and contribution to what we were doing was pivotal.
"We’ve never spent long in the sunlit uplands, but those days were invaluable in shaping our belief that given the opportunities, we could do the business. The fact that we’re still here and we’ve recorded ten albums in the quarter of a century since those trips over to the Racket Club supports that view I think.
"Myth was hugely important for us, but it hasn’t been available as a CD for almost twenty years now and it’s probably the most enquired-about item at the merch desk. The remaster sounds just great... who knows? We might have to wheel out some of those songs when we’re allowed to gig again. Princess of the People anyone?”
The Myth remastered is set to be released in mid-May, but Jump fans on the lookout for something new in the meantime should check out Some More Of The Night, a six-song live download featuring ‘lost’ tracks from 2006. The songs were part of the Aylesbury show recorded for the band’s second live album Something Of The Night, and turned up unexpectedly during a lockdown trawl through Jump's HQ.
