"J. Smith" is the first single from Indie band Travis' sixth studio album '' Ode to J. Smith'', released as a limited-edition E.P. on both 10" vinyl and as a download, with only 1,000 copies made of the 10-inch. The song reached #1 on the UK Indie Chart on 6 July 2008, mainly due to strong downloads.

Background

Although the songs from ''Ode to J. Smith'' were previewed in a series of live shows in February 2008, the studio recordings were not intended to be heard until the official release. However,

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

, an American radio station, got hold of an illegal copy of "J. Smith", and played it on air several times, and subsequently, mp3 files of the song were made and distributed, which Fran Healy contested to on the official forum. The physical single release was not intended for announcement until late June, however, online retailer Recordstore announced the item for sale on 5 June, meaning that despite an official announcement being made, fans would now know what the first single was going to be. The information was discussed on the band's official forum within hours. Healy posted on the forum that evening, claiming that the band had not intended Recordstore to announce the information, and that the original plan was to gradually release the information to increase excitement.

Lyrics

Fran Healy explained on Travis' official website about the writing of "J. Smith". He said, "The

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

came from nowhere. The strange thing was, I knew immediately these chords were important in some way... When Neilly arrived I played the chords, he played along and we instantly found the pattern. It is the best drum line Neilly has ever done... Dougie then picked up the bass line like he'd been practising it all week... There isn't a bit of fat on the song. Every note, every beat, is perfect." He also adds that

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Luke Pritchard The Kooks () are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, and Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser. Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s Br ...

both complimented the song when they first heard it.

Comparisons

Many fans regarded "J. Smith" as a return to some of the rawness and rockiness of their debut album '' Good Feeling'', and the band have revealed that they lyrically connected the two releases in certain ways. The cover art of "J. Smith" was designed by Healy to resemble the original artwork of "

All I Want to Do Is Rock "All I Want to Do Is Rock" is the debut single by the Scottish rock band Travis Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters *Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Travis (surname), a list of people Places in ...

", the group's first ever single. The band also resurrected the Red Telephone Box record label, which they created to release "All I Want to Do Is Rock".

Track listing

* 10" Vinyl # "J. Smith" - 3:10 # "Get Up" - 3:12 # "Sarah" - 4:25

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:J. Smith (Song) 2008 singles Travis (band) songs Songs written by Fran Healy (musician) 2008 songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles