Bunky And Jake - Bunky And Jake (1968 us, wondrous shiny baroque folk, 2007 issue)

Of interest to both Greenwich Village scene, as well as Nuggets completists, Andrea “Bunky” Skinner and Allan “Jake” Jacobs, started out in the early’60s as coffee house folkies, but recorded their ’68 debut, only after Jake’s short stints with Gordon and Bonner’s Magicians (of Invitation To Cry fame) and The Fugs.

An audition for The Magicians’ former managers Art Polhemus and Bob Wyld, brought a recording contract with Mercury, instead of the desired songwriting publishing deal, which explains the kaleidoscopic diversity of material featured on the album.

What I find the most entertaining myself, are the good-time flavoured ones, by the intelligently laid back way of The Sopwith Camel (I’ll Follow You, Daphne Plum, Big Car, Shiny Ring, The Candy Store). A couple of orchestrated “trackaracks”, (Country Girl, Hey Buckaroo, As You Go By) come as a prove that they’d do a great job, had they been chosen for the initially planned Brill Building partnership instead.

There’s also a pair of Mersey-ish Macca-like ballads (It Happens Again, Cheerio), with a light jazzy feel to them, as well as an occasional touch of country, through the pedal steel, but they sure can get quite fuzzed up and noisy as well, as heard on the sunny side of their debut single Taxicab, coming off as a kind of a twee Buffalo Springfield (think halfway between and The Byrds’ … Rock’n’roll Star), though the heaviest they get is in an almost proggy instrumental track called Moongoose.

Not really one of those “overlooked masterpieces”, but sure enough more than just a footnote in collectors’ books.

by Garwood Pickjon, March 14, 2008 

Tracks
1. I'll Follow You - 2:00
2. It Happens Again - 2:36
3. Daphne Plum - 2:42
4. Country Girl - 2:14
5. Hey Buckaroo - 2:25
6. Taxicab - 2:38
7. As You Go By - 2:37
8. Big Car, Shiny Ring - 1:57
9. Mongoose - 1:25
10.Cheerio - 2:25
11.The Candy Store - 3:50
All songs by Andrea "Bunky" Skinner, Allan "Jake" Jacobs

Musicians
*Andrea "Bunky" Skinner - Guitar, Vocals
*Allan "Jake" Jacobs - Guitar, Vocals

1969  Bunky And Jake - L.A.M.F. (Japan issue)

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rep>>> Bunky And Jake - L.A.M.F. (1969 us, magnificent folk jazzy blues psych, japan issue)

If you're looking for a group that embodies that mid-'60s hippy vibe, then you should find the eclectic Bunky & Jake right up your aural alley.   For goodness sakes, how much more counter culture can you get than a young Jewish singer/guitarist teaming with a young, attractive, streetwise African-American woman; the pair deciding to name their second album "L.A.M.F" 

Allan Jacobs (aka Jake) and Andrea Skinner (aka Bunky) met in 1962 when the pair were attending New York's School of Visual Arts.   Discovering a common interest in music (they'd both sung in New York doo-wop groups), the pair started playing on the Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit, attracting local attention.   In 1965 Jacobs joined The Magicians who recorded a couple of singes before calling it quits.    Following a brief turn with a late-inning line up of The Fugs in 1968 he resumed his partnership with Skinner.   Later that year the pair auditioned some of their material for former Magicians managers Art Polhemus and Bob Wyld who signed on as their managers. With the addition of  bassist  Douglas Rauch and drummer Michael Rosa, in 1968 the group was signed by Mercury Records.

Co-produced by Polhemus and Wyld, 1969's "L.A. M.F." was clearly influenced by their doo-wop and folk music roots, but was far more eclectic than what you would have expected from a bunch of New York-based folkies.   Interestingly, while Jacobs and Skinner both had decent voices (the former occasionally sounding a bit like a dry version of John Sebastian), with the exception of 'I Am the Light' their voices didn't pair all that well.  The good news was their vocals were so energetic and the arrangements so goofy, that it made up for whatever other shortcomings they exhibited.  Musically the set was all over the place, giving the album a very contemporary "Ameicana" feel.  Tracks like 'Big Boy Pete' highlighted their doo-wop roots,  but the pair were equally comfortable with gospel ('I Was a Champion'), and more commercial pop and rock numbers like 'Uncle Henry's Basement' and a blazing cover of Chuck Berry's '(Slow Down Little Jaguar) County Line'.  About all I can say is the results are disjointed, but fascinating.

In 2004 the duo released a children's album Oo-Wee Little Children, on their own B'n'J Music label. Andrea Skinner died on Sunday, March 20, 2011 after a brief illness. In October 2012, Jacobs released a new collection of songs on a 16-song CD entitled A Lick and a Promise by Jake and the Rest of the Jewels.

by Scott Blackerby

Tracks
1. Uncle Henry's Basement (Allan Jacobs) - 2:09
2. If I Had A Dream (Allan Jacobs, Andrea Skinner) - 2:29
3. (Slow Down Little Jaguar) County Line (Chuck Berry) - 3:06
4. Girl From France (Allan Jacobs)  - 2:39
5. You Two (Chuck Berry) - 1:36
6. Big Boy Pete (Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Dewey Terry) - 2:24
7. "Oh" Pearl (Allan Jacobs) - 4:29
8. Bump In My Groove (Allan Jacobs) - 3:34
9. I Am The Light (Gary Davis, Allan Jacobs, Andrea Skinner) - 3:59
10.Cadillac Bleu (Andrea Skinner)  - 3:22
11.One More Cowboy (Allan Jacobs, Andrea Skinner) - 3:15
12.I Was A Champion (Allan Jacobs, Andrea Skinner) - 4:05

Musicians
*Andrea Skinner (Aka Bunky) - Vocals, Guitar
*Allan Jacobs - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Douglas Rauch - Bass
*Michael Rosa - Drums, Percussion
*Ray Barretto - Congas
*Charlie Chin - Sax
*Ernie Hayes - Piano
*Buzzy Linhart - Vibes
*Mike Matthews - Organ
*Felix Pappalardi - Bass
*Chuck Rainey - Bass
*Perry Robinson - Clarinet

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