Warning: Oodles of gushing ahead. (I mean, even more than is usual for me. ) It's ironic, actually--of all the artists mentioned on this site, Jimi is very much a newcomer, as I've only been following him and his music in what I'd call a "serious" manner for around four years. But, as you might be able to infer from the sheer volume of links, pictures, etc. here in his section of the Hall (if it were a physical location instead of a virtual one, he'd just about have a whole wing to himself by now ) I think I make up in enthusiasm at least some of what I lack in longevity!

In truth, I did admire him as a singer for a long time before I ever knew what he looked like--or, indeed, even what his name was. I'm a bit young to have been into 80's music actually during the 80's, and Survivor was another of those bands where I'd known and liked their big hits for years, but for most of that time, I didn't know anything about them beyond that handful of songs. Up until 2003 or so, I'd never even seen a photo of them, much less a music video--so thank goodness for VH-1 Classic, or I'd probably still be languishing in ignorance! They played the clips for "High On You" and "The Search Is Over" while I happened to be watching, and my interest in the dark and handsome fellow behind that distinctive tenor voice subsequently took a sharp upward turn.

And it's an interest which has not only endured since then, but increased--one might even say it's turned into a bit of an obsession. (I'm harmless, though, honest. ) I'm pretty sure I've got copies of just about every album that Jimi's ever done lead vocals on by now, though my exposure to the stuff he did with Target has been limited to the few things he's had available to download through his Snocap store at one time or another. And although his earlier work isn't quite as much to my personal taste (Target's a little more bluesy than I tend to prefer, and I'm so used to the kinds of things he sang with Survivor that it was rather surreal to hear him doing progressive rock on that Combinations album from back in 1973 ) everything else is some of the most-listened-to music in my entire collection. Naturally, I'm a huge fan of all the albums he did with Survivor (though Reach was a bit of a disappointment; see below) but First Strike by Cobra is pretty darn awesome, too (and due to be re-released on CD soon--I haven't heard an actual date as yet, but keep an eye on Rock Candy Records for news) and of course there's Jimi's own solo CDs. The first of these, When Love Comes Down, was made in 1991 and so seems to be out of print by now, unfortunately, but copies do turn up from time to time on Ebay, and it's well worth searching out if you're a fan. It's not very much like Survivor, but it does provide a nice look at a different facet of him, artistically speaking. And then there's Empires, originally released in 1999 under the name "Jimi Jamison's Survivor," though the record company reissued it under Jimi's own name in 2003 following a legal dispute over use of the Survivor band name. (And the '03 edition is considerably easier to come by than the original, from what I've seen; you can even buy the entire album in MP3 format now.) Regardless, though, Empires was a very well-done CD, and worth having in any form you can find it, though I'll mention that the reissue does have few bonus tracks added, including a lovely Christmas tune called "Keep It Evergreen."

But the biggest news in regard to Jimi's solo work is, of course, the release of his newest album, Crossroads Moment. And folks, this is one HECK of a CD! I mean, I liked Empires quite a bit, but this new disc is like Empires on steroids. Granted, one has to take taste into account whenever you talk about music, and if you happen to prefer that the stuff you listen to be on the absolute cutting edge of innovation all the time, then you probably won't find Crossroads Moment much of anything to get excited about. But if you loved Survivor back in the day, or you're simply after a shining example of melodic rock at its finest by a couple of the most talented guys in the industry, then trust me--you NEED this CD. It reunites Jimi with Jim Peterik, the same man who wrote all of Survivor's big hits during the 80's, and IMO, this new collaboration between them rocks just as hard as any of those older works. I wouldn't go so far as to call it an extension of Survivor's catalog; JP may have done all the writing for Crossroads Moment, but make no mistake, this is very much Jimi's CD, with many songs that hold a lot of personal meaning for him. And it's obvious that both the writer and the singer are at a different place in life now than than they were when they made records together in the past; they've seen a lot, done a lot, and weathered a lot since Too Hot To Sleep, and all that extra experience lends a sound to this album that I can only describe as "mature." (And yes, I mean that in a complimentary sense.)

Even if it isn't a Survivor record, per se, however, Crossroads Moment still has a LOT of the same magic that Survivor used to; tracks such as "Battersea," "Behind The Music," "Love The World Away," "Till The Morning Comes," and the title cut all hearken back to classics like "I Can't Hold Back" and "Is This Love," and I think "As Is" has a vibe an awful lot like "Man Against The World." (Though I don't think anything will ever quite top "Man Against The World" in my estimation--as far as I'm concerned, that was Jimi's finest hour as a vocalist, period.) And even the tracks that aren't as reminiscent of past albums are awesome; between Jimi's voice and JP's writing, the whole CD just brims over with power, passion, and the sheer joy these guys take in making music, and I love every minute of it, right from beginning to end. I will admit that I used to look on JP with a rather jaundiced eye, mostly because of some things I'd read that made it sound like he and Jimi still had a lot of animosity between them, but heck, if the two of them can put aside the past and make an album like this together, with the quality-meter turned up to 11 on just about every track, then I certainly shan't go holding onto a grudge!

In fact, Crossroads Moment is SO good that--somewhat unfortunately, perhaps--one of the other things I have to say about it is that it blows Survivor's own last album clear out of the water. Now, don't get me wrong; I stand by the ultimate conclusion of the review I wrote here when Reach first came out, namely that it isn't a bad album. But at the same time, there's something of a gap between "not bad" and "jaw-droppingly terrific," and of all the adjectives I could use to describe Reach, I fear the latter does not make the list. Again, don't get me wrong--there are a couple of real gems on the CD ("Seconds Away" and "Give Me The Word" made it worth the purchase price for me all by themselves!) and several other very decent tracks. But there's also some stuff that just rubs me totally the wrong way, and that's a real first for a (mostly) Jimi-sung Survivor album. It isn't that I object, as some have, to the prevalence of softer and slower-paced songs; heck, I'm the world's biggest fan of Jimi-ballads, so I'm certainly not going to complain about getting a few more of those than usual! But especially in comparison to Crossroads Moment, the overall quality of the songwriting on Reach left a lot to be desired, and given all the things Jimi's had to say in various interviews since he left the band in 2006, I think I'm just as pleased that he's back to doing solo work. My primary loyalty as a fan is and has always been to him anyway, and if he's happier out of Survivor than in it (and he certainly seemed to be so at the last show I went to) and better able to do what he does best--which is making great music--then I am quite content with matters as they are. And especially since it sounds like he and JP are going to continue working together at least for a while; the two of them have another album already in the works, a modern country record (!) that could be released as early as this coming year. Jimi's had a few of those songs up on his MySpace page during the last few months, and if they're representative of the whole package, so to speak, I think it sounds like it ought to be another really fantastic CD.

If you've browsed around the rest of this part of the site at all, however, then you've probably realized that my appreciation of Jimi is, shall we say, rather less than purely artistic. I would hope it's apparent to most folks who visit C&S that I really do have a ton of respect for him as a person and an artist, I just don't make a secret of the fact that I happen to think he's a grade-A hunk, either. And, all kidding aside, if I didn't dig the music first and foremost--if it didn't speak to my heart and set my spirit soaring the way it does--then none of the rest of it would matter so much as an ounce. Good-looking guys are pretty much a dime a dozen, after all, but someone like Jimi, who's got talent enough for three people and is the world's biggest sweetheart on top of it... well, that's what really makes him something special in my eyes. Not to say that he isn't an attractive man, however--he is, and quite thoroughly so. There's the abundance of dark good looks, for one thing (the eyes! the smile! those cheekbones! ) and the fact that he's built like a brick wall, for another. He's got some of the broadest shoulders I've ever seen on a rock star, not to mention chest muscles that are absolutely to die for, and an ability to fill out a pair of jeans in all the right places, coming and going. (And speaking of which, ladies, that's another reason to go pick up a copy of Crossroads Moment--the pictures of him in the liner notes are absolutely superb. )

No discussion of Jimi's best features would be complete, however, without a mention of his voice. There was talk in certain quarters for a while that he was losing (or had already lost) most of his edge as a singer, but if you ask me, that's talk of the cheapest kind. I think he sounds wonderful on the new CD, and all the shows I've been to in the past few years were absolutely amazing--even the one in Oneida, WI where he was sick with bronchitis! Perhaps there is some small difference between the albums he did when he first joined Survivor and the things he's recorded in the last few years, but for crying out loud, twenty years have passed since Vital Signs came out--it just isn't realistic to expect him to sound exactly the same now as he did then. So while Jimi may indeed be aging (aren't we all?) I'd say he's doing it pretty damn gracefully as professional vocalists go, or the years haven't noticeably lessened his capacity for reducing me to a little puddle of protoplasmic ooze at a moment's notice, anyway; scroll down and read my comments on "Give Me The Word" and "Bittersweet" in the Favorite Songs section and you'll see what I mean. As much as I love his singing, though--and I never, ever, get tired of that--I have to admit that I could listen to him talk for hours on end, too, and I wouldn't even care what about. He has a really, really nice speaking voice (not to mention what's just about the cutest laugh you ever wanted to hear) and that Tennessee drawl is totally the icing on the cake. (Hey, I've spent my whole life in the western US; to me, Southerners DO have an accent, and in this particular case, quite a charming one! )

All things considered, I think I got to the "hopeless case" stage with regards to Jimi a long time ago--and if I hadn't before, I definitely went over the edge for good and all the night I first had the pleasure of meeting him face-to-face. (You knew I couldn't get through this essay without mentioning that, right? ) You can read in detail about when, where, and how the whole thing took place on this page, so I won't cover it all again here, but man... wow. Just--wow. What an experience that was; even now, so much time later, I still can't look back on it without a huge grin and a happy sigh. Jimi really is just the nicest guy you could ever hope to meet, and so good to all us crazy fans--I can't sing his praises enough, if you'll excuse the pun. (And my word--as hunky as he looks in photos and on video, and as wonderful as he sounds on studio recordings and audio interviews, none of it even begins to do justice to what he's like in the flesh. In my humble opinion, just about everything is better at close range, and you would not believe the amount of sheer presence he has. It wasn't quite a case of where everybody stopped talking when he walked into the hotel lobby that night, but I'd still swear the air changed! )

For all of that, though, he really is very down-to-earth and not at all standoffish or remote, not to mention hilarious--though I'll admit that some of the stuff about that night has become considerably funnier in hindsight than it was at the time! Case in point: Chris and Barry were curious about the poster I'd brought to get autographed (a promotional one for When Love Comes Down--you can view a scan of it here if you're so minded) so I obligingly unrolled it and let them have a look. Now, I probably should have known something was afoot when Jimi arrived and both of them immediately acquired these big grins and started urging him to see just what it was I had for him to sign, but when I again unrolled the poster and showed it to him, I confess I had a bit of a "deer in the headlights" moment when his reaction was to laugh and exclaim, "That guy's gay!" Now, keep in mind that this was about two minutes after I'd practically felt him come into the room, and only one after he'd shook my hand; my wits were definitely not operating at full speed. Heck, I was still trying just to comprehend the fact that the whole thing was actually happening--but there was still no way in heaven or earth that I was going to agree with a statement like that, and disagreeing would have taken the conversation in a direction that I was NOT prepared to deal with, face-to-face. So I kind of ended up just cringing and not really making much of a response, but what I SHOULD have said was, "Jimi, sweetie, lemme explain something to you: You in a black leather jacket, AND when you were still wearing your hair long, is about as far from 'gay' as you can get!"

And I had hoped I'd be a bit more on the ball mentally if I ever encountered him in person again, but he still managed to zing me when I got to talk to him for a couple of minutes in Cheyenne in June of '06, and the fact that he actually recognized and remembered me at the show in Oneida this past summer was pretty much enough to knock every rational thought out of my head, so I guess my capacity for snappy comebacks still needs work. Then again, though, that might not be such a bad thing--maybe all I need is to make it to a few more shows and get in a bit more practice...