While I was going through some 70s vinyl last week to find "The War Of The Worlds", I stumbled across an album I haven't listened to in years. It used to be one of my favourites and was one of the first albums I ever bought. So I had to have another listen to "Caught Up" by Mille Jackson. It's another concept album, one you listen to from start to finish that tells a story as it goes. This one was released in 1974 and is all about the break up of a marriage. Side One is the lover's story. Side Two is the wife's story.
What struck me first of all was that was when I listened to this album originally with my schoolfriends in the 1970s, we all thought it was very modern and shocking. It doesn't feel like that now. I also remember that we always used to be on the side of the lover. Now when I listen to it I can feel for both the women equally. I still find the album very powerful, but these days it also leaves me feeling sad, I don't think I will be listening to it regularly.
There are a couple of tracks on the album that have been recorded by other artists but in both cases I prefer the Mille Jackson versions. The first track on the lover's side is "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want To Be Right)" It is 10 minutes and 42 seconds of raw emotion and I am always left cheering on the lover. Then the last track on the wife's side is "Summer (The First Time)" and by the last few notes there are tears on my face, and I can feel the emotions as if I was that woman on the beach.
PS. There is a follow up album! Released in 1975 called "Still Caught Up". It is in my download shopping cart now. I have never heard it and I am fascinated to know how the story continues. But we'll leave that for another day, I think I have had enough emotional anquish for now!
