Allan Jamisen is a Phoenix-based artist who provides a heartfelt fusion of nostalgia and modern disillusionment with the track Rock & Roll American, which blends the swagger of classic rock with the contemplative lyricism of the genre. Using the spirits of the countercultural heroes, the likes of Elvis to Iggy Pop, Jamisen creates a song that is both timeless yet keenly in the present day, a statement about the broken nature of modern America.
The song is a masterpiece in terms of balance musically. Guitar riffs and twangy licks swagger and bring back the golden era of rock n roll, and hazy psychedelic touches and soulful backing vocals give it depth. The vocals of Jamisen are the focal point, melodic but battle-worn, fraught with the burden of his topics against the backdrop of a crooner with the attitude of a rebel. Produced by Danny Saber (The Rolling Stones, David Bowie) it guarantees a gloss on all levels, the staccato rhythm section as well as the ethereal fade-out that takes its place like a half-forgotten ideal.
In a lyric sense, Rock & Roll American is the reflection upon the lost utopias. Jamisen recalls the distance between the America which he had once believed in and the America of today, in which values seem to be perverted and twisted. But there is no out-and-out cynicism--it is rather a hard-nosed optimism, a determination that the rebel spirit shall not be killed. It is a feeling that is repeated in the genetic makeup of the music, which revivifies the primal power of the ‘60s and ‘70s rock, but does not rely on mere pastiche.
To a multifaceted artist like Jamisen, who is a painter and musician with Motown, art rock and European avant-garde heritage, this single is an epitome of his path. It is rock and roll seen through the eyes of a painter, heard through the ears of a poet and felt by the experienced hand of a veteran. Rock & Roll American does not simply go back to the past, it struggles with it, wondering what can be salvaged.
