Targal, Jem
Luckey Guy
A Turkish leprechaun by birth, with a childhood fully immersed in music and art, Jem first made his mark as vocalist/bassist/main songwriter for the Detroit power-trio legends Third Power. After the band drifted apart in 1972, a despondent Jem took up home recording, laying down hours of tape on a Teac 4-track. The best cuts were selected and 'Luckey Guy' was self-released in 1978, with Jem pasting up the gatefold covers and handling all sales himself in true DIY fashion. Never staying with one style too long, the album flits among spaced-out guitar ('Bumble Bee Drive'), tortured, dissonant piano ('Ring Out The Bells'), and a sparse, apocalyptic tale ('The Bomb Tune') and Jem's eeeeeeerie harmonies woven throughout, and few cues to indicate it's mid-'70s vintage.