There are not many who heard of Tom Jans but those who did all heard of Tom Waits. But not all who heard of Tom Waits heard of Tom Jans so:
About 25 years back Tom Jans was as much an artist's artist as Tom Waits. The larger part of the public knew their names only by reading. Waits' name was in a kind of hip Apache-style on the sleeve of The Eagles On the border as the writer of OL'55 and Jans' name was on an Elvis record. He wrote Loving arms, since then covered by just about everyone (I prefer Millie Jackson to the Dixie Chicks here). By the mid-seventies both were solidly anchored on the Westcoast. Remember these are the years TW sang, voluntary or not, alongside Jackson Browne on the Bonnie Raitt-album Homeplate and wrote Tijuana with Jack Peaceful easy feeling Tempchin. Waits & Jans must have known each other from this time on. West Hollywood wasn't bigger than it is now and besides that there was ... Bette Midler who seemed to be on friendly terms with both Toms in those days.
Tom Jans started as a more or less conventional folksinger. He made a record together with Mimi Farina (Joan Baez' sister) and an untitled solo-album for A&M in 1972. At this point Jans got in touch with Lowell George and he started to work with the clan around Little Feat. Two minor masterpieces came from that: The Eyes of an only child in 1975 and Dark blonde in 1976. What made them special is the original perspective in the songs and their wide scope. Intense love songs are combined with songs that deal with the state of society, the Spanish Franco-regime etc. and it all seems to fit in. What keeps it together is autobiography. In fact the two records seem to be two episodes out of a larger work. This guy was trying to give shape to his life by putting it on records. So when in the Spring of 1977 Jans came to Europe and told his eager interviewers that he rented studio-time to record the next part that summer, a select group of fans couldn't wait for it's results. But then it became very silent and after years of waiting the news couldn't have been worse. In 1984 Jans died, probably in connection with depression & dope although there are also reports he was involved in a car accident shortly before. Bette Midler put up an advertisement to his memory in Billboard in which the lyrics of My mother's eyes were printed and that was it. Until Bone machine came out.
The beautiful thing about Whistle down the wind which is dedicated to Tom Jans is that it fits in Waits' idiom as much as in that of Jans. Those who know the work of Jans well can actually hear him sing this song. For a long time I thought it must have been written earlier than the rest of Bone machine (Jans died 8 years before, Kathleen not co-writing, the more conventional style than the rest of the songs) but since I heard Mule variations I'm not so sure about that anymore.
So much for the history, here's the mystery:
Once in a while after Jans' tragic death articles emerged in different magazines with references to a mysterious last record which nobody had actually heard. It's called Champion and it must have been released in the US only in 1982. What is known is who collaborated on the album (the same LA-bunch as on the earlier records (including Steve Lukather), which even opens the possibility that it is in fact a late release of the planned '77 record). Well, of course there are (sometimes funny) rumours: Once there was a guy in Tokyo who had a copy but wasn't in the possession of a recording-machine (we're talking about Japan here!). There are roadies who had a tape of it but lost it, or they just can't find it or whatever. The people who actually played on the album don't react at all or only confirm that they have known Jans and played with him. Why? Well, maybe they think the record is not worth the fuss, a lack of interest in a project that wasn't too succesful, copyright problems, or simply a story that is too sad to be reminded of. Still, it's a shame that (the) story is incomplete, so if someone ever comes across ... let it be known...
A few years ago The Eyes of an only child and Dark blonde were released on CD on Sony Records in Japan. At least in Holland they're in some cheap import bins.
tomjans.com, April 1999
