Toy Matinee, “The Ballad of Jenny Ledge”
What’s there to say about Toy Matinee…? They came quick and didn’t stay long, and during the brief period they existed, their most impressive feat as a band was securing Julian Lennon to contribute guest vocals to their lone, self-titled album.
Sounds woefully unimpressive, no…?
Well, the thing is, the two guys who made up Toy Matinee were Patrick Leonard – who produced Madonna’s True Blue, Roger Waters’ Amused To Death, Jewel’s Spirit, and Elton John’s Songs from the West Coast, among many others – and Kevin Gilbert, who’s written songs for Sheryl Crow, engineered Michael Jackson’s Dangerous, and played keyboards for Susanna Hoffs.
So, basically, it didn’t matter what Toy Matinee did; they had plenty of other avenues to fall back on…which is good, given that Toy Matinee did precisely jack.
In 1990, no-one was looking for the second coming of Steely Dan. Too bad, since that’s exactly what “The Ballad of Jenny Ledge” was. Arguably the best song on an album full of consistently solid pop-rock tracks, it tells the tale of one Jenny Ledge, who was “tempted by half-Elvis, half man-about-town, and a life of ease.” Great song, but one woefully out of place at its time of release. Check out the video…
…and if you like what you hear, go yell at iTunes to make the album available for download so you can hear the whole thing.
Posted in: Lost Bands, Pop, Rock, Songs
I’m pulling this record out right this second. It’s been way too long since I spun it. What’s this one going for on eBay?
A good question. It was out of print, then they released a special edition with a few bonus tracks…but I think they’re BOTH out of print now.
I recall this album being a big bargain bin item at the time. Seems like the damn thing couldn’t even sell cheap.
Kevin Gilbert sadly passed away (suicide) a few years after this masterpiece was released. He was a member of THE TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB BAND who was the backup band to Sheryl Crow on her debut album. These guys also plays on this album. Kevin and Sheryl were a couple at this time as well. But after the success of the album it wasn’t that funny to stay with the band any longer so Sheryl went away… Even if the guys play, recorded and wrote the material together with her.
Pat Leonard did a followup album to Toy Matinee. It was under the name THIRD MATINEE and on that album Richard Page from MrMister was the man behind the mic.
Kevin did some marvellous solostuff as well. His album THUD is a masterpiece and his conceptalbum The Shaming Of The True is also a masterpiece. He also had a band in the 80’s called Giraffe who released two cool hitech sort of 80’s progcd’s. It was under a bandcompetition where Giraffe contended Pat saw Kevin at the first time and they became friends.
I LOVE “The Ballad of Jenny Ledge.” It has been the closest thing I have had to an anthem and has been since I was 16 (that was a long time ago). Perhaps shallow, but the song still rings true for me. I just put it on my MP-3 player the other day.
Well, I loved the album from the start, payed full price for it, and it is still one of my favs! I keep it in good shape so that I can keep it on all of my players!
I suggest listening with an open mind…..the songs The Toy Matinee and There Was A Little Boy are amazing. Have looked at what this album goes for these days? a Steely Dan copy??? REALLY?