JAG - The Only World In Town (CD) AOR Hard Rock, WhiteHeart & GIANT members
- Remastered and Reloaded
- For Fans of Whiteheart, Giant and Journey
- 6 Panel fold in Jewel Case
- Includes Lyrics
- Enhanced Cover, Photos and More
JAG - THE ONLY WORLD IN TOWN
THE ONLY WORLD IN TOWN (1991) JAG’s second album was “arena rock” all the way. Even more importantly, the songs on this album have some significance. First, Billy, while touring Australia with WHITEHEART, heard the hit song, "Hands up in the Air'' from the band BOOM CRASH OPERA and worked with JAG to record it as the first song on the album. The song, 'Two Worlds Collide", was going to be cut and recorded by the band GIANT. Since GIANT already had 14-15 songs for their album, John talked Billy into making it a JAG song. Dann Huff played all the guitars, and it became the 4th song on the album. The idea for the song The Only World In Town came from John's eight-year-old daughter. "We were driving along and I was talking about the monopolizing phone company, saying 'they were the only game in town'. Then my daughter, who was in the back of the car, pipes up. 'Hey papa, this is the only world in town.' The song looks at the way we are destroying this world of ours and speaks about the 'source' of all the world's problems, about how, until we get our hearts changed, the world won't change."
Lead Vocals: John Garies (Jag)
Lead Guitar: Paul Brittain
Drums: Chuck Connor
Bass: Michael Lusk
- Hands Up In The Air
- 40 Watt City
- What God’s Love Means
- Two Worlds Collide
- The Only World In Town
- Sense of Wonder
- Mastermind
- Somebody’s Watching You
- The Last Time I Looked
- Written In Stone
If you like Whiteheart, Idle Cure, The Brave, Journey and Foreigner, you'll want to keep reading...
JAG is similar to bands like Liason, Whiteheart, Nouveaux, The Brave, Idle Cure and Fighter. They are polished with a slick sound but also enough grit and guitar crunch to make them a favorite among Christian rock fans. They just might be the best under-promoted and under-appreciated AOR Hard Rock band of that era.
Strong songs loaded with powerful vocals and killer lead guitars solos thanks to Dann Huff (Giant, Whiteheart). It helps when you have Billy Smiley at the helm and David Martin, Phil Maderia doing song writing alongside. But the big surprise is you’ll actually swear you are listening to a Whiteheart album or even some reincarnation of a GIANT / WHITEHEART supergroup like Mr. Big, none of which is a bad thing. Anytime you can have members from such great bands helping you form your sound it can only be a plus. Billy’s hands on the throttle and Dann Huff (GIANT) handling most of the guitar work, both founding members of Whiteheart, helped put these albums in a different league.
Had these albums been released five years earlier, in the mid 80's they would have been all over the radio and the band would have played main stage at all the Christian rock festivals. We are grateful for the opportunity to have these remastered 30 years later. They deserve your attention and will command your respect.
Just listen...
THE EARLY BEGINNINGS
JAG started in 1987 when John Allen Garies released an independent cassette called IT’S YOUR CHOICE on the private label Steady Wind Records featuring 10 songs. It was released without much fanfare but just 2 years later, JAG, as John was known by, released SHAKE IT OFF by JAG AND THE BITE on 45rpm 7" Record (shown below) in 1989. 
This is where the story would normally say “That record got the attention of Billy Smiley, founding member of Whiteheart.” However the truth is JAG didn't cut his teeth in the insular CCM scene. Before becoming a Christian in 1979 he made his living "playing bars as a drummer/vocalist in Texas, playing blues by ZZ Top, Johnny Winter and Zeppelin." In 1986 John Allen Garies (JAG) released his first independently recorded album mentioned earlier and it did open a door for him when attended a Whiteheart show and somehow made his way onto the Whiteheart tour bus and gave Billy his SHAKE IT OFF tape.
Billy, impressed with what he heard, went on to produce 3 albums for the band, THE LONGEST ROAD (1990), THE ONLY WORLD IN TOWN (1991), and FIRE IN THE TEMPLE (1992).
