SYDSVENSKA DAGBLADET
September 10, 1999
by Hakan Engström

Three years ago, radio channel P3 of the National Swedish Radio chose Lund as Pop Town of the Year. A very wise decision.

Next year, Lund could very well be chosen as Honky Tonk Town of the Year by P3, but that's not likely to happen. Not that year, nor any other year. And no other town, for that matter.

Jake & The Spitfires are quite alone - in Lund and in the rest of Sweden - in playing this kind of pure Country with such unmistakable authority. They won't even glance at the trendy "alternative" Country Rock, and even less at the commercial, fool-proof convenience store Country. Instead, the band works hard to make genuine Country of the hard-hitting kind. They come close to Rockabilly, Western Swing and rootsy Pop, but that's mainly because these styles have developed from the kind of music that Jake & The Spitfires love the most and take their departure in.

Jakob "Jivin"' Jern is the guy at the front of the stage, he writes the tunes and keeps the band together, but in spite of a string of well-written and style-conscious songs it's another feature of the band that is the most impressive: The guitarists.

There are two of them, which should be obvious to anyone who listens for more than ten minutes. Here we have, to be sure, two individualistic intrumentalists, two guys with their own particular styles of playing. They each attack the songs from their own flank, and thus avoid stepping on each other's toes.

Marshall Karlsson is the adamant rock~n'roll guitarist who stomps in with the boot heels sticky with mud. Johan Ek is the nimble dandy with a neater sound ideal, more unequivocaly rooted in Country. The dynamic between them both ultimately becomes the dynamic of the band's whole expression. They certainly keep busy, and Spitfires do more than one could reasonably ask from just one band..
 
 

REAL MUSIC LISTAN
September20, 1999
by Jonas Öhman

Jake & The Spitfires "Due West" (Ramblin' Records/MD):

The reigning Swedish King of Country makes his debut on Ramblin' Records with his best album to date. Jake appears, even more than before, as a solo artist than a band member, even though the band is technically well developed and very exciting to listen to. Jake's voice has matured considerably since the last record and lends excellent credibility to Marten Sandens lyrics.

Playing Honky Tonk without Steel Guitar and Fiddle is hard, but it works if you, like The Spitfires, have two technichally brilliant but diverse guitarists: Marshal Karlsson who sounds like a Swedish Pete Anderson, and Johan Ek with his burtonesque extravaganzas. In the name of honesty it should be mentioned that The Spitfires in their recorded form are reinforced with Thomas Johansson on Steel Guitar and Eva Wiberg on Fiddle.
 

SVENSKADAGBLADET
September 10, 1999
by Magnus Eriksson

"Everything is in place: Jakob Jern's twang and strong melodies, Marten Sandens superb lyrics, nice picking with Johan Ek's James Burton-guitar as most prominent feature, but dirtier than before. Jake & The Spitfires from Lund play honest-to-God, pure and solid Honky Tonk and Due West re-affirms their unofficial Swedish number-one status in the genre."
 
 

EXPRESSEN/GT/KVP
August 27, 1999
by Olle Berggren

"Austin, Texas has found a spiritual neighbour in Lund. And Jake is the standard bearer there. On "Due West" Jake has found his niche in the rougher Honky Tonk-culture and Bakersfield Pop-Country. Perhaps the first Swedish Country artist worthy of being exported to Nashville or Austin."
 

THE RURAL ROUTE
September, 1999
by Henning Kleiven

If I didn't have the press release at hand, I would never have guessed that Jake & The Spitfires were from Sweden. My initial guess would have been Bakersfield or at least the US west coast. Due West is the kind of album where you keep checking the song credits to find out who wrote the songs ("surely, this must be a Buck Owens song" or "Wasn't this on Dwight Yoakam's Guitars, Cadillacs, etc.?">. Because this is genuine trucker country and honky tonk played by a bunch of outstanding musicians. Fitting then, that one of the best tracks is called "Looks Like The Real Thing" - a track that would fit in nicely on the Rig Rock DeLuxe compilation. Jake sings like a young R'n'R Joe Ely in "Sweetheart" and "Singing Man's Prayer" is pure country gospel. The fourth (?) album on the excellent Ramblin' label is also the best yet, and I can't wait to catch Jake & The Spitfires live."
 

BAROMETERN
September 10, 1999
by Tommy Granlund

"For a long time, they were the only Swedish Country band to take seriously. Now, a few others who play real Country have come along, but Jake & The Spitfires confirm their undisputable position on the throne of Swedish Country. In a time when it becomes increasingly hard to find American Country albums that are truly genuine, it is, of course, remarkable that Jake & The Spitfires from Ska⁰ne play better Honky Tonk, more genuine Country than almost everything I've heard in a very long time. 'Honky Tonk World' and standard. The songs are amost without exception fast, with a steady beat and lots of rhythm. A very good guitarist and Jake, who sings with a strong sense of style and credibility. Best of all, they don't try to fake anything to sound American, as so much of the Swedish novelty- Country. Jake & The Spitfires are sharp, genuine and believable in their music. Due West is sharper and more even than their previous albums, and it manages very well to capture the attack of the band's live sound."
 

AFTONBLADET
September 8, 1999
by Frank Östergren

"...Now to something more uplifting, actually Made In Sweden: Jake & The Spitfires have in the past not quite succeeded in synchronizing results with ambitions, but their new "Due West" ~amblin' Records) is excellent Swedish New Country. The same visionary impact as Jesper Lindbergh and his Hounds of Heaven succeeded in having 25 years ago."
 

AFTONBLADET
September 17, 1999
by Markus Larsson

"Jake & The Spitfires have a more traditional grip on their instruments than in the Country Rock which is gaining a little foothold in Sweden through bands like Deeptone and Alimony. It's more Lefty Frizzell than Wilco. You sense chicken wire in front of the stage, tobacco chewing, gunsmoke in the hall and Honky Tonk in the legs. "Due West" is best enjoyed from horseback."
 

KRISTIANSTADSBLADET
September 4, 1999
by Anders Martensson

He's man enough for his Stetson, Jakob Jern from Ska⁰ne. It's not just the attitude that's Country - Jakob, alias Jake, and his Spitfires are Country all the way. Perhaps a bit too much George Formby-pastiche now and then, but the main part of the tracks on "Due West" definitely cast Jake And The Spitfires as a band with a solid grounding in the Bakersfield school of Buck Owens.
Mter a few quick rounds of songs like "Hollywood Sky", "Suitcase Full Of Nothing" and "So Long" it's no wild guess to assume that Jakob Jern has listened quite a bit to the stuff the Alvin brothers recorded with The Blaster. We can hear definite echoes of the 80's Los Angeles club scene, but also Historical Preservation Honky Honk from a town just south of. It's as cool as anything, and definite proof that every rule has its exception: Country music doesn't have to be made in the U.S. Five guys from Lund, Sweden will do nicely.
 
 

NERIKES ALLEHANDA
September 10, 1999
by Hakan Pettersson

The band from Lund play Country (&Western) with a traditional foundation and few revolutionary surprises. However, they possess a grounding and an initiated sense of style, and I'm not just talking about Jake's white Stetson, that is completely unparallelled within the borders of this country. To boot, they can handle all musical styles from hard-rocking rockabilly-tinged Country to pure Gospel, and when they do a ballad (the very beautiful "Veterans' Day") without losing themselves in sentimentality, it's pretty close to magical.
 

AVIS I (Norway)
September 8, 1999
by Erik Valebrokk

It's time to pay a visit to our brothers in the east, to the south of Sweden, where Jake & The Spitfires for a number of years have done their best to distance themselves from the curse of the dance-band Country. This lot have chosen their name with care. Their music sounds pretty much like a fighter plane - an angry one - and is an intense and energetic mix Western Swing, Jive, Rockabilly, Honky Tonk Country and Rythm'n'Blues - in short, Rock'n'Roll.

Due West is their third album, released on the relatively new and discriminating label Ramblin' Records, who bear the slogan "Lund Nashville Austin" as a clear indication of what they think of the ultra-hip club dudes on the Swedish scene. Jake, or Jivin'Jake Jern which is his full name as a solo artist, has a marvellous voice somewhere between The Blasters' Phil Alvin and The Rainmakers' Bob Walkenhorst. The band, which features two guitarists, is rock bottom solid and tight, with a true understanding of American guitar-based Rock and Country. On top of that, the English lyrics are good, with a certain warm Country-irony that spices up the many stories of love lost and found, tears and joy, beer and moonshine and honey and bees.

This is a nothing less than a brilliant record that should remain one of the surest party albums of the year. Who would have thought that about Country from Sweden! But stay tuned, Jake & The Spitfires are not the only Swedes who can play Country.
 

LÄNSTIDNINGEN ÖSTERSUND
September 10, 1999
by Björn Bostrand

These guys from Ska⁰ne have an impressive scope of Country. On their third album, they range from traditional to Hardcore without wobbling the tiniest bit on the high boot heels. Jake Jern and his pilots sometimes sound as genuinely whining as many dance bands wish they could, but never can. Nut mostly, the album's twelve original Country songs are spiked with a generous dose of Rock'n'Roll in a manner you've never heard a Swedish band pull off before. Because it must be about quality when you find yourself thinking of Jason And The Scorchers and Long Ryders, right? This band must be totally awesome live. Next stop Stockholm, perhaps?
 
 

HELSINGBORGS DAGBLAD
September 18, 1999
by Tord Thorderup

"Swedish Country albums that sound genuine is not something one is spoiled with, but wonders have not yet ceased. The new
CD from Jake & The Spitfires, the well known lads from Ska⁰ne, contains twelve tracks of good original material Honky Tonk and Rockabilly scuffle with traditional Country, the lyrics are good throughout and the accessible melodies show that they've captured the essence of the spirit of Country. The singer, Jake Jem, makes a strong impression with his renditions where feeling and, not least, a good American accent is impressive."