For those not in the know, packaged in a deluxe digipak with a 16 page booklet containing a brand new annotation and appreciation of the band by Alice Clark of Planet Rock, Cherry Red Records (UK) have just announced the 2CD+DVD Expanded Deluxe re-issue of the debut studio album Get Born by Australian rock band Jet.

The band line-up consisting of brothers Nic Cester and Chris Cester, Cameron Muncey and Mark Wilson was formed in 2002. Later that year, the band released the ‘Dirty Sweet’ EP, whose initial 1000 copies quickly sold out.

Subsequent to this, Elektra Records offered the band a recording contract and the following year on September 14th, 2003, Get Born was released.

The album has gone on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide including platinum status in USA, UK and Australia. The album spawned five Top 40 hit singles in the UK including ‘Rollover DJ’, ‘Cold Hard Bitch’, ‘Look What You’ve Done’ and the track that was the lead single from the album, ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’.

The album was critically acclaimed by the media including GQ calling it, “an irresistible mix of young punk vinegar and classic-rock baking soda…” Alternative Press gave it a rave review and found Jet’s songs “catchy” and their appeal “diverse”. Q magazine said that the album’s raw immediacy “belies its dated influences…”.

The band split up in 2012 but reformed in 2016 and since then have played a number of live shows including in 2018 a 15th anniversary Australian national tour for the album Get Born.

This carefully curated deluxe expanded 2CD+DVD re-issue brings together many rare and hard to find B-sides, edits and promo versions as well as a DVD containing promo videos and live performances.

Disc One:
1. 'Last Chance'
2. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl'
3. 'Rollover DJ'
4. 'Look What You've Done'
5. 'Get What You Need'
6. 'Move On'
7. 'Radio Song'
8. 'Get Me Outta Here'
9. 'Cold Hard Bitch'
10. 'Come Around Again'
11. 'Take It Or Leave It'
12. 'Lazy Gun'
13. 'Timothy'
14. 'Sgt. Major'
15. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' (Acoustic Version)
16. 'Bruises' (Demo)
17. 'Move On' (Live at Sirius Radio)
18. 'Cold Hard Bitch' (Edit with Intro)

While certainly nothing groundbreaking in originality, Get Born was a refreshing, fun, fine collection of rock/pop tunes. For me personally, the live, raw, recording style was a nice change from the overproduced, multi-track layered digital recordings of the modern technology era.

You can actually hear the hum of those tube amplifiers - and that's a good thing. Rock albums should not always be about perfection. Yeah, you'll hear licks and melody lines you know you've heard before, from the Stones, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, et al, but quite like no other band has ever borrowed/ripped off before, trust me!

I mean, come on now, there's truly only so much you can do with an A, E, and D chord! But Jet injects enough personality and effort into the performances to make Get Born more than just a clone album, that's for damn sure.

Indeed, what surprised me the most was the diversity of this album. The two main singles, 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' and 'Cold Hard Bitch' (with it's incredible riff) had me expecting a CD full of the same, but as we all know now, that was not to be the case.

The first ballad, 'Look What You've Done,' has Lennon/McCartney all over it whilst other tracks remind me of Matthew Sweet and even Fastball.

Again though, a refreshing variety lacking in many albums these days where artists look to be defined and fit into a certain niche; and to be marketed as such, of course.

Overall, Jet was/is a highly under-rated band that played some straight up, hard driving, rock 'n' roll. No frills here and that is just what I like about the band and their sound (especially here on this quite brilliant album).

Disc Two:
1. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' (Alternative Version)
2. 'Sweet Young Thing'
3. 'Cold Hard Bitch' (Edit)
4. 'You Don't Look The Same' (Demo)
5. 'Lazy Gun' (Demo)
6. 'Ain't That A Lotta Love'
7. 'Back Door Santa'
8. 'Cold Hard Bitch' (Edit #2)
9. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' (Live from Sessions @ AOL)
10. 'Everlovin' Man'
11. 'Hey Kids'
12. 'Move On' (featuring The Stands) (Live at Brixton Academy)
13. 'Cigarettes & Cola' (Demo)
14. 'That's Alright Mama' (Live at the Sirius Studios in New York, May 29th, 2003)
15. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' (Live from XFM)
16. 'Cold Hard Bitch' (Live 08/07/2003)
17. 'Take It Or Leave It' (Live in Hamburg)

This second disc features the aforementioned rare and hard to find B-sides, edits and promo versions, with stand outs being the brilliantly poppy 'Back Door Santa,' the thunderous Zeppelin-esque 'Ain't That A Lotta Love,' the Hammond-imbued, psych-flow of 'Hey Kids,' the tremendous 'Move On' (featuring The Stands) recorded live at the Brixton Academy, and then the low key, gentle hum of 'Cigarettes & Cola.'

DVD:
1. 'Take It Or Leave It' (Promo Video)
2. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' (Promo Video)
3. 'Rollover DJ' (Promo Video) 4. 'Rollover DJ' (Live from Pentonville Prison Officers Club) (Video) 5. 'Cold Hard Bitch' (Promo Video) 6. 'Rollover DJ' (Promo Video International Version)
7. 'Look What You've Done' (Promo Video) 8. 'Get What You Need' (Live from the Astoria Theatre, London) (Video)
9. Behind-The-Scenes Footage (Video)

Official 2CD+DVD DigiPak Purchase Link