Label: Flyin'
Category: Music
Average customer rating:
Media: Audio CD
UPC: 634457118027
EAN: 0634457118027
ASIN: B00001IVH9
Release Date: 1999-09-07
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Artist:
Jon Shain
Label: Flyin' Category: Music Average customer rating:
Media: Audio CD UPC: 634457118027 EAN: 0634457118027 ASIN: B00001IVH9 Release Date: 1999-09-07 |
Contemporary Blues
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Blues
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Styles
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Music
Traditional Blues
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Blues
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Styles
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Music
Alt-Country & Americana
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Country
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Styles
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Music
General
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Contemporary Folk
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Folk
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Styles
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Music
General
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Folk
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Styles
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Music
Traditional Folk
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Folk
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Styles
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Music
General
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Pop
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Styles
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Music
General
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Traditional Country
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Country
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Styles
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Music
Pop Rock
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Pop
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Styles
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Music
General
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Bluegrass
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Country
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Styles
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Music
Contemporary
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Bluegrass
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Country
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Styles
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Music
Tracks:
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Customer Reviews:
A well balanced, well rounded rollicking debut album.......1999-09-30
But all parallels with Bob aside, "Brand New Lifetime" is a well conceived debut solo effort, an album that brings a little of everything to the table for everyone. In one package, this album combines the folk, country, rock, bluegrass, rockabilly and blues influences that underscore Jon's musical background. It's an extremely listenable album that leaves you wanting to hear more, from the energetic and enthusiastically played "A Light Still Shines," to the album's finale, "Meet Me in the Morning," a live tribute from what is arguably Bob's most widely acclaimed production ("Blood on the Tracks").
"A Light Still Shines," my favorite song on this album, will grab your attention right out of the gate. The sound is reminiscent of some distant combination of Jackson Browne (perhaps the lap steel) and Linda Ronstadt (Ashley Carter's backing vocals), but what really sets this song apart, aside from its high energy and enthusiasm, is the fact that if you close your eyes and listen to it, you can really see Jon laughing with glee as he plays. This song is joy and hope personified, lyrically and aurally.
I'm also partial to "Virginia City Girl," a crooning rockabilly tune about that girl in high school or college that you always wanted to be with, but to whom you could never express yourself without feeling like a total dork. Believe me, I've been there and the lyrics to this tune captures the essence of that awkwardness well. "Brand New Lifetime," the title track to this album, is seductive in its simplicity, and a close second to "A Light Still Shines" as my favorite song on this album. The lyrics are clever, almost Dalian if you will, and the percussion, courtesy of drummer Mark Simonsen, definitely keeps your foot tapping.
To the extent that an album has to have its obligatory love song, "Sapphire Sky" more than holds its own. Neither too cheesy nor too mellow (the two biggest pitfalls of any love song) you can even boogey to this tune if you are so inclined and never realize what a touching love song this really is. "Porcupine Rag" isn't one of my favorites, but it does bring to my mind Bugs Bunny cartoons - why, I don't know, but it just does, and for that reason alone, is worth, I think, a listen.
Two other tunes on this album also stand out to my ears: "Loan Me a Year," featuring some fast-paced acoustic guitar work by Jon with John Currie capably accompanying on the dobro, and "Child of Tomorrow's Summers," a scathing commentary on the consume today, to h___ with tomorrow attitude that seems to define Americana as we know it today. "Child's" lyrics are about as brutal as you'll ever hear Jon get, but I think anyone who listens to this song will certainly find it appropo for our times.
All in all, this is a well-rounded album with a tune and a mood to fit almost any moment. The only reason this album doesn't get five stars from me is because I believe that Jon's best is yet to come. For a debut solo effort, however, this truly is an original and reflects a versatility in style rarely seen in debut albums. Having heard Jon do a little Dylan (if any of you have ever seen him perform, he does a fantastic rockabilly cover of "Walkin' Down the Line,") the one question that this album begs in my mind is whether Bob could pull off say, "A Light Still Shines." With all due respect to Bob, I think not, but if there's a song that's going to define Jon's budding career, that one to me, should be it. This album is definitely a keeper and worth a night of boogeying if you happen to see Jon in town.
Music CD:
Music CD
A Arte de Caetano Veloso ~ Caetano Veloso