Jeff Black - B-Sides and Confessions, Volume Two

Jeff Black – B-Sides and Confessions, Volume 2
2013, Lotos Nile Music

Jeff Black brings old school, road-warrior attitude into the digital age.  No stranger to the highways and byways, Black also uses his podcast, Black Tuesdays, to connect fans and try out new things.  The result is that Black has one of the most fervent followings in the alt-Americana genre.  Acknowledged as a top-notch songwriter, Black has had songs recorded by artists such as Alison Krauss, Waylon Jennings, Dierks Bentley, Sam Bush and Blackhawk.  Jeff Black returns on January 15, 2013 with B-Sides and Confessions, Volume 2, and just like a train with cargo to deliver, Black shows no signs of slowing down.

The confessions begin with “All Right Now”, a musical monologue for a man who has gone through hell and come out the other side.  The folksy-blues arrangement is subtle and not overdone, allowing Black’s rough-hewn voice to hold sway.  It’s a compelling opening salvo. “Molly Rose” takes on the expected Celtic air in a tragic song of love and valor.  It’s a reminder that sometimes when you win you lose, and sometimes when you lose; you win.  Black’s deft handling of the vocal/story-telling is a master-class in the art of the singer-songwriter.  “Avalon” is about a man willing to forsake all for a magical world.  This quixotic quest plays out in spite of loved ones at home, and listeners can argue over whether the quest is noble or ill-gotten, the picture of a man obsessed to move heaven and earth to find a dream is crystal clear.

Black next settles into the plaintive tones of “Impala”, a quiet contemplation featuring Black’s voice intermingled with piano and guitar.  This ‘down’ moment has the air of quiet reflection, a moment not generally open to the air revealed here in song.  “Alice Carry” is a quiet reflection on love; marriage, family and a life full of memories.  Black brings the character of Alice alive here as a living, breathing person full of the spark of life.  Memories flow like laughter and tears, and the characters and places Black describes are palpably real.  “Days On End” has a listless feel – not the song but the character; a deep melancholy and fatalism descend over the song like a pall.  Artistically and musically this song is striking, though one of the quieter moments on the album.

“Miss Me” has a sort of trouble beauty to it.  It’s a song of apology from a man who went away and is finally finding his way home.  Reasons are hard to come by, but understanding of his needs descends all the same.  It’s a song full of human frailty and need from a man who is still trying to figure things out, but finally understands where he belongs.  Black gets down to an old-time country/folk feel that’s reminiscent of Bob Dylan in “A Evil Lesson Is Soon Learned”.  This entertaining number has a free-form feel that’s catchy, but Black doesn’t sacrifice an ounce of his story-teller’s pastiche in the process. 

“Good Old Days” is a song of wisdom, reminding listeners that these are the days we will one day look back on.  It’s a carpe diem message of sorts; a reminder to make the most of the moment so that when you look back to here one day it’s not with regret.  Black’s gritty vocal is the perfect match to a minimalist arrangement that nevertheless explodes with quiet energy.  “True Love Never Let Me Down” is a Springsteen-esque declaration of simple truths.  Black explores the song’s backwaters with a tumbling arrangement that seems to accentuate the thought behind the lyrics, but the declarative nature of the song and its repetitive theme lend power to the message.  “Remain” is another quiet reflection on simple truths.  Love and the ties that band are the powerful magic in this song, and Black navigates them as a man who never truly understands but appreciates the magic nonetheless.  B-Sides And Confessions, Vol. 2 closes with the contemplative strains of “Sunday Falling”, nicely wrapping the song cycle with memories of an idyllic Sunday afternoon.  Black paints pictures with words here that are hard to ignore.

Jeff Black brings gritty beauty and grace to a collection of memories, stories and observations on B-Sides And Confessions, Vol. 2.  If we’re never entirely clear on where the lines between memory, reverie and hope stand then nothing has been lost.  Black paints over the edges in seamless fashion, allowing the listener to suspend disbelief for an hour or so and simply be in the music.  This is, perhaps, a musicians’ greatest gift to his/her fellow man; the ability to transcend, suspend and simply be.  Black plies that gift, that talent, to perfect here.  B-Sides and Confessions, Volume 2 is nothing less than a Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

 Learn more at www.jeffblack.com. 

Review: Ali Gray - Johnson Street

Ali Gray - Johnson Street
2009, Starlilly Records

Minnesota native Ali Gray flies in the face of convention. Her first album, Let You In was roots rock with a country feel. Recorded with producer Patrik Tanner, Let You In had Ali Gray on track to run with the likes of Martina McBride and Faith Hill. Gray's apparently never heard that success tends to breed conformity, so when she set out to record her sophomore album, Johnson Street, Gray decided to go for more of a Rock N Roll sound. Drawing on a mid-western sensibility, a little bit of that Americana feel and some good old fashioned classic Rock N Roll, Gray has fashioned an album that should do more than just compete for a spot on year end lists.

Gray comes roaring out of the box with an unrepentant kiss-off song with a bit of blues-rock guitar in its ancestry in Out Of My Way. Gray has the clear tone of a Faith Hill while having a bit of that rough-road quality that Bonnie Raitt brings to the fore. This is one rocking song and is stylistically ambiguous enough to have a shot at crossing over between Rock and Country formats. (You'll Never Make A) Mrs. Out Of Me is kiss-off song, part two. Less brazen than Out Of My Way, Mrs. Out Of Me is more cutting and personal; a great tune with a melody you'll want to sing along to. Till The Stars Go Away would make a great radio single, sounding like it stepped right out of the 1980's. The song is very catchy and memorable and isn't fluffy like your typical Pop/Rock song. Gray goes for reverie and longing on Dream You Again, and her voice takes flight on a song that sounds like it could be a classic.

Devil's Angels is a rockin' Country anthem for a night out on the town for a group of young ladies. The hook in the chorus will get stuck in your noggin and drag you along in spite of yourself. This song, with the right push, takes over country radio for several weeks, settling in somewhere near the top of the radio charts. Bank on it. Your Dreams is a rueful look at a relationship where dreams aren't shared but conflict one with the other. The narrator here decides to walk away, fully in love with the man, but knowing its best for both of them to have what they want, if not who. Come Over Again could be the logical epilogue, or a "transitional man song". The relationship in this song isn't about love but about hiding from and maybe even healing from a broken heart. Keys And Kisses is a song about making a clean break from an unfulfilling relationship. Gray recounts all that she's put into the relationship and what little she gets out. The arrangement is pure Pop/Country and may have real commercial legs.

If You Love Me is another surefire hit. It's a Pop/Rock love song with a bit of health skepticism woven in. The song is catchy with a memorable melody; the sort you walk around humming for the rest of the day after first hearing the song. Pretty Cameo Star sounds like the theme song of the "other woman", the one perpetually in the background who likely wants something more. Full of melancholy and regret, she longs for her moment in the sun. If Devil's Angels is an anthem for the younger set, Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad might be a theme for the disaffected married ladies in the crowd. The narrator has tired of seeing her husband running around on the seedier side of light and decides that if that's what he wants, it's exactly what he's going to get. The same young ladies that would have raised their glasses to Devil's Angels twenty years ago will be whooping it up to this one.

One of the reasons I write this blog is that every so often an unknown artist comes out of left field and simply blows you away. There are talented folks all over the world writing songs in notebooks while they hold down day jobs, and some of them are even making music on a local or regional basis. Talents like Ali Gray, while rare, do exist and deserve to heard be larger audiences than they might attract in their home markets. Johnson Street is a breath of fresh air, bouncing back and forth between Country, Pop and Blues-driven Rock. Gray has a mesmerizing voice; the sort that other artists long to be compared to. The songwriting on Johnson Street is superb, and the weakest songs might have a shot at radio play. Check out Johnson Street; this sort of album doesn't happen every day. Johnson Street is Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Ali Gray at http://www.aligray.com/ or www.myspace.com/aligray. Johnson Street will be released on November 19, 2009. You can purchase a copy of Johnson Street from CDBaby.com. Ali Gray will be celebrating the release of Johnson Street with a release party at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Thursday, November 19, 2009. If you're in town you might want to check out the show.