Jim Jones – Storyteller: Tales From The West
This this release the much-awarded singer/songwriter/author Jim Jones has teamed up with the much-awarded Texas producer/singer/musician Merel Brigante. The result just might be…well, award-winning!
More than has been the case with any Jones release to date, this one draws on specific historical fact. And he has worked with more co-writers than usual on this project. More back-up musicians, too, which enables richer production values, and I seem to get a sense here… even beyond just honoring the words…that the origins and histories themselves were shown a certain reverence in performance and restrained arrangement. Remarkable!
Picks include two Allan Chapman collaborations “Learning To Let Go” and “Rocking Chair,” “Mustanger” (co-written with Mariam Funke about the inter-species communication talents of freed slave Bob Lemmons), “Ride For The Brand” (based on an RG Yoho poem and bearing a message one hopes more will take to heart than might seem ready to at present), the sad “The Queen Is Dead (The Last Grizzly)” cowritten with Randy Brown and “They Dance,” the personal tribute to his (and our) friends Doug and Betty Jo Carter. How they danced!! Ten tracks total, highly recommended.
CD: (available through jimjoneswestern.com/)
– by Rick Huff
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Jim Jones – Storyteller: Tales From The West