CD Review: Jesse Harris - Feel

Note: This article was cross-posted today at Blogcritics at this link:
http://www.blogcritics.org/archives/2007/07/17/061636.php

NYC singer/songwriter and former Grammy winner Jesse Harris is a busy man these days. He recently acted in and wrote the soundtrack to Ethan Hawke's film The Hottest State; the bulk of those songs were covered exclusively for the soundtrack by such indie stalwarts as Cat Power, M. Ward, Bright Eyes, Feist, and even Willie Nelson. Now, just in time for the middle of the summer season, Harris releases his seventh solo album, Feel, a collection of easygoing tropical folk pop ditties, some of which hint at or explore other genres.

There are six other musicians who play or sing on the record, but the work is clearly Harris's, as it always has been, even when he started out in 1999 as Jesse Harris and the Ferdinandos. He has since dropped the band from the name and made records as a solo artist, but made a wise decision in holding over bassist Tim Luntzel, whose electric and upright bass playing never outshines Jesse, but adds strong dynamics to his best work.

Though Feel is a long player chock full of slow and midtempo tracks, ironically, it moves along at a fast pace, with more than half of them checking in at under three minutes. The album itself is just under forty minutes long.

The loudest song (for Harris, anyway) comes first, with title track "Feel." It starts out with just a folky acoustic riff, followed by the rest of the band and then a solo done on a distorted electric guitar, which makes the first of its rather infrequent appearances on the record. Not that having minimal electric guitar here is a bad thing. Quite the opposite.

The next song, "I Don't Mind," has a steady, upright bass rhythm, light hand drumming by Andrew Borger - who previously worked with Norah Jones - and is the most peaceful, gorgeous acoustic-based track on the record. And for you guitarists out there, it's played with a capo on the fourth fret.

It's a perfect soundtrack for watching the sunset (instead of just looking at pictures of it, as Harris says he does in the song itself). The main melody Harris plays on acoustic guitar is bright yet quiet, and to these ears, has one note in particular that has a long, sustained ring that at first it sounds like it's coming from a wind instrument.

On the somewhat jazzy "Where To Start," you can almost picture Harris's former fellow Grammy-winning collaborator Norah Jones - who remade his Ferdinandos-era cut "Don't Know Why" in 2002 into a worldwide hit - saying, "Jesse, I can jazz this one up a bit too, if you'd like." Violinist Jenny Scheinman, who makes some appearances on Feel, also worked with Norah Jones on her debut hit record Come Away With Me.

Organist (and pianist) Jon Dryden gets to show off his skills a bit on some tracks, including "After All," which also features background vocals by guest Richard Julian, a Delaware-born folk artist, currently based in New York City.

Vibraphones and soft percussion (courtesy of Mauro Refosco) accompany the smoothly played acoustic melodies of "Walk On," while high-pitched piano chords highlight the breezy, weather-themed "The Wind." The similarly themed "How Could It Take So Long?" features Harris on banjo and harmonica, where he displays a hint of the blues. Speaking of bluesy pop stars, on these two tracks, Harris sounds a bit like John Mayer or David Gray, at least vocally; in the past, other critics have compared him to artists like Jackson Browne.

Overall, most of this record will get you through these lazy summer days, but there are some that are sleepy slow, most notably "If I Had No Name," or are half-decent but have heard it before, like the intimate, waltzy love song "You And Me."

Thankfully though, Jesse Harris saves arguably his best and most surprising (to these ears) composition for last, the reggae-inflected "Fire On The Ocean." Heavy on organ and percussion, this upbeat track, even if it's written in a minor key, ends the album on a happy, head-bopping note.

Feel has a more positive spirit and a little more rock (i.e. "Luxembourg") than in past efforts, and taken together, this album is solid, should not disappoint any fans of his previous work, and even breaks some new ground for the aging Jesse Harris, who is 37 years of age. The percussive elements (by Refosco) are new for Harris and were inspired by African/Brazilian music. "It Washed Away" is the prime example of that influence, with both Borger and Refosco on percussion and Refosco also on vibes.

The fact that this CD, as good as it sounds, was recorded in just three days, without much rehearsal at all is even more impressive. One wonders what other territory Harris could've explored with more time.

Finally, I must admit that initially, there were just a few songs on this CD I really liked. The album had to grow on me before I finally got it, and so probably spent more time trying to pick up on all the elements of it than Harris spent actually recording it. Now, I just let Feel play all the way through without a thought. That should tell you all you need to know about the quality of this recording. It's summertime music, so go check it out now while it's still hot!

For more info, visit his official site or his myspace page. Click here for the Jesse Harris Media Player.

Feel is in Internet and retail stores now on Velour Recordings.

Concert Review: Unwritten Law, July 1, 2007, Boston, At Axis

Note: This article was previously posted at Blogcritics at the following link:
http://www.blogcritics.org/archives/2007/07/07/170236.php

Warped Tour veterans and Southern California power punk rockers Unwritten Law came to Boston last Sunday, July 1st and rocked Axis, a small club across the street from Fenway Park, just hours after the Red Sox played.

For a Sunday night, the audience did show up, though it wasn't completely full to the brim. There were three opening acts, most notably Zebrahead, an Orange County, California punk/rap-rock band. The lack of a full house didn't seem to affect the band. In fact, Unwritten Law even had fun with the fans, with singer Scott Russo claiming early in the show that the last time he came to Boston, he was "wasted," then after some clatter said, "And you were too!."

This time around, the ambitious foursome from San Diego were here to promote The Hit List, their compilation of best known songs over a 17-year career that has found them covering lots of ground, from skate punk to hard rock and punk pop.

Tonight, they aimed to please their older fans, starting out with the excellent "Teenage Suicide" from their 1998 Self-Titled CD, then launching into heavy rockers like the acoustic-turned-grungy "Shoulda Known Better," where Russo even raps some verses.

"Celebration Song" came next and is perhaps one of the heaviest numbers in their catalog, and was followed by their semi-hit "Seein' Red." In the digital age we are in, the crowd took out their cell phones - instead of lighters, like the old days - and waved them in their air during the song's hypnotic instrumental parts and verses.

Well into the concert, Russo and guitarist Steve Morris traded cigarettes between new song "Welcome to Oblivion" and "Rest of My Life," done on acoustic by Russo, and the audience was then treated to such oldies as the Blink 182-ish "Shallow" and the crunch of "Up All Night."

Though the band was as tight as ever and Russo looked like he was having a blast, his stage antics were often hurting, not helping, him.

Shirtless for much of the show, Scott was dancing, smiling, and prancing around the stage a little too often, not singing into the microphone loudly enough at various points in the show. Don't know if he gave himself any of those mind-altering substances before the show that he referenced having taken the last time his band came to town, but Russo was at his best when he concentrated and had his guitar in hand. Yes, the crowd knew all the words to the songs and Russo fully realized this, but he let them sing a little too much (and should've sung out HIS lyrics a little more).

All in all, it was a strong set and a rockin' show, for a Sunday night, but with a little more energy and focus, it could've been even better.

Pearl Jam - Live At The Gorge (CD Box Set)

Note: This article was previously posted on Blogcritics.org at the following link:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/06/30/203304.php

Veteran Seattle rock heroes Pearl Jam have always been fan-friendly, especially when it comes to selling their concerts. Either they do it themselves or allow fan clubs to sell bootlegs of them to the public, whether they were fantastic, sloppy, or somewhere in between.

Looking for a unique way to highlight their 2005-2006 World Tour, Pearl Jam have now decided to officially release a seven-disc long box set of three of the most demanded concerts by their fans, all of which are from the same venue, The Gorge Ampitheatre in George, Washington. Judging by the CD sampler of the box set and the online streaming of the shows, it's easy to understand why the band would want their true fans to have these three epic performances together in one package.

The first three discs feature the September 1, 2005 show at The Gorge. This performance stands out not only because it officially kicked off their 2005-2006 World Tour, but because of the long acoustic set that begins the show. Standouts include the Jeff Ament-penned "Low Light," a slow, folky tune with lovely group vocals, and beloved oldies such as the Victoria Williams cover "Crazy Mary" and "Black," where the audience can be almost as loud as the band as they sing out the lyrics.

The electric set started with a slightly sped up version of "Given To Fly," and all throughout the rest of the show is a mix of old favorites like "Evenflow," "Alive," "Corduroy," and "State of Love and Trust," along with never played tunes like "Undone" and rarely played ones like "Sad." And then comes the three encores, which include a rare performance of Mother Love Bone's "Crown of Thorns," Tom Petty's classic "I Won't Back Down," "Last Kiss," and finally, The Who's "Baba O'Riley," which was done in pure raw, hard rock fashion.

CDs four and five have the July 22, 2006 performance and the last two have the July 23, 2006 show, which was the last one of their American leg of the tour before heading overseas. Both shows are equally amazing, long and exhausting, but what else would you expect from a band with a catalog as big and strong as Pearl Jam? Yes, there are some songs that are repeated from show to show ("Yellow Ledbetter" and "Given to Fly" in particular), but there are exactly 100 songs on this box set, and there's more than enough songs from Pearl Jam's back catalog to make the long-time fans happy (myself included).

The second show (July 22, 2006) starts off with the Ten b-side "Wash," followed by a slew of songs from the old and the new, including "Severed Hand," "Worldwide Suicide," and four more from last year's highly praised Pearl Jam disc. Other memorable performances from this show include a medley of "Daughter" and Dead Moon's "It's OK." The rarity "Dirty Frank," — which hadn't been played since 1994 — is followed by the often covered Neil Young anthem "Rockin' In The Free World" and show closer "Yellow Ledbetter."

Show number three (July 23, 2006) has another Neil Young cover often played over the years, "F*kin' Up," which sounds even heavier than the original, and a Hendrix cover, "Little Wing." Long-time fans will love the inclusion of "Rats," "Jeremy," "Garden" and "Animal" from this show, along with two songs that were made for a medley: "Betterman" and English Beat's "Save It For Later." The band doesn't even have to dramatically change the chords during the transition to the latter, as Eddie seamlessly adds the lyrics of "Save It" to the end of "Betterman."

Pearl Jam can still rock hard and for long periods of time, never showing signs of their age and nearly seventeen years of existence. The band is in peak form here. Their versatility is incomparable, and their energy on stage radiates toward the hometown audience, which seems to be enjoying nearly all seven-and-a-half hours of the three Gorge shows combined.

Finally, as for why these series of shows were chosen in particular for a box set, guitarist Mike McCready said in a recent interview that these were "above par" performances that really highlighted their 2005-2006 World Tour. In addition, McCready said the Gorge Ampitheatre, an outdoor venue, was the most beautiful setting he's ever played at, with the Columbia River as a backrop and a colorful sunset to play in view of. Hence, the gorgeous cover (and the set itself).

Until the DVD set comes out (one can only hope), this CD set will certainly do, and will satisfy anyone who has ever taken interest in Pearl Jam, who once again prove why they were and still are one of the best rock bands of our generation.

Pearl Jam's Live At The Gorge 05/06 CD Box Set is in stores this week. If you'd like to preview nine songs from the box set, check out the E-card here.