Jenn Adams
White Boxer Music
P.O. Box 604, Stevensville, MT 59870
Well, I always say the true test of any good album is how often you put it on, so this one wins…. I played it a bit, then retired it thinking it was too annoying, then tried it again on a lark, played it four times in a row, and was hooked ever since.
Jenn Adams mixes it all up, you can’t define it particularly, it’s a folk blues jazz combo with lots of guitar and piano, and melodies that soar well outside the box. She doesn’t stick with a square rhythm, or an easy melody. And in an era when much songwriting bitches and moans and leaves you feeling empty, Jenn can put a smile on your face.
Mostly I like the songs better than are more upbeat… they just sparkle a bit more… My faves are “Joliet,” “Everything Good,” and “Speed of Light.” “Everything Good” was a finalist at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriting Contest in Colorado, and she won first place in the 2001 Founders Title Company Folk and Bluegrass Festival Songwriters Contest in Park City, UT.
What works with “Everything” is just the sheer joy of it all, the noodling guitar, the straightforward piano chords, the metallic bass, and just how it flies along, and suddenly it’s gone.
The album closes with Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower,” a duet with Malcolm Holdcombe. And everyone knows the best way to hear a Dylan song is for someone else to sing it. Sometimes she’s more bluesy, as in “Not Tonight,” sometimes she’s just “out there” as in “Mozambique Is Burning,” which is a bit emotional and heavy, and could probably even go a step farther in getting its point across.
Honestly, some songs aren’t as good as others, but it all fits together well, and it’s easy enough to push “play” on the CD player and know you’ll feel a bit better when she’s done.
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