Published on Apr 8, 2005
With so many singer-songwriters going the indie route these
days, how do the best ones manage to separate themselves from the
pack? What’s the secret handshake / melody / lyric?
If you ask me — and if you don’t, this is gonna be a really
short review — it’s all about two things: a memorable sound, and a
personal touch.
The memorable sound doesn’t have to be that original; truth be
told, some of today’s most successful singer-songwriters are some
of the most derivative. Their secret is that they have learned the
right lessons from their predecessors — in particular, how adding
unexpected instruments or a distinctive flourish to an arrangement
can take a song to the next level.
The personal touch is easier to explain — the artist has to
have something meaningful to say, and the craft to say it in a way
that resonates with an audience. Everybody’s got issues, but can
you talk about yours in a way that makes me either forget about, or
better understand, mine?
Scott Jackson — who is probably wondering by now if I’m
ever going to get around to talking about the terrific EP he
kindly sent me — is a Canadian singer-songwriter now based out of
beautiful Lake Chelan, Washington. As the title suggests, his disc
offers a six-song glimpse into Jackson’s world as, in a keening,
sometimes fragile voice, he sketches its curves and corners with
bracing honesty. Along the way, he separates himself from his peers
with, yes, a memorable sound and a personal touch.
The former element shows up in a number of careful nuances
applied to the mostly full-band arrangements of these songs (think
Jayhawks/Ryan Adams in terms of basic instrumentation and
approach). The retro organ tones on “Right Or Wrong,” the accordion
accents on “Beautiful,” the superbly arranged harmony vocals on
“Empty Cup,” even the brief use of echo to highlight the word
“liar” in “Black And White” — these are the kinds of details that
ensure these songs are both felt and received as something
special.
The personal touch is evident in line after line of this
lovingly crafted set of songs. “There’s one thing I know for sure /
Disappointment has one cure / To get up stand up / And face another
day” sings Jackson in the lilting “Right Or Wrong,” morphing a
personal observation into a universal truth. In a less uplifting
moment, he notes that “You don’t need to be a holy man / To hand a
cripple his crutch” during the bitter — yet surprisingly catchy —
lament “Empty Cup.”
Perhaps his finest lyric here, though, is “What Are We Waiting
For,” a song he refers to as “a modern version of the old ‘gather
ye rosebuds while ye may.'” Indeed, it’s a gentle anthem to seizing
the moment: “Today is a lifeboat / That we let drift
away…The sun might explode / In our beautiful blue / Hope
I’m there watching / Right beside you.”
The one true anthem on this disc is its energetic opener,
“Welcome To My World,” a song that revs up a wry, introspective
lyric with a rootsy rock and roll drive that’s equal parts BoDeans
and Tom Petty (with a hint of John Hiatt for seasoning). Even here,
though, there’s an edge of sadness that gives these songs an
emotional depth that’s missing from too many navel-gazing indie
singer-songwriters. You get the sense Jackson has done some living
in his time, and taken notes along the way.
Jackson’s background prior to this disc is in hard rock and
metal, thought you’d never guess it.
My World sounds like the work of a born singer-songwriter, a
craftsman with something to say and the skills to make his message
resonate. Jackson’s Web site indicates this EP portends a
full-length to be released sometime this year; I’m looking forward
to another winner.
[For more information or to purchase this disc, visit Scott
online at
www.scottjacksonmusic.com
]