|
|
|
BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About LOTD
|
JusVon:
I'm JusVon
The blues such a quintessentially American art form; so simple in construction, yet so much room for artistry, mastery, and showmanship. Even the most casual of music listeners can recognize the classic 12-bar blues form and know the names of some of the most famous and influential blues musicians Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, BB King, John Lee Hooker. At its best, the blues is a powerful release of emotion, often a way for the artist to pour the pent-up angst, heartbreak, and poverty of his life into a cathartic liberation. What we have on JusVons album Im JusVon is not this pure release of emotion; instead, it is self-classified as neo-blues, neo-soul, neo-ballads, where it seems that neo, an oh-so-hip term used to classify a branch of modern R&B, finally reaches cultural oversaturation through such meaningless application and overuse. Here it seems to indicate that the style of blues is not traditionally raw, but instead smooth. If you can readily appreciate the difference between smooth jazz and traditional jazz, you should understand the difference between traditional blues and the neo-blues contained herein. This is not necessarily a criticism of the worth of the music, because smooth jazz is a successful enough format to warrant its own genre of radio stations, music festivals, and CD sales, whereas traditional jazz is finding a more and more narrow audience. While traditional blues are still quite popular and retain a market for their performance, I can easily imagine this neo -blues as finding a staunch audience of supporters as well. With all that being said, it is hard for me to make a value judgment or a criticism of the music on this record. I fall squarely into the traditionalist camp of loving the raw form of both jazz and blues, and I do not particularly care for the presentation, style, or emotion of the smooth or neo form. Although there are a handful of songs on this disc traditionalist enough for me to enjoy Think is a great jump-blues arrangement andDriveway Blues is just good, hard blues JusVon mixes in too many borderline-cheesy ballads and smooth arrangements (are the horns on the record REALLY just keyboards?). However, this should not discourage fans of the smooth genre from obtaining this record; it is quite possible that such folks would find great enjoyment in it. It is also hard to evaluate JusVons skill as a songwriter. The liner notes state: His current album Im JusVon consists of original songs and songs that were made famous by the late Buddy Ace. However, none of the songwriters listed in the songwriting credits receive credit for more than two songs, and it is impossible to ascertain which of the thirteen or so listed songwriters is JusVon. Likewise, a couple guest vocalists receive acknowledgement of their contributions, but no other musicians are listed for any song on the album. It would be nice to see who is actually performing the music on a record in such a genre. In conclusion, Im JusVon loses itself too much in neo-R&B aspirations for me to fully appreciate and enjoy. However, those who can read the following exact statement from the liner notes without shuddering might appreciate this record better: What Your Ears Have Been Listening For, For All These Years, NOW YOU HAVE IT!!!
This album can be purchased at Amazon and Insound Parliament Records Official Website About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
