SONGS will surely be amongst the fictional end of year
accolades for the most simple and appropriate album title of 2014. Songs quite
literally are the currency of John Fullbright and this latest album delivers a
new batch of compositions to fuel the clambering campaign to hail him as the
next great American song writing talent. There is no façade to the album just
12 stripped back tracks to reveal an artist who speaks through his music and
understands the strength of song.
Of course, John is no stranger to lavished praise on his music
after his debut album FROM THE GROUND UP was a 2013 Grammy nominee for Best
Americana album. Even in the run up to its release you can envisage a similar
reception to SONGS as its content possesses an inbuilt timeless longevity that
grows with each listen. Wes Sharon has produced the record which sees John
ignite his fierce independent spirit by surrounding himself with only a select
band of contributors, one being Terry Ware who accompanied John on his UK tour
last year.
Having seen John twice in 2013, including a solo set at
the Calgary Folk Festival, the tracks from SONGS are geared up for a solitary
delivery with only one really having a major degree of band production.
However, saying that, the aforementioned track ‘Never Cry Again’ is one of the album’s standout numbers. The
majority are defined by John playing piano, guitar and harmonica and singing a
bunch of songs imaginative in their theme and subterranean in their depth.
Of the themes evaluated, the promoted track ‘Happy’ ensures that sad songs don’t have
a monopoly while ‘Write a Song’ is a
unique take on the song writing path. There are sentimental elements to ‘Going Home’ and this particular song
with its rousing optimistic traits suggests John is quite content to return to
his Oklahoma home after undertaking the endless tours to promote his music. The
piano provides the backdrop to many of the tracks including ‘When You’re Here’ and ‘She Knows’ while the Wurlitzer and a
drop down in gear vocal delivery give a nostalgic old time feel to ‘All That You Know’.
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| 2013 Calgary Folk Festival |
There are more conventional themes such as exploring
relationships in ‘The One That Lives Too
Far’, although the lyrical highlight is adding the line ‘Little Lord
Fauntleroy’ to ‘Keeping Hope Alive’.
The album requires a degree of stamina towards the end especially during the
7:38 long ‘High Road’ which sees John
adding Traditional to the credits after basing the song on the Scottish ballad ‘The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond’ and
including a short piano rendition of its melody at the end. Yet such is the
hypnotic and addictive presence of John’s voice, the lure of a repeat play
after its 49 minute duration is too much to avoid especially after the moving
closing number ‘Very First Time’.